While people have vastly varying opinions on the overall quality of Gran Turismo's ability to simulate actual driving, the general opinion around the water cooler is that it's the closet thing you'll ever get to real racing unless you actually participate in some real racing. Its closest competitor in the world of popular racing console games is Forza, and the Forza guys have been talking some smack on GT ever since the recently released Forza III was announced.
Now that Forza III has been released and the competition has been able to check it out, what does legendary GT developer Kazunori Yamauchi think of it? Well, it's not quite a racing simulator, but it ain't bad. A few guys around the GT office, including Yamauchi himself, have played the competing racer and he came away with this, "I was watching the guys at our company trying it out in the office. I tried it a little bit. It's very similar in a lot of aspects to Gran Turismo. Some base components of the game are very different from Gran Turismo. It's a little bit different from what a simulator is. You can feel it when you drive it."
I'd say that he was being viciously backhanded, but there was nothing backhanded about that. He came out and said that Forza III isn't a simulator. Upfront and to the point that Yamauchi is. Nice to see they're checking out the competition, though. Anything in Forza III you wish would show up in GT5 when it lands in March of next year?
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Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 11.08.2009
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The most interesting thing in the interview was when he said
'you can reverse your game'
Yamauchi said this whilst talking about beginner aids. It sounds like PD are implementing Forza/Grid style rewind features.
I reckon Sony saw how good Forza looked at E3/GamesCom and decided to postpone the release of GT5.
T
I think that was the most level-headed comment i've read ever...
Saying that, I do spend a lot of time on the Gametrailers forums
I mean I love GT series to bits, but I don't see how it's going to compete with Forza this time around. That said I would like to have the different driving style implemented into Forza, just to make it a more complete racing simulator. That and having the Top Gear test track would be great in Forza.
Maybe in Forza 4, who knows?
GT, i know a few guys who were convinced to buy and been car enthusiasts by starting playing GT and thats a true story..
in my humble opinion GT really is more of a simulator compared to other competitors, the way it reacts realistically when your driving and the way it swerves, it just feels right, it feels so close to driving a real car, those who drive cars would know this..
and i dont think Sony postponed the game because they saw Forza 3, they know that no matter what fans of GT are still going to buy the game, and if they did postpone the game i dont think they would postpone it THAT long (until next year?) a decent postponing of a game maybe a few months..and GT is going to be released in Japan first, they dont need to postpone the release of GT in Japan because of Forza where the 360 is not that popolar..thats in my opinion only
Yeah and that's pretty much been the consensus of the unbiased around here.
I just wanted to point out that the man would never say anything overly positive of the game. I mean c'mon.
However I give him cred for calling out Forza even if he himself is working on a "simulator." I just don't like that term. I don't think you can simulate a race. Not yet. You can aspire to but there are a lot of variables.
Coming from a purely novice standpoint I have to say GT also feels "more simulator." However I have to wonder if that's just because of the fact that since PSOne I've been conditioned to believe GT was the end all be all. I have an uncle who used to race briefly (he dabbled in cars but his big thing was motorcycles) and he has Forza 3 and Prolouge and he told me Forza felt better to him. He has the wheel for them both and everything and I thought it was interesting because I had to disagree but not being a car guy, racing guy, or sim guy I had no real argument.
Oh well, whatever. I'd rather have the two not-quite-simulators *WITH* damage models that released in the meantime than empty promises and stat-sheets.
*runs*
I love both these games/series. I wish their creators would be more...restrained in how they talk about competition.
Yeah, I'd say that Forza looks and plays a little bit more real than GT5, so maybe that's what he meant, in a backhanded complimentary sort of way.
Then again, when you take 5 years to produce nothing and then suddenly you've got a competitor who can produce 3 quality titles for two console generations in the same time frame, you're going to start having less polish and shine to gloat about and ripping your competition is the easy bitch move.
True fact.
Kazunori Yamauchi is not an unbiased source, worse, he is the main PR for his game. While the guys at Inside Sim Racing said Forza 3 was a serious simulator matching their "hardcore" PC counterparts.
http://www.insidesimracing.tv/
Funny, cause my racing games are controlled by a $100 racing wheel.
Personally I really disliked the way Forza 2 played, so I skipped Forza 3 in anticipation of GT5. The Prologue did a great job of reminding me how Gran Turismo actually made it feel like I was actually driving a car. Forza 3 could be great for all I know, but judging from my past experience with Forza 2 and what I have played of GT5 (and then looking forward to the addition of Damage in the full release of 5), I have been previously biased against Forza 3. Im sure it is a fun game, but I know GT5 will be an excellent Sim. Another part of my decision to not get Forza 3, and Im sure Im in the minority here, but I snagged Need For Speed Shift, and the game was surprisingly fantastic. An awesome blend of arcade and sim racing, but the cars actually drive much more realistically then I would have ever expected from an NFS game. The realistic handling on the cars in NFS: Shift was a very pleasant surprise.
I prefer Forza. Forza two was a solid racer, the career and lack of variety made it get tedious very fast though...however Forza 3 seemed to solve nearly all the problems of Forza 2 and offer a vastly superior game. Cars handle like the way they're ment to handle, it feels solid when you nudge another car and makes you think twice about doing it.
Also, the biggest thing about Forza is it provides so many assists that you can find a combonation that fits your style of play and that is what maximises the fun of it...I want a driving game, not a simulator...
Really though GT for PSP was a pile of crap. It made me have hardly any hope for the PS3 version, that and the fact that Forza 3 did all I wanted Gran Turismo 5 to do so I really don't see any reason to play it. I'm perfectly happy with Forza 3.
GT4 may be more realistic in one way or another (though i doubt it, considering i know nothing of Grand Turismo), but I'm completely in love with Forza 3's handling model and general passion aspect. I'm having more fun than i've ever had with a racing game.
And thats what matters, they are all games. Some people seem to think that cheering for the most hardcore ultra-sim games make them less geeky somehow. But the fact remains, they are ALL just games. And we are all nerds.
Might as well have fun instead of being frustrated.
Turn 10 have a lot of respect for Polyphony to I'm sure, but I think they wouldn't hold back with their criticisms of GT's faults, within reason.
Thing is, for me personally, GT stopped being fun a long time ago. Forza sacrifices some of the hardcore car sims stuff in order to make the game fun and accessible to many players, that's commendable and the very reason I've steered clear of these games for so long is gone. In the same regard, you couldn't give GT to a child to play at all, its just too complex, at that's part of Sony's problem.
GT will sell because car nuts/owners worship it, and its fun will come from just driving mostly for them, good for them. Gamers IMO, look for deeper options of the kind that Forza 3 offers, and I really think Forza has given Polyphony a real shake all over, from the GT series itself, down to how they develop they games altogether. I'm sure they'll learn a lot, also that the japanese practice of working in a bubble does them a diservice. You should always be checking out the competition and learning from mistakes, yours and others.
Another point is that in a recession, its best if you can sell to as many people as possible. Forza 3 sales will reflect that kind of thinking, and GT's while they will they'll do well too, won't.
Sim racers are nice, but just how fun are they? I also wonder if Yamauchi has also tested the rest of the driving competition, namely Dirt, Dirt2 and Need For Speed Shift.
I really am done with these arguments, though. It leads to fanboy fights. It's very trashy.
Seriously, the devs are being professional about it and making sure they've got the best game they can make. When did ddoing it fast become better than doing it right?
Hmmm, can't think of much else though really. They are slightly different breeds, but Forza feels more focused than GT, and that isn't necessarily a good thing. I like how GT is all over the place, so many different modes and things to do. Forza 3 feels a little more linear to me. I've only played it for around 6-7 hours so far though so I imagine I'm yet to experience it's true beauty.
BTW, I am the Stig. GT5 feels more like real racing.
(no, I'm not.)
Proof or didnt happen.
I loves me some Forza 3, and I'm sure that I'm going to loves me some GT5 when that's out. Will I pick one over the other? Probably not, I'm already digging the fact that Gran Turismo has WRC under their belt, and I'm digging the fact that Forza 3 has the community driven aspects like tuning configurations and decals. There can only be one clear winner regarding both studios: Me, the consumer.