2012 is a lean year for racing fans, particularly on PS3. Outside of kart racers there’s little beyond F1 2012, Need for Speed Most Wanted and Forza Horizon – and the latter is obviously an Xbox exclusive.
Gran Turismo 5 continues to be supported by bursts of DLC at random intervals, but what’s really needed is a follow-up. GT is Sony’s flagship racing series and one of its most valuable brands, yet it’s only been spotted once this generation.
Gran Turismo needs to get back on the front foot. It needs to become a regular part of the racing game agenda; not a game that descends from Mount Olympus once every six years. Gran Turismo is a series that continues to enjoy incredible commercial success, but it can’t remain idle anymore.
This is what Gran Turismo 6 needs.
No more “standard” cars
GT6 cannot split its car range between highly-detailed “premium” models with full interiors and HD “standard” versions of PS2-era cars. It didn’t work in GT5; it was a horrible solution.
Dividing the cars into two tiers of quality is a poor idea.
Over on Xbox 360 Forza Motorsport 4 car nuts now have almost 700 highly-detailed cars, all with interiors. GT fans deserve the same. Sony and Polyphony need to find a way, and a development partner to help do so if need be.
Livery editor
A livery editor, combined with extensive customization options, empowers your community to build the cars they want without you. It allows them to take stock models and turn them into classic or contemporary racing cars, or rallying legends. It allows them to craft movie replicas, or beat up old wrecks, or even artistic originals.
A livery editor supports global car culture. People can build and buy designs that are relevant to them and their interests. GT6 needs one, and it needs the in-game economy that comes with it.
What you get in GT5, and what it can look like in its nearest competitor.
Lose the silly quirks
The whole concept of “paint chips” should have been patched out of GT5 in the first update. It’s ridiculous. Making paint colours a one use item and forcing players to earn them is brain-numbingly dumb. GT6 should not be saddled with this system.
Trapping vehicles behind driver levels is a dud idea too. Driver levels make sense for career progression, but they do not make sense for car purchasing. If players have the credits to purchase a car, let them purchase it.
On that note, ditch the used car lot in favour of a classifieds-style system. Used cars are one of GT’s cute idiosyncrasies and it’s actually kind of cool to get an old car with miles on the dial and need to recondition it to bring it back to new. But don’t hide the bulk of them; let people buy the ones they want when they want.
GT6 shouldn’t be full of ways to stop people buying the game’s cars.
Better audio
Audio is the one department GT needs to rapidly evolve. Engine notes need to be re-recorded, remixed or both; they sound false and electronic. There’s no snarl; no bark. The GT series may have historically been ahead of the curve in many areas, but sound is not one of them.
All cars drivable in Arcade Mode
There are 1000 cars in GT5. Whether GT6 has more or less, they have to all be drivable outside of GT Mode. There is little point to shipping with so many cars hidden away inside the code where few of them will ever be driven. Every car in the game should be drivable in Arcade Mode.
Let go of the current car roster, rebuild it
GT5’s car list is long but it’s flawed. It’s insular, it focuses on quantity over quality, and it was out-of-date the day GT5 was released.
Check out the following graphs.
As you can see, GT5 is dominated by Japanese cars. The huge commitment to Japanese vehicles creates huge holes in GT5’s international line-up. But it’s a Japanese game, right?
This is the breakdown by territory of the cars featuring in Forza Motorsport 4, GT’s Xbox 360 equivalent. It may be developed in the US but it’s a far more global game.
GT6 can’t make the same mistakes that GT5 did regarding the car list. It can’t continue to ignore the kinds of cars from Europe, the US and elsewhere that are making their way to its competitors in droves. It needs a better range of cult classics from around the globe. For a series that tends to get track selection so right (with Spa recently added and Bathurst's Mount Panorama rumoured to be joining the list in GT6) Polyphony's approach to cars outside of Japan isn't as comprehensive as it should be.
It can’t make do with manufacturer line-ups that tap out a few years before the release of the game. When GT5 launched the newest BMW in the game was from 2008, the newest Aston Martin was from 2006 and the newest Pontiac and Holden was from 2004. Those are just a few broad examples. That can’t happen again. GT6 needs to be fresh. Motorheads expect something more recent than a 2007 Ford Mustang in a game released in 2010. People expect the fastest production car in the world to be in a GT game, or at least the second fastest (as of now, neither are). People expect more.
GT should also not continue to go without the several world-famous brands it’s still missing. Koenigsegg. Gumpert. Ascari. SSC. Saab. Radical. Noble. Even Porsche. If Microsoft and EA can make nice for a Porsche sublicense for Forza, why can’t Sony do the same?
PS3/PS Vita Compatibility
Two words: combo pack. Anybody who buys GT6 on PS3 gets a copy on Vita, one that they can play on the go and transfer their progress between their Vita and their PS3.
Announce it at this year’s Tokyo Game Show
PS3 owners certainly could be forgiven for hoping for an official Gran Turismo 6 announcement a few weeks back at E3; the game is certainly in development. Unfortunately none was forthcoming. Given the precedent set by Gran Turismo 5’s lengthy development time it’s admittedly unsurprising, but GT fans don’t want GT to vanish again. Announce it at this year’s TGS. Give GT fans something to put on their calendars. Start the discourse around GT6; tell us what you’re focusing on and let fans worldwide push back with their most pressing requests.
GT fans: what do you want most out of GT6, and when do you want it?
Luke is Games Editor at IGN AU. You can chat to him about games, cars and A9X Toranas on IGN here or find him and the rest of the Australian team by joining the IGN Australia Facebook community.
Source : ign[dot]com
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