Gran Turismo is usually a series that dominates the gaming charts. This year however, it seems Gran Turismo 6 doesn’t have the same appeal.
Earlier this month, it was already reported the Gran Turismo 6’s first week sales were much lower than that of Gran Turismo 5. GT6 sold only half the amount of copies GT5 earned in its first week over in Japan. In the UK, GT6 sales were only a fifth the amount of copies GT5 sold.
Here in New Zealand, I’ve noticed retailers have stocked many copies of the game but many are left unsold. During the lead up to Christmas, many retailers were selling the game for $40 or $30 cheaper than the normal price. This is usually unheard of from a game that has been released in less than a month.
Gran Turismo 5 has sold over 10 million copies over its lifetime while the Gran Turismo 6 has sold over 1.3 million copies so far. Gran Turismo games usually sell well over the long-run, but something tells me Gran Turismo 6 might become the lowest selling game of the series.
Gran Turismo 6 is somewhat of an improvement over Gran Turismo 5, although it seems customers weren’t as enthusiastic about the game this time around.
The main reason that the game may have sold poorly this time around is because it was released just days after the PS4 and Xbox One came out. Obviously a number of people saved up to pay for the next generation console and had no money left to pay for a PS3 game.
It’s also worth mentioning that 2013 has been a huge year for big blockbuster games in general. Apart from the PS4/Xbox One games, the year also saw the release of Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and a host of other AAA games. 2013 could have been even bigger if Watch Dogs joined the fray too.
Polyphony Digital initially decided to release GT6 on the PS3 because of the larger user-base. Over 80 million PS3 consoles have sold worldwide thus far so it made sense for them to release the game to a larger audience. Only 2.1 million homes have a PS4, so releasing GT6 on that platform might have meant less sales.
Sony and Polyphony Digital might be able to increase GT6’s sales in 2014. This is because GT5’s online servers will be shut down from May 2014. Owners of GT5 will be forced to buy GT6 if they still want to race with others online.
Still, I still don’t think GT6 sales would improve by that much. This is all down to bad timing since the game was released in a highly competitive time of year. GT6 might have sold more copies in 2012 since Sony lacked a AAA title during the Holiday period of 2012. The only big game they released during that period was PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale.
Gran Turismo 7 might be the shining light that would make fans excited about the series again. GT6 is fun, but is not a huge leap from GT5. GT7 is likely to be released on the PS4, so it should be a big difference from both GT5 and GT6.
For me it has nothing to do with money or console releases, the game is unfinished pure and simple, and forcing the online crowd onto it by turning of the more popular title is just low, if they want more people to buy the games, make some meaningful changes to the title, give us the new audio engine, some kind of reasonable damage model, massively improve the A.i system and allow for different levels of difficulty , personally i have owned all of the gran turismo titles until this latest one which i will never buy….. angry birds style rewarding stars is not something i want in a racing game when they give you trophies anyway, the whole thing just seems like a waste of time playing the same game again
I disagree with Anthony. I started the GT franchise with GT PSP, moved to purchase a PS3, then GT Prologue with wheel and pedals, and GT5. At some point, there was an interlude when I completed everything in NFS Shift. Then some iRacing. GT6 is a good product. It is a very dynamic product. There are changes an improvements appearing in the form of updates. The driving physics are greatly improved. It was said all along that the product would appear while still undergoing continued development. I feel most in the GT community know this and have been aware that each release of Gran Turismo continues to be modified and improved even after release. I have come to expect this and am pleased with it. There may be two types of audiences for Grans Turismo. Those who play the game along with many others in all different genres, and then there are those of us who use a PS3 (and later a PS4) for specifically the Gran Turismo franchise, period,
I meant to add my racing simulation began with a PC and Papyrus’ Grand Prix Legends.
I purchased it and returned it in a week, Not much new and some cars still look like ps2 while others actually look decent. My biggest disappointment is the number of new cars… their are not enough. I don’t need 15 different yet (The Same) Mazda Miatas… and I’m the biggest Gran Turismo fan.. but ill wait for the next… but until then Forza Motorsports it is.
GT6 is a big disappointment, sure they have some minor improvements but nothing worth while paying $60 for. they should of sold the game for $30 because that’s all it is worth.
GT5 is far superior and if you either own GT5 or want to decide which to buy, go with GT5. GT6 is a great disappointment. You start of driving a silly honda instead of allowing seasoned players to get to the tracks and cars they really want to drive. Sadly most of the cars will never be driven as they credits required to get them are too high.
GT6 is crippleware and nothing more. A paint coat at best and a pure money grab. I will likely never buy another GT because of the disappointment and experience I had with 6, R.I.P. GT.
This title gives me mixed feelings. Why? Because it feels incomplete. As of this time, there does not appear to be any endurance races. Every GT game up to this point had them… this title does not at this time (the 24 minute races are NOT endurance races). What really bothers me, is how easy this game is. There really is no challenge to achieve golds and winning races.
What they got right:
Getting rid of the stupid RPG style leveling-up to progress to the next class of races.
No B-Spec (yet).
License “tests” are mandatory to progress to the next class.
New Tire Model – It feels a LOT better than GT5 in my opinion, this is coming from an iRacer.
What they got wrong:
Sound – Engines, as they don’t sound real. The running joke is that Gran Turismo’s sounds are that of a vacuum cleaner. Youtube it, you’ll find a darn good example. At the time of me writing this, there is even a bug where the engine sounds cut out on your car. It leaves you with only hearing your gearbox and your tires. After a while, the engine sounds will fade back in.
Night races (headlights) – On many tracks, only your headlights are what will light up the area in front of you. I expected to see the same for AI cars, especially when they are behind you… not complete darkness with their headlights only appearing to be white (seriously, their lights don’t seem to project as of the time I write this).
AI “difficulty” – This game is extremely easy to progress in. I was really hoping for a challenge, but there doesn’t appear to be any. While I do race with a wheel & pedals, there still should be some element of a challenge to move forward. I’ve used the Honda Fit for every race that they will allow me to use it in. It is no challenge to win, even if you are over 100pp lower than the AI.
These are gripes that I can think of at the moment… if they fixed the “what they got wrong”, I would like the game a lot more. But overall, the game is not worth the $60 (USD) that I paid for it, not as it stands today. Ask me how I feel after they do some well needed updates down the road.
I feel like I’ve made a huge mistake. I was always a lover of the Gran Tourismo series on the PS1 and 2 but after waiting for years and years and years for GT5 I sold my PS3 and bought a used Xbox360 and Forza 3. And then Forza 4. These are brilliant games. When I learned Forza 5 was only for the new Xbox One (that I can’t afford) I decided to get a used PS3 and buy GT6. I mainly play online and naturally want to play the current game so there are lots of players out there.
But GT6 is the biggest ball of rubbish ever. In the offline game the races are ridiculously easy, the car sounds are from the PS1 days, the races are crap, the licence thing is just dumb at this stage and although it’s not Polyphony’s fault the controller is painful to use coming from a Xbox one. But the worst part of GT6 is the unfathomable online experience. I have spent hours on it now and have raced in five (yes five) races. It’s completely daft. There seem to be hundreds of available lobby’s with 1 player waiting for more to join all the time. Most have mad variations on the cars used. The ‘pp’ system is a joke.
Basically DON’T buy GT6. Save your money. The game is rubbish. I’m going back to Forza 4 until there’s nobody left playing online and then I’ll save and save for an Xbox One. I’m actually angry at the makers of GT6 for releasing such a bad game when faced with competition like Forza. Shame on them.