Gran Turismo: HD - Latest Details Inside
A driving game with no cars! Who would've thunk it?
Latest reports from Japanese gaming bible Famitsu indicate that Gran Turismo HD will be released in Japan this coming December, with Kazunori Yamauchi informing the mag that the game will have two SKUs on the PS3 (released on the same disc) one of which - Gran Turismo HD: Classic - will have no cars, as these are going to be made available for gamers to purchase via microtransactions.
1UP reports that, "The microtransaction-focused game, Gran Turismo HD: Classic will be the online-focused entrant into the GT series. In this game, players will (reportedly) start with no cars or courses available to them. Instead, they will need to purchase their stable of cars and courses to race on. The pricing reported in the Famitsu piece indicated that cars would cost between 50-100 yen ($0.43-$0.85/£0.22-£0.45) and courses between 200-500 yen ($1.71-$4.26/£0.90-£2.25). There are approximiately 750 cars and 50 tracks available for purchase in the GT: HD Classic."
They then go on to 'do the math' (don't you just love Yank-speak!?) and inform us that: "A complete copy of the game will cost gamers somewhere between $426.50 and $975, and that's without factoring in whatever Sony decides to charge for the menus."
Funny yes, but kind of missing the point. Gran Turismo HD: Classic is merely a taster of the online element of what we'll be getting in Gran Turismo 5, for which we are going to have to wait until 2008. That seems like years away (erm, you're fired! - Ed).
The other PS3 SKU, Gran Turismo HD: Premium, will ship with two courses (Eiger Nordwand and an unspecified one) and 30 cars, with an extra 30 cars and two courses available online at an unspecified point after launch.
Yamauchi also told Famitsu he wants to experiment further with changing weather conditions within races. More news on the US and European versions of GT: HD as we get it.
1UP reports that, "The microtransaction-focused game, Gran Turismo HD: Classic will be the online-focused entrant into the GT series. In this game, players will (reportedly) start with no cars or courses available to them. Instead, they will need to purchase their stable of cars and courses to race on. The pricing reported in the Famitsu piece indicated that cars would cost between 50-100 yen ($0.43-$0.85/£0.22-£0.45) and courses between 200-500 yen ($1.71-$4.26/£0.90-£2.25). There are approximiately 750 cars and 50 tracks available for purchase in the GT: HD Classic."
They then go on to 'do the math' (don't you just love Yank-speak!?) and inform us that: "A complete copy of the game will cost gamers somewhere between $426.50 and $975, and that's without factoring in whatever Sony decides to charge for the menus."
Funny yes, but kind of missing the point. Gran Turismo HD: Classic is merely a taster of the online element of what we'll be getting in Gran Turismo 5, for which we are going to have to wait until 2008. That seems like years away (erm, you're fired! - Ed).
The other PS3 SKU, Gran Turismo HD: Premium, will ship with two courses (Eiger Nordwand and an unspecified one) and 30 cars, with an extra 30 cars and two courses available online at an unspecified point after launch.
Yamauchi also told Famitsu he wants to experiment further with changing weather conditions within races. More news on the US and European versions of GT: HD as we get it.
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Comments
Monkton 21 Sep 2006 11:43
1/20
I hereby declare Sony the worst-run major contender in the games industry since Sega.
ozfunghi 21 Sep 2006 11:44
2/20
Yup, the most expensive (homeconsole) game ever...
over 400 smackers for the full game.
over 400 smackers for the full game.
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SCiARA 21 Sep 2006 11:48
3/20
That is crazy, and you know what? People will buy up more and more following on from the initial purchase, which will give Sony the excuses they need to rape the gamer in future games
PreciousRoi 24 Sep 2006 13:44
4/20
Wow.
This is like total validation for my suspicion that Sony is the true force of evil in the console market. 'Course since the Japaneese are...the way they are, this might work...in Japan. They try and pull that crap over here, well, you can only push a fanboy so far.
Score one for MS.
Score one for Forza 2.
Score one for Live in general.
This is like total validation for my suspicion that Sony is the true force of evil in the console market. 'Course since the Japaneese are...the way they are, this might work...in Japan. They try and pull that crap over here, well, you can only push a fanboy so far.
Score one for MS.
Score one for Forza 2.
Score one for Live in general.
PreciousRoi 24 Sep 2006 14:57
5/20
'Course, now that I think about it, I wish PGR shipped with no courses, then I could have only bought Nurburgring and been perfectly happy. Assuming I'd save money that is...
tyrion 25 Sep 2006 12:58
6/20
PreciousRoi wrote:
'Course, now that I think about it, I wish PGR shipped with no courses, then I could have only bought Nurburgring and been perfectly happy. Assuming I'd save money that is...
Isn't that the point? Who in their right mind has played any GT game for long enough to have used every car in every race possible and upgraded them all to the best spec they can achieve?
Why not give a limited starting position and allow you to get the cars you want to drive? Of course, starting with zero cars and zero tracks is taking it a bit too far, but I appreciate the attempt at flexibility.
SCiARA 25 Sep 2006 13:03
7/20
I can see where your coming from tyrion but its still going to cost a huge amount, when I had GT games I would constantly buy cars, use them a couple of times and move on - in the end I’d have anything up to 100 cars. It’s all well and good what there doing but they should be charging pennies for bulk cars as opposed to pounds.
Paying for tracks?? That sucks big time, at the very least they should include a good selection of tracks and then offer additional at a cost.
Of course, there's also the subject of cost for the game itself - what if that comes in at a normal game price...
Paying for tracks?? That sucks big time, at the very least they should include a good selection of tracks and then offer additional at a cost.
Of course, there's also the subject of cost for the game itself - what if that comes in at a normal game price...
tyrion 25 Sep 2006 13:08
8/20
SCiARA wrote:
It’s all well and good what there doing but the should be charging pennies for them as opposed to pounds
22p to 45p per car and 90p per track seem OK prices to me. £2.25 for a track is a little steeper than I'd want, but I'll bet that's just the price for for the Nürburg ring.
SCiARA 25 Sep 2006 13:12
9/20
tyrion wrote:
SCiARA wrote:
It’s all well and good what there doing but the should be charging pennies for them as opposed to pounds
22p to 45p per car and 90p per track seem OK prices to me. £2.25 for a track is a little steeper than I'd want, but I'll bet that's just the price for for the Nürburg ring.
sorry i edited as you replied.
still, 100 cars at say an average of 34p its still £34 on top of standard game price, not to mention tracks, so you could be paying upto £70 for a game with less than half the content of previous gen games
hollywooda 25 Sep 2006 13:47
10/20
So what happens to the PS3 owners who dont have them online? (like 99% of PS2 owners were). Will they just get a s**tty game?
PreciousRoi 25 Sep 2006 17:32
11/20
My comment was more a dig at PGR, the concept of which I find distasteful, than an endorsement of the model. (I want to drive fast cars on roads/tracks than I can drive fast on, not tool around cities, trying to powerslide)
If I was interested in PS3/GTHD then I'd be concerned about one thing. I'd want the Premium pack to include credit instead of them telling me which cars are included(at least 2/3 of total). That way I could avoid the microtransaction system altogether, until and unless I just had to have more than 30 cars. I'd also want a "try before you buy" function in place. Also, do you have to buy them AND earn them? It also seems like it destroys one of main rewards of the single player career, if such is even included or deemed important. If all cars must be purchased via microtransaction, then I guess cars will no longer be awarded for completing events.
Also, from my experience with Xbox LIVE! this WILL be a major pain in the ass for online play purposes.
Host - "What course do you guys want to race next?"
Player 1 - "How about Laguna Seca?"
Player 2 - "No, I don't have that one, lets race Suzuka."
Player 3 - "I don't think I have that one."
ad nauseam
If I was interested in PS3/GTHD then I'd be concerned about one thing. I'd want the Premium pack to include credit instead of them telling me which cars are included(at least 2/3 of total). That way I could avoid the microtransaction system altogether, until and unless I just had to have more than 30 cars. I'd also want a "try before you buy" function in place. Also, do you have to buy them AND earn them? It also seems like it destroys one of main rewards of the single player career, if such is even included or deemed important. If all cars must be purchased via microtransaction, then I guess cars will no longer be awarded for completing events.
Also, from my experience with Xbox LIVE! this WILL be a major pain in the ass for online play purposes.
Host - "What course do you guys want to race next?"
Player 1 - "How about Laguna Seca?"
Player 2 - "No, I don't have that one, lets race Suzuka."
Player 3 - "I don't think I have that one."
ad nauseam
tyrion 26 Sep 2006 07:42
12/20
PreciousRoi wrote:
Host - "What course do you guys want to race next?"
Player 1 - "How about Laguna Seca?"
Player 2 - "No, I don't have that one, lets race Suzuka."
Player 3 - "I don't think I have that one."
Player 1 - "How about Laguna Seca?"
Player 2 - "No, I don't have that one, lets race Suzuka."
Player 3 - "I don't think I have that one."
That is a simple set matching problem that can be performed in software at the server. Just show the tracks that all players have access to, or grey out ones that most have so the others can choose to get them before the race. TBH it is the least of the issues with this set-up.
PreciousRoi 26 Sep 2006 07:44
13/20
I'm talking about holding a group together online, not simple matchmaking. Packages of tracks would appear to be a superior option...
I've run into similar situations on LIVE! that were annoying, but this scenario presents even more potential hassle, especially considering Sony is still an largely unproven player in the online arena
I've run into similar situations on LIVE! that were annoying, but this scenario presents even more potential hassle, especially considering Sony is still an largely unproven player in the online arena
hollywooda 26 Sep 2006 08:54
14/20
PGR is a street racing game, it's about racing in streets..... that's like buying Halo & complaining about, "god all you do is shoot aliens".....
PreciousRoi 27 Sep 2006 03:37
15/20
wasn't EXACTLY complaining, mocking yes...anyway its a poor concept, IMNSHO. Kudos are an abomination and must be stopped before they take over the world. Combining Supercars with stratospheric top end with short city courses, then rewarding or even requiring what would otherwise be less than optimal driving, just rubs me the wrong way.
I played loads of PGR 2 online, before Forza came out, so I didn't really have much choice at the time. Nurburgring online made it all worthwhile though...without online that was definintely a rental. I also find the lack of a Forza for the 360 bothersome...if there were such PGR wouldn't even be a blip on my radar.
I played loads of PGR 2 online, before Forza came out, so I didn't really have much choice at the time. Nurburgring online made it all worthwhile though...without online that was definintely a rental. I also find the lack of a Forza for the 360 bothersome...if there were such PGR wouldn't even be a blip on my radar.
hollywooda 27 Sep 2006 08:44
16/20
hey look here's a thought..... just dont buy it or play it, if u play PGR2 & didn't like the concept then why buy the next one just 2 bitch?.... it's your money.
SCiARA 27 Sep 2006 08:58
17/20
PreciousRoi wrote:
My comment was more a dig at PGR, the concept of which I find distasteful, than an endorsement of the model. (I want to drive fast cars on roads/tracks than I can drive fast on, not tool around cities, trying to powerslide)
1st up, you are entitled to your opinion and I’m not arguing that.
Fortunately the game is designed for a broader range of gamers, I loved Forza and am pissing my pants at Forza2 but I also enjoyed the PGR series for what it is, an arcade racer with enough variety in cars and handling for me to be interested. And as frustrating as the Kudo's Cones sections are - it made me go back to crack at least gold on them.
As much as I love the racing sims, I’d be bored s**tless if that was the only genre of racing game to play.
Finally, I found driving an Enzo round small cities against fellow Live racers (as well as single player) either seriously entertaining or seriously challenging. Its a different style of play
PreciousRoi 27 Sep 2006 14:56
18/20
ummm, lack of an alternative at the time? Hello?
and to be fair, I did say that Nurburgring online made it all worthwhile.
who said I bought PGR3, I didn't buy it, and I never said I did...its a rental.
to SCiARA:My negative reactions to the PGR series stem more from the fact that its been the flagship racing series for MS, undeservedly, and hatred for Kudos, of course. (Not that I'm bad at them, I DESTROYED PGR2, I just hate the way the concept was executed)
I had to wade through two iterations of PGR before Forza, PGR2 was an earlyish LIVE! title and PGR once again got launch title status for the 360, while Forza 2 is delayed. There are a multitude of multiplatform and platform exclusive street racers of differing flavors out there, sims, not so much. PGR and its first sequel were the only Xbox answer to Gran Turismo, for like, ever, and, with the exception of the online Nurburgring portion of PGR2, it was a poor one. I would also dispute calling PGR an "arcade" racer, though its not a simulation, its not really "arcadey" either. Its a quasi-simulation of some stripe or another.
back to hollywooda: see part where SCiARA sez I'm entitled to my opinion. Look here's a thought, quit bitchin' about me bitchin', kid.
and to be fair, I did say that Nurburgring online made it all worthwhile.
who said I bought PGR3, I didn't buy it, and I never said I did...its a rental.
to SCiARA:My negative reactions to the PGR series stem more from the fact that its been the flagship racing series for MS, undeservedly, and hatred for Kudos, of course. (Not that I'm bad at them, I DESTROYED PGR2, I just hate the way the concept was executed)
I had to wade through two iterations of PGR before Forza, PGR2 was an earlyish LIVE! title and PGR once again got launch title status for the 360, while Forza 2 is delayed. There are a multitude of multiplatform and platform exclusive street racers of differing flavors out there, sims, not so much. PGR and its first sequel were the only Xbox answer to Gran Turismo, for like, ever, and, with the exception of the online Nurburgring portion of PGR2, it was a poor one. I would also dispute calling PGR an "arcade" racer, though its not a simulation, its not really "arcadey" either. Its a quasi-simulation of some stripe or another.
back to hollywooda: see part where SCiARA sez I'm entitled to my opinion. Look here's a thought, quit bitchin' about me bitchin', kid.
hollywooda 27 Sep 2006 15:13
19/20
look, "kid" i was just sayin if u didn't like the game then dont buy/rent/play the other ones....that's all.
PreciousRoi 27 Sep 2006 15:16
20/20
And I answered you, thats all.
deal with it.
deal with it.