Why PC has never had a racing game even close to Gran Turismo or Forza?

[futurefields]

Why is this?

There is nothing on PC even close to these games. Is it just too expensive for a pc-centric company to do this type of game with 500 licensed cars realistically modeled?

 

[Anteaus]

I don't think the demand was really there, although that may be changing. The PC has always had access to arguably more accurate racing sims. Forza and GT fall into the "if it feels real, it must be real" category in spite of the fact that the race physics are quite dumb compared to PC-centric race sims such as Race 07 just to name one. In racing, many gamers equate difficulty with realism which is silly.

I think what you are asking for is all the fluff that comes with games like Forza and GT that is more about busy work and collecting than actual racing...like painting cars and showcases. While I think everyone would enjoy driving their favorite cars in these games, I've never bought into the aspect of having so many licensed cars because the list of cars that are actually competitive in most circumstances in game tends to be quite small.

With racing games, less is more when it comes to realism. We tend to see the most realistic modeling when the develop has few or one car type to replicate. 500 licensed cars means inflating the budget and diluting the time spent on each car. Forza might have fewer cars than GT, but they have a solid release every two years, GT has a much more sparse release pattern that has recently been plagued by underwhelming delivery. Whats the point of having 500 cars when only a fraction of them are modeled top to bottom, inside and out. Including hundreds of PS2/PS3 era "standard" cars and calling it good is hardly awe inspiring.

 

[Stringjam]

Why is this?

There is nothing on PC even close to these games. Is it just too expensive for a pc-centric company to do this type of game with 500 licensed cars realistically modeled?

I've played both games and I enjoy Project C.A.R.S. and Dirt Rally more than either.

The only problem with Project C.A.R.S., ironically enough, is a lack of cars.

 

[Mutilator]

Project CARS and Assetto Corsa come to mind.

 

[futurefields]

Really? How many cars do PC and AC have combined less than 1/3rd the cars of Forza, let's be serious it's no contest. And the business models of these games are nasty. You get little content with the base game and have to pay extra for the stuff you really want.

And

I'm not interested in the most accurate simulation. Like Forza I want 500+ photo realistically modeled cars I can tune paint upgrade and race.

 

[Subyman]

I think it has a lot to do with the console manufacturers needing a game that shows off the graphical abilities of their system and resonates with their demographic. Cars are an incredibly easy way to demonstrate graphics because they are relatively simply compared to natural things. The tracks are rather limiting so the developers can drizzle details over them without having to worry about a large game world chugging.

I'd think in the past the core demographic for consoles were boys and 20-35yo men, which are enamored by cars. Car racing brings with it a lot of energy that can be projected at large trade events as well. Shiny cars! Progressive guitar! Huge car count! All the tracks! It is easy to hype them up.

PC doesn't have a unified entity pushing sales of gaming components, so there isn't anyone there to invest in this same type of product. I think the true reason is all marketing.

 

[Raduque]

I'm not a big fan of super accurate simulation games either. Forza and Gran Turismo are just sim-y enough, but not like the old Papyrus NASCAR Racing games.

I like the tons of regular licensed cars (in GT4 I could drive my 88 Accord again, long after it had been totaled and sold for scrap, I just wish it had been a Premium car with a modeled interior) that I can modify, paint, race and collect. That's one of the appeals of these games for me. I'm pretty much completely uninterested in "supercars" and race cars as a whole, so games which feature these prominently or exclusively I pretty much ignore.

I would kill to have a next-gen full 60fps Grans Turismo/Forza-type title for the PC with licensed regular cars to collect and race with fully modeled interiors.

 

[DigDog]

standard control for PC is WASD. standard control for consoles is a controller, specifically the control stick; which is much closer to a steering wheel than WASD is. why are you surprised? racing games are the dominion of consoles, for this obvious reason. the same way i laugh at FPS console players, i would laugh at PC racing players.

 

[jlee]

standard control for PC is WASD. standard control for consoles is a controller, specifically the control stick; which is much closer to a steering wheel than WASD is. why are you surprised? racing games are the dominion of consoles, for this obvious reason. the same way i laugh at FPS console players, i would laugh at PC racing players.

Correct. Racing games are the dominion of consoles.

Racing simulations are what the PC has.

 

[y2kse]

And the business models of these games are nasty. You get little content with the base game and have to pay extra for the stuff you really want.

I'm not interested in the most accurate simulation. Like Forza I want 500+ photo realistically modeled cars I can tune paint upgrade and race.

There's lots of people like you. They don't want accurate physics, laser-scanned tracks, multiplayer matchmaking or very good AI. That doesn't mean that PC racing sims aren't better or worse than the console games and it doesn't make the business models nasty.

standard control for PC is WASD. standard control for consoles is a controller, specifically the control stick; which is much closer to a steering wheel than WASD is. why are you surprised? racing games are the dominion of consoles, for this obvious reason. the same way i laugh at FPS console players, i would laugh at PC racing players.

Anyone who has made more than a cursory try at PC racing sims are using wheel and pedal sets. No one uses keyboards and very few use game-console style controllers (they really are horrible for racing).

 

[futurefields]

I love racing games but would probably never buy a wheel. Never been quite that nerdy. If it doesn't play well on a gamepad it's a bad game. Wheels are prohibitive. Lol, like I'm going to have one of those on my desk. So much space taken up. Or what, take it down and set back up every time I want to play? Lol...

 

[balloonshark]

So you want super accurate looking cars but think using a wheel is nerdy. It doesn't sound like you really like racing or sims.

 

[Subyman]

So you want super accurate looking cars but think using a wheel is nerdy. It doesn't sound like you really like racing or sims.

I agree. If you are worried about looking like a nerd alone in front of your gaming PC then I think you've got some introspection to do lol. I bought a G27 years ago and I have it on a wheel stand pro that I flip down and shove in the closet when I'm done. Takes about 1 min to set up.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Gran Turismo was created by a Sony owned company, so it wasn't going to be on anything but Playstation. And Forza was created to be a direct competitor by Microsoft, to give it a competing "feature" for the Xbox. Both series cost a lot of money to make, money and resources that 3rd party publishers just aren't willing to shell out to match unless they can carve out a niche (like rally games), since they just plain can't really compete against those two juggernauts, especially since so much development is focused on consoles. If people want those experiences then they likely are going to be buying consoles.

 

[JeffMD]

Its all nice that the console racers are running just tons and tons of cars, its easy to do that when the only control scheme you have to program for them is for a game pad. Hardly a simulation. I would much rather have a racing game that brought me closer to feeling like I am racing in one car, rather then "kinda" feel like I am racing 500 of them.

 

[jlee]

Its all nice that the console racers are running just tons and tons of cars, its easy to do that when the only control scheme you have to program for them is for a game pad. Hardly a simulation. I would much rather have a racing game that brought me closer to feeling like I am racing in one car, rather then "kinda" feel like I am racing 500 of them.

Bingo.

 

[alcoholbob]

I assume sales is a primary reason. Sims don't sell that much, thus they are more likely to be found on consoles to maximize sales.

Late 90s/early 2000 used to be a golden age of PC combat flight sims, now there are none and only a few console arcadey types like Ace Combat 6/7, and even that won't show up on the PC since it's not worth it to port.

 

[Stringjam]

Late 90s/early 2000 used to be a golden age of PC combat flight sims, now there are none and only a few console arcadey types like Ace Combat 6/7, and even that won't show up on the PC since it's not worth it to port.

I believe DCS has a pretty decent following.

 

[futurefields]

I assume sales is a primary reason. Sims don't sell that much, thus they are more likely to be found on consoles to maximize sales.

Late 90s/early 2000 used to be a golden age of PC combat flight sims, now there are none and only a few console arcadey types like Ace Combat 6/7, and even that won't show up on the PC since it's not worth it to port.

You don't think Forza would sell well on PC?

 

[datalink7]

I love racing games but would probably never buy a wheel. Never been quite that nerdy. If it doesn't play well on a gamepad it's a bad game. Wheels are prohibitive. Lol, like I'm going to have one of those on my desk. So much space taken up. Or what, take it down and set back up every time I want to play? Lol...

Maybe you should hit the gym. Once you work up to 5 pound weights, this task won't seem so "prohibitive." Lol...

 

[Staples]

Keyboard and mice are the standard controllers for PC.

Not many people have analog controllers.

 

[Sulaco]

I assume sales is a primary reason. Sims don't sell that much, thus they are more likely to be found on consoles to maximize sales.

Late 90s/early 2000 used to be a golden age of PC combat flight sims, now there are none and only a few console arcadey types like Ace Combat 6/7, and even that won't show up on the PC since it's not worth it to port.

lol.

None? Really?

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/

http://il2sturmovik.com/

...and all those are just the sims. Not even counting the arcadey ones on PC like Wings of Prey and War Thunder.

 

[y2kse]

Not many people have analog controllers.

Sim-racers do.

 

[Stringjam]

Keyboard and mice are the standard controllers for PC.

Not many people have analog controllers.

I don't have a single PC gaming friend that doesn't have analog controllers of some sort. Whether it's just an XBox controller or a full-blown wheel and pedals setup.

Any PC gamer who actually gets into playing racing games is not going to do it on KB/M...not even for playing casual games like NFS.

 

[Caveman]

I believe DCS has a pretty decent following.

They do. And Battle of Stalingrad too though it is arguably less "hardcore" simulation than DCS...

BTW, both are highly recommended. Very well done and highly recommended.