XBone and Forza 5 Test Drive Impressions

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doug_7506

2[H]4U
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So this thing came by LSU Friday. Got to play Forza 5. Also got to see FIFA and Killer Instinct in action. Was kinda surprised this wasn't advertised more around my university. If you are interested to see if it is coming to your university check here.
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Impressions:

Console
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Man this sucker is huge!! Easily the size of my Direct TV satellite box.

Controller:

AMAZING. The upgrades are very noticeable. The impulse triggers are very cool. In Forza they were amazing. The brake and peel out action with the triggers felt in sync with the game. They weren't over done and were actually a very nice feature.
The build quality is A++
The battery pack being hidden is awesome.
The smoothness was nice. No screw holes.
The D pad was amazing.
The only complaint about the controller is maybe the thumbsticks. They felt a little lose.

Forza 5
Wow it looked beautiful.
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Main question I got was whether or not it really felt "next gen?"
Well Yes and No. If you are coming from a PS3/360, you will be blown away. The game looks and plays like a true next gen title. (slightly biased--the whole reason i'm going xbone is forza 5.)

Killer Instinct/FIFA
Didn't get to play these but they looked really nice. Very excited to see Madden with the ignite engine. FIFA looked great. The grass and the crowd were greatly improved.
Killer Instinct looked very nice. Not much new to say about this though.

Conclusion:
Very impressed with the whole setup. Can't wait till Nov. 22
 
Very nice impressions. From an actual person and not rumors/forum posters spreading gossip finally.

Forza is a great series and ever since Gran Turismo shit the bed as a series I'm glad something has picked up the torch in its place and done so well with it.

Getting more excited.

Questions though

1. Did the Xbox One interface run smoothly or did it boot only right into the games and you didn't get a chance to see how the interface was? There are some rumors floating around that the Xbox One interface is crashing a ton and that some of its features are to blame.

2. How was the frame rate of the games? Was it jerky in Forza? Was it rock solid 60fps in KI? I know Forza runs at 1080p but it was announced it would have a 60fps frame rate as well.
 
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finally tire heat is in a much better place, and hopefully it will be there all the damn time.

and I need to go back to laguna seca.
 
Godmachine said:
1. Did the Xbox One interface run smoothly or did it boot only right into the games and you didn't get a chance to see how the interface was? There are some rumors floating around that the Xbox One interface is crashing a ton and that some of its features are to blame.

2. How was the frame rate of the games? Was it jerky in Forza? Was it rock solid 60fps in KI? I know Forza runs at 1080p but it was announced it would have a 60fps frame rate as well.
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1. Unfortunately we couldn't play with the interface. Each station was locked in the demo on one level. Forza was one lap around the track (single player). Killer Instinct was one match (Two player). FIFA was one five minute match (two player).

2. Forza ran butterly smooth and seemed to be 1080p and 60fps. Not positive, but it was much smoother and higher detailed then i expected. The quality in game finally matches what you see in the cut scenes.
 
doug_7506 said:
1. Unfortunately we couldn't play with the interface. Each station was locked in the demo on one level. Forza was one lap around the track (single player). Killer Instinct was one match (Two player). FIFA was one five minute match (two player).

2. Forza ran butterly smooth and seemed to be 1080p and 60fps. Not positive, but it was much smoother and higher detailed then i expected. The quality in game finally matches what you see in the cut scenes.
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Thanks. Sounds great. Curious info about the interface though..
 
Forza will be the reason I buy XBONE. However, not at launch since it is not releasing in my country. Go figure. PS4 will be available on 15th :rolleyes:
 
Forza is alright but when it comes to cars available, better tracks, better presentation, pedigree/heritage, car modification it's Gran Turismo for me. I love cars/engines. I will be checking out some LP/Walkthroughs on Youtube when it drops, but so far it looks like they did a good job on the car models for Forza 5. Other than that there is not a lot I can honestly tell from the clips on Youtube/elseware. I have played every GT and Forza 2 and 3, I can honestly say at the time Forza 3 impressed me with graphics but GT5 truly was the deeper racer with impressive graphics just like F3, and the tracks are just a MUST when it comes to a racer! GT has always delivered since GT2.

I would like to know all the tracks and cars for Forza 5 for reference though, if anyone has a link that would be cool. I doubt they will say other than it will be completed after launch blah blah but what about DAY 1 what is the car total and tracks available. Forza 3 needed better tracks same with 2. I missed 4, and 5 is brand new. Maybe I'll google for it...but I still won't buy a XBOX because of Widows OS's, 100 dollar price dif from ps4, graphics limitation/disadvantage, and that Kinect sensor spy possibility Murica Bush/Obama/NSA jackassness. No matter how much of a car enthusiast/gamer I am. I have principles dammit!
 
Car & Track list


Forza 5 is one of the main reasons im going with the XBone also. I was never a big fan of the GT series.

I guess in my mind, GT was more of a simulator. Not a racing game. I never really got into GT for that reason. Not sure if that comparison makes sense, but that's how i felt about it. :confused:
 
Love playing Forza 4 , 5 will be awesome I really want a Forza Horizon on Xbox one as well. I play horizon now more than anything.
 
I'm looking forward to playing Forza 5. I've skipped buying every other version of the game, and the last one I bought was the third one.
 
doug_7506 said:
Car & Track list


Forza 5 is one of the main reasons im going with the XBone also. I was never a big fan of the GT series.

I guess in my mind, GT was more of a simulator. Not a racing game. I never really got into GT for that reason. Not sure if that comparison makes sense, but that's how i felt about it. :confused:
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GT has become its own worst enemy. How many years did GT5 stay in development? Didn't come anywhere near the sales it needed and now we are getting GT6 quite a bit faster releasing this holiday season.

Forza is great and I can't wait to play it.
 
doug_7506 said:
Car & Track list


Forza 5 is one of the main reasons im going with the XBone also. I was never a big fan of the GT series.

I guess in my mind, GT was more of a simulator. Not a racing game. I never really got into GT for that reason. Not sure if that comparison makes sense, but that's how i felt about it. :confused:
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I've been playing Gran Turismo since I was 16 (GT released on PS in '97), and with the exception of GT3 the subtitle for every GT ever released gave away what it was. I don't know how old you are or how many GT games you've played, but there's not been any confusion about this before. GT is not your typical racing game. The feel between GT and Forza is like talking about the difference between playing Half Life 2 and Bioshock or Dishonored and Metro 2030. Same genre of game but totally different feels and gameplay. GT has been the king since the beginning for simulations. It doesn't matter what your thoughts are on the matter; GT has always been the go-to for simulation car driving. Forza is great as well as others, but ask people who have played GT first then played Forza which they prefer as far as realism goes, the majority would say GT.

Then again, I could be completely wrong about this. I just never thought there was any confusion as to what GT has and always will be. And just to illustrate my point about OP not knowing that GT was always a simulation and "not a racing game," so I posted every cover to clear up the confusion. Also, to say GT isn't a racing game is like saying Fallout 3 isn't a FPS game but a RPG. GT has always been a simulation game first, and a racing game second.

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Godmachine said:
GT has become its own worst enemy. How many years did GT5 stay in development? Didn't come anywhere near the sales it needed and now we are getting GT6 quite a bit faster releasing this holiday season.

Forza is great and I can't wait to play it.
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Agreed. I've owned every main, numbered Gran Turismo game, as well as every Forza game. Gran Turismo started something truly special in the world of console racing games. But each subsequent release just felt less special. By the time we arrived at GT5, some of the games mechanics were down right mind boggling. I don't know if those guys are just over ambitious on what they can create in a given time frame, or what people want, but GT5 really made me angry. The whole standard and premium car thing was a joke. Call it what it is... half the cars in the game were incomplete. Also, the entire UI in GT5 is terrible. Getting around is slow and cumbersome. Load times are insane. Things like B-Spec races and the more intricate car maintenance like oil changes, are these really important to this audience? I don't think so.

Forza on the other hand has been a marked improvement with each game. I have enjoyed every one and usually had very little to complain about. Between Forza 4 and GT5, I would take Forza 4 without question, any day. I'll (eventually) be buying an X1 mostly for Forza. I don't see myself ever buying another GT game. The series just sort of got lost in itself.
 
Viper87227 said:
Agreed. I've owned every main, numbered Gran Turismo game, as well as every Forza game. Gran Turismo started something truly special in the world of console racing games. But each subsequent release just felt less special. By the time we arrived at GT5, some of the games mechanics were down right mind boggling. I don't know if those guys are just over ambitious on what they can create in a given time frame, or what people want, but GT5 really made me angry. The whole standard and premium car thing was a joke. Call it what it is... half the cars in the game were incomplete. Also, the entire UI in GT5 is terrible. Getting around is slow and cumbersome. Load times are insane. Things like B-Spec races and the more intricate car maintenance like oil changes, are these really important to this audience? I don't think so.

Forza on the other hand has been a marked improvement with each game. I have enjoyed every one and usually had very little to complain about. Between Forza 4 and GT5, I would take Forza 4 without question, any day. I'll (eventually) be buying an X1 mostly for Forza. I don't see myself ever buying another GT game. The series just sort of got lost in itself.
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GT went off the rails from poor design choices. Someone at Sony needed to slap Yamauchi instead of letting his vision ruin the series. I put hundreds of hours into GT -> GT4. GT5 totally broke my will to play the game with a terrible UI (navigation, upgrading, entering races), ridiculous load times (for everything), and awkward combination of super high resolution cars mixed with PS2 car model trash.

They forgot that people might actually want to do something crazy like buy a Gran Turismo game and just hop into some cars and drive.
 
This is cool. Get free cars, from playing past versions of Forza.

Forza 5: Play Past Games, Get Free Cars

If you've played Forza Motorsport 2, Forza Motorsport 3, Forza Motorsport 4, or Forza Horizon on Xbox 360, you may be eligible for free, new cars when you start playing Forza Motorsport 5 on Xbox One.

Starting today, players can login to Forza Rewards and claim in-game credits based on their experience with the series. The tier level you're in is determined by numerous factors, including achievements earned, miles driven, and more. According to Microsoft, all rewards are stackable, "so if you are Tier 5, you get that level's rewards plus all the lower-tier cars and credit bonuses."

Full IGN article w/ Breakdown of the free cars
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I have the original Forza (which isn't included), and then the third one. I'll have to log in and see where I'm at.

EDIT: I just checked and I'm at Tier 3.
 
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Jerome36 said:
This is cool. Get free cars, from playing past versions of Forza.



I have the original Forza (which isn't included), and then the third one. I'll have to log in and see where I'm at.

EDIT: I just checked and I'm at Tier 3.
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Yeah I'm tier 3 as well, 147 away from Tier 4, I need to go back and get some more points before the 22nd.

It's weird, I have almost all the achievements in 3, but it shows me having no vehicles owned, no driver level and no miles driven...
 
zamardii said:
I've been playing Gran Turismo since I was 16 (GT released on PS in '97), and with the exception of GT3 the subtitle for every GT ever released gave away what it was. I don't know how old you are or how many GT games you've played, but there's not been any confusion about this before. GT is not your typical racing game. The feel between GT and Forza is like talking about the difference between playing Half Life 2 and Bioshock or Dishonored and Metro 2030. Same genre of game but totally different feels and gameplay. GT has been the king since the beginning for simulations. It doesn't matter what your thoughts are on the matter; GT has always been the go-to for simulation car driving. Forza is great as well as others, but ask people who have played GT first then played Forza which they prefer as far as realism goes, the majority would say GT.

Then again, I could be completely wrong about this. I just never thought there was any confusion as to what GT has and always will be. And just to illustrate my point about OP not knowing that GT was always a simulation and "not a racing game," so I posted every cover to clear up the confusion. Also, to say GT isn't a racing game is like saying Fallout 3 isn't a FPS game but a RPG. GT has always been a simulation game first, and a racing game second.
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Game should have been called GT The Never Ending Menu Simulator.

I've had every iteration of GT as well and even psp (downloaded for free), but after playing FM4. Shit isnt even close, if you consider yourself a car fanatic and love racing, Forza is the game to get.
Only thing missing is a true wheel/clutch/h-pattern shifter attachment. Hopefully that changes.
Was driving around in a stock F50 the other day.. wow that car sounds like sex!
 
The scope of GT 5 was too big. They wanted to add too many cars and that left them with releasing a half-finished game. GT 6 is basically going to be what GT 5 was supposed to be, and that's if they have actually finished modeling all of the cars.
 
Forza is the reason I'm picking up the XBone as well.

I'm pretty much done with the GT series. I was a huge fan of GT 1 and 2, really for creating the idea that a console racing game didn't need to be arcady and could have a huge scope. But since then they've completely lost track of the fact that these are still supposed to be games. The PSP version is the most egregious... there is straight up no game there... there are the bones of something amazing, but there is nothing there... just pick a car and a track and race 3 other cars... with some cars all your opponents will always be the same car. No career, no tuning, and cars for sale that would take 500 victories just to purchase. GT5 suffers from some of the same issues, while the tuning is back, the amount of cosmetic choices to alter your cars are almost non existent compared to Forza. All the while Forza lets you do some fun things like take really old cars and do drivetrain swaps, build yourself a modern restomod. Then spend the next 20 hours building an amazingly detailed custom paint for it. As a fan of classic cars, the Forza car library is also far more diverse. While it might not have the pure number of cars as GT5 list, for the most part the classic models and the top of the line of each manufacturer are there, and they've been listening to the community in terms of the monthly packs.

And then there is B Spec... when you get to have the fun of watching the computer race your car in real time, all the while having to babysit and tell it to drive more or less aggressively every 30. seconds... Did I mention that there are as many races in the B Spec career as there are the in the career where you drive yourself.

Also... soft Jazz.
 
What pisses me off the most about these awesome racing games is that you are pretty limited on what racing wheels you can use. I love GT and forza, but I don't like being locked in to a small set of controllers MS will allow me to use. It seems to me that half the equation of building an awesome racing simulator is the peripherals. Damn I wish both of these would come to PC.:(
 
chimera996 said:
Game should have been called GT The Never Ending Menu Simulator.
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No kidding, I was so excited about GT5 thinking that with the long delay and PS3 launch they would really ramp up the game, but what they ramped up was the amount of time you spend in Menus and doing everything BUT driving the cars. It is ridiculous. Had to buy an SSD to make it even remotely playable and even that couldn't help it. The failure that is GT5 is probably one of the main reasons I am considering the XBONE and moving to the Forza series.
 
Trust me, I bought a ps3 JUST for the next installment of GT (which was GT5). What a huge let down. And I spent $750 @ best buy (console was $600, 2-year warranty was $150).

The car library that Forza has is something to behold, and each iteration gets better and better. I love the fact that I can drive a Porsche or all those other super car makes that aren't in GT.
Its going to remain that way too for GT6/7/8, all the same shit, same econobox Japanese cars. I mean we get it, people own these cars and want to see what they can do modded. But there has to be a line crossed when you don't put more desirable cars in the game (in place of a prius premium car). They left a MKIV Supra standard and made a prius premium?? WHAT THE FUCK?!
Also they haven't added any new Mustang's since 2008 :(.
 
chimera996 said:
Trust me, I bought a ps3 JUST for the next installment of GT (which was GT5). What a huge let down. And I spent $750 @ best buy (console was $600, 2-year warranty was $150).

The car library that Forza has is something to behold, and each iteration gets better and better. I love the fact that I can drive a Porsche or all those other super car makes that aren't in GT.
Its going to remain that way too for GT6/7/8, all the same shit, same econobox Japanese cars. I mean we get it, people own these cars and want to see what they can do modded. But there has to be a line crossed when you don't put more desirable cars in the game (in place of a prius premium car). They left a MKIV Supra standard and made a prius premium?? WHAT THE FUCK?!
Also they haven't added any new Mustang's since 2008 :(.
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Yeah, I liked the fact that I could drive my car in GT5, but then again, I had far more fun driving my car for real rather than driving the "upgraded" version in the game.
 
ServerKing said:
Just give me project gotham racing back.
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They tried to shop the game to publishers (different name and such) but never got any interest. Its so sad that that entire studio is completely fragmented now. I fucking LOVED PGR , I really wish Microsoft had the ability to bring back that team and give them something like the Xbox One to program on. I can only imagine how fun that game would be.
 
Gran Turismo 6 will feature 36 unique track locations that have been confirmed. 1200 cars, a new flexible rendering engine that features adaptive tessellation, and a redesigned simpler menu interface with faster loading times.

- Course Maker: Create and customize your own race circuit on world renowned locations spanning several tens of square kilometers

http://www.gtplanet.net/newegg-offers-10-discount-on-gt6-pre-orders/

Forza 5 should be nice too, but I already have a PS3. I'll watch some LP before I pass judgement on FOrza 5.
 
Anyone know yet about HID USB compatibility with the Xbone? I have both ps4/xbone preordered but i refuse to play racing games w/o a wheel, so hoping the g25/27 will work on the xbone like it has on the ps3/ps4.
 
ND40oz said:
Yeah I'm tier 3 as well, 147 away from Tier 4, I need to go back and get some more points before the 22nd.

It's weird, I have almost all the achievements in 3, but it shows me having no vehicles owned, no driver level and no miles driven...
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tier 4, and 1800 away form tier 5, guess passing on horizon is going to cost me :( FM 3/4 are solid, FM2 score is low, which is weird because I played that one through, started over and played it half way through a second time. oh well not like I am going to get an XBOne on release anyways. pre-order the Limited Edition however, so when I do, I get all the cool stuffs again.
 
4saken said:
Anyone know yet about HID USB compatibility with the Xbone? I have both ps4/xbone preordered but i refuse to play racing games w/o a wheel, so hoping the g25/27 will work on the xbone like it has on the ps3/ps4.
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The xbox in general isn't good about peripherals not specific to that platform. They aren't even supporting the 360 wheel. I think it's safe to say there is no chance that the G27 will work on X1.

That said, they did put out a video not to long ago showcasing two wheels which will be coming out X1, and both looked decent. One was fully modular (you could replace just the wheel so you could have multiple styles for different racing games). Neither of them appeared to have a H shifter or clutch pedal though (but maybe that will come later?)
 
Nimisys said:
tier 4, and 1800 away form tier 5, guess passing on horizon is going to cost me :( FM 3/4 are solid, FM2 score is low, which is weird because I played that one through, started over and played it half way through a second time. oh well not like I am going to get an XBOne on release anyways. pre-order the Limited Edition however, so when I do, I get all the cool stuffs again.
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I went back and played Forza 3 yesterday and today it updated my stats. I'm 1700 away from tier 5 now, trying to put in some time on Horizon to get even closer. Looks like you'll get extra in game credits for whatever tier you are this month. Horizon is $15 now, it's actually pretty fun and according to the site I only played it for 10 days and managed to get 600 out of the 2000 rewards points so far, not bad. If you collect the rewards each month, by the time you get Forza 5 you should be sitting on some good stuff.
 
Viper87227 said:
The xbox in general isn't good about peripherals not specific to that platform. They aren't even supporting the 360 wheel. I think it's safe to say there is no chance that the G27 will work on X1.

That said, they did put out a video not to long ago showcasing two wheels which will be coming out X1, and both looked decent. One was fully modular (you could replace just the wheel so you could have multiple styles for different racing games). Neither of them appeared to have a H shifter or clutch pedal though (but maybe that will come later?)
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If it doesn't support the existing 900 degree logitech wheels, it'll be a no-sale for me. The first Forza was the game that primarily got me in to racing sims, bought the crappy overpriced Fanatec wheel to play it. Since then I've bought a ~$400 wheel, I have no intention of buying another one to play 1 or 2 racing sims that come out on xbox.
 
Well, Forza will bring new cars alright... to the tune of 50$ the DLC, it will be 10 cars on november, 10 on jan, feb and march for a total of 40** extra cars.

So, Forza full cost is atm @ 110$ and counting, as the tracks DLC hasn't been announced cost wise.

Also yeah, so far, no support for old peripherals have been announced.

edit to correct:

** the announcement was wrong, it seems that it will be 60 cars, not 40.
 
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Revdarian said:
Well, Forza will bring new cars alright... to the tune of 50$ the DLC, it will be 10 cars on november, 10 on jan, feb and march for a total of 40** extra cars.

So, Forza full cost is atm @ 110$ and counting, as the tracks DLC hasn't been announced cost wise.

Also yeah, so far, no support for old peripherals have been announced.

edit to correct:

** the announcement was wrong, it seems that it will be 60 cars, not 40.
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Nothing changed from previous Forza titles. Personally I've always enjoyed the trickle of DLC (especially when they include newly announced cars). If you don't want DLC, don't buy it. The only bummer (and it's a bigf f%&*ing bummer) is that Suzuka and the Nordschleife aren't included in the game.
 
Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.

Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.

The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.

Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.

Forza 5 will run in 1080p at 60 frames-per-second, Microsoft confirmed earlier this year. Last year's Forza Horizon also had a $50 DLC pass.
 
Angelus897 said:
Nothing changed from previous Forza titles. Personally I've always enjoyed the trickle of DLC (especially when they include newly announced cars). If you don't want DLC, don't buy it. The only bummer (and it's a bigf f%&*ing bummer) is that Suzuka and the Nordschleife aren't included in the game.
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The difference is that this Forza has less tracks and less cars than past ones, and what most consider the most desirable car, LaFerrari, was removed from the game to be offered as Day1 DLC.
 
Revdarian said:
The difference is that this Forza has less tracks and less cars than past ones, and what most consider the most desirable car, LaFerrari, was removed from the game to be offered as Day1 DLC.
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First, I completely agree with you regarding LaFerrari. That's just a scumbag move. But the people who are complaining about "less cars, less tracks" either have a short memory or never went through a next-gen transition. Gran Turismo 2 had about 600 cars. Gran Turismo 3 had 150 cars. Higher detail = more time spent on making the model. Gran Turismo 4 had more than 600 cars. Gran Turismo 5? Less than 250 (I'm sorry, those GT4 "Standard" models don't count).
 
I am not defending GT mind you :p heck i never mentioned it, my point was in regards to the Forza series.
 
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