GT5 Prologue scores third place in Japanese charts
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Dec 20th 2007 at 3:55PM }
Nintendo proved the overall wii-ner, with six first-party titles accounted for in the chart -- in fact, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was the only game not to be found on the Wii or DS. The two systems are expected to enjoy continued good fortune in the hardware sales chart due for release tomorrow.
Gallery: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rice @ Dec 20th 2007 4:00PM
I wonder if those are counting the PSN download version of the game, probably not. Either way, I'm enjoying GT5P a lot
VampireHunter Z @ Dec 20th 2007 4:15PM
@jitty
You can't drive away after crashing @150mph in Forza2. Even if the car still runs a turtle could beat you.
BPM - The 3rd Strike @ Dec 20th 2007 4:20PM
I'm pretty sure Media-Create only counts sales for physical games, not downloads.
I may be wrong, though.
Dan @ Dec 20th 2007 6:23PM
So you guys pay for demos... I'd rather pay $50 a year and have all my demos for free.
Dan @ Dec 20th 2007 6:23PM
So you guys pay for demos... I'd rather pay $50 a year and have all my demos for free.
Matt B @ Dec 20th 2007 7:24PM
I'd rather spend an initial extra $100 for the piece of mind in knowing my console wasn't going to die.
zuburi @ Dec 20th 2007 4:04PM
Hmm. I downloaded the demo (of the demo!) and I can't help but think that the Gran Turismo series has been left in the dust by Forza and PGR. Yeah, the graphics are nice, but now I'm used to cars getting damage that affects performace. For Gran Turismo to be called a "driving simulator," it's odd when I smash into a wall going 150+ and can just drive away with the car still as shiny as always.
Oh, and in-car view is awesome!
jitty @ Dec 20th 2007 4:10PM
Umm... PGR doesn't have any damage. And in Forza you can drive away after crashing at 150mph. But with dents in your car. (I think)You yourself said it was a demo, so it doesn't fully represent the final product. GT5 will probably have some form of damage. At least performance wise...
rice @ Dec 20th 2007 4:14PM
Exactly, it's a driving simulator, not a real life simulator meaning the purpose of the game is to drive the cars with their closest to reality handling, steering, etc along with it's engine noises and what not, aka emphasizing the test-drive of the cars.
zuburi @ Dec 20th 2007 4:22PM
PGR has visual damage, but nothing that causes the car to get undrivable.
If you smash your car into a wall in Forza, you'll be able to drive, but barely - since the transmission/engine gets wrecked. Haven't played it for a while, it may end the race.
Are you guys PS3-only owners or something? Something I like about having all three consoles is that it lets me be objective :p
Forza wins for customization/damage, PGR wins for sick weather effects, GT wins for graphics. Oh, and I'm really glad that there's an in-car view in GT now. Happy?
Noshino @ Dec 20th 2007 4:23PM
seriously, this is a load of crap...from both Forza fans and GT fans..
Forza fan: "Ha! GT doesn't have damage!"
GT fan: "Ha! but the damage seen if Forza is too fake!"
One doesn't do it because they want to be as realistic as possible, and the one that does it to please fans but isn't realistic enough...
bah, both should be burn, gimme my dosis of M&M Kart Racing, soon I ll be approaching sound barrier!
FidliousWong @ Dec 20th 2007 4:30PM
Actually, Noshino... here's the skinny.
GT series doesn't do it simply because, as they've stated before, until all the licenses allow them to do it, they won't. After all, how made would you be if you're racing online and everyone is picking the cars that cannot be damaged because Porsche isn't letting one of their car variants be shown damaged in a video game?
Forza 2 features zonal collisions. In other words, it's region based and not truly based on collisions. The impact zones generate the return on the visual adjustments. Sometimes it glitches. Other times it's fine. But it's never truly realistic damage.
Burnout, on the other hand, actually has a crumple system in play and you can watch that as collisions will tear away on locations on the car. Unfortunately, no company would license their cars out in such a way and Burnout still remains license free.
arrrgh @ Dec 20th 2007 4:50PM
TRUTH
Car damage in burnout AFFECTS AERODYNAMICS. So i guess burnout wins for all you damage obsessed kids ?
Rayonic @ Dec 20th 2007 5:08PM
Ever notice how the in-car screenshots are never as good as the other screenshots? Must be what it looks like when you're actually playing the game.
I can't go back to the GT series anyway. Forza's damage isn't perfectly 100% realistic, but at least they're trying. At least you can't slam into a wall and still win the race. And the PGR series has always been more of an arcade-y game, with the style points and what not.
The "it's-realistic-if-you-don't-touch-anything" argument is stupid beyond words. Why have collision at all then? Make it so you pass through cars, and walls teleport you back to the track. It'd be just as "realistic" by your standards.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Dec 20th 2007 8:55PM
PGR, you must be kidding me. PGR2 is a great racing game, but it has NOTHING on even GT4 in physics.
Forza has great physics, and Forza 2 has very good AI, far better than GT4.
But as to running into walls at 150mph and driving away, there's two solutions:
1. Don't run into walls at 150mph. No one is forcing you to ram into walls, so don't do it.
2. If you hit a wall at 150mph, forfeit/restart the race. This is what you'd do in Forza/Forza 2 also, since coming in last place doesn't gain you anything.
People are making a mountain out of a molehill. If you drive correctly, damage just doesn't even come into play. And if you want to break a simulation by driving like an ass, you can do it, even in Forza.
Besides, with as crappy as the AI is in GT4, if it broke your car when the AI rammed you on a straight, you'd be pissed.
Phi Nguyen @ Dec 20th 2007 10:03PM
I hope that Polyphony Digital gets back on track with GT5. As much I liked the Gran Turismo series, it really got out of hand in GT4 with the bajillion car models that it had (I mean, did anyone really enjoy the car races with the cheapo 3-cylinder cars or the crappy handling vintage cars? Please just give me the cars that I can't afford to drive in real life.) Plus, the AI was so dumb. I used to let them just rear end me instead of letting them pass. Also, the races never took much skill. All I would have to do is soup up my car so that it was fastest in the race, cut all the others cars off in the first or second corner and just cruise for the rest of the race. I know I can't be the only one who did that, as cheap as that tactic was. I've only played the Forza 1 demo once on the original Xbox, but it seemed to address many of my problems I have with Gran Turismo. Too bad I don't have an Xbox 360 yet(waiting for a Falcon as I'm too afraid of RROD.) If the reviews say that GT5 is a lot better than GT4, I might buy a PS3 as well (seeing as how GT5, MG4, and FF13 are the only games that I would buy it for).
Mez Jr @ Dec 20th 2007 10:52PM
the point of the damage in my opinion is to punish bad driving, and force you to drive clean. GT has never done this.
One of the classic GT moves is "bump steering", taking a corner too hot with a car in front of you then slamming into them to both push them out of the way and to gain position. Forza does not allow this, it punishes bad driving, and in fact rewards you for making the damage more sensitive.
Another way Forza rewards you setting up the game realistically is by increasing the amount of cash you get for the race by making the game more realistic, turning off traction control, yaw control and abs. In GT all cars had all those things even if they did not in real life.
GT is good but in terms of driving I believe Forza is better.
The only thing I prefer about GT is the license system which allows the game to be much less linear.
FidliousWong @ Dec 21st 2007 9:20AM
Umm, Mez Jr,
Bump Steering still works in Forza. I use it all the time. And before you tell me I should "drive clean," I have NEVER driven a race where the AI doesn't skim my side and cause damage. If you T-Bone the other car, you lose control and damage the hell out of your car. But if you skid into their side, the impact stabilizes you, sends them off, and you only get docked a small percentage for the damage on your car.
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Dec 21st 2007 11:23AM
Yes, I like the kinds of races in GT4 where you had to drive non-sports cars. It's also why I think PGR2 is the best non-sim street racer ever made. Because PGR2 had car classes and made you learn them all to do well. TOCA 2 and 3 also do this.
PGR3, 4 and GT3 didn't do this, and I didn't like them as much because of it.
phihexy27 @ Dec 23rd 2007 11:28PM
"Forza wins for customization/damage, PGR wins for sick weather effects, GT wins for graphics. Oh, and I'm really glad that there's an in-car view in GT now. Happy?"
@zuburi
What about physics? I think that it goes to GT hands down, and when I am playing a simulation racing game that to me is the most important aspect.
Noshino @ Dec 20th 2007 4:10PM
not a fan of driving sims, but hey...
Gran Turismo 10.85m
Gran Turismo 2 9.37m
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec 14.87m
Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo 1.56m
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue 1.36m
Gran Turismo 4 8.79m
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue 0.10m
They know the game sells....so it's not surprising that it has sold that much thus far...
Meh, although I don't like it, it is a fact that this title will push consoles...sigh
Mr Khan @ Dec 20th 2007 4:30PM
I don't know if Gran Turismo pushes consoles, or if people who buy PlayStation get Gran Turismo
I've never quite seen the "zomg must-have" kind of fervor surrounding GT, but GT has been the top-selling franchise on both PlayStations so far
maverick_saturn_626 @ Dec 20th 2007 4:49PM
Guess you just need to know the right people, car nerds in my area are absolutely crazy about this series. They even feel the need to boast when they have accomplished something. If it didn't have the ZOMG factor, it would be one of the best selling series on the market, only surpassed by the likes of Mario, Sims and other popular titles.
I doubt you know what your talking about -_-
Jerk Face @ Dec 20th 2007 5:47PM
Honestly? I am totally that car guy who is also a video game guy and who HATES that he wants this game badly enough to consider getting a PS-god damned-3.
*sigh*
Matt B @ Dec 20th 2007 7:26PM
Do it J-Face!
3cubed minus 3squared plus1 @ Dec 20th 2007 8:15PM
I am also considering a PS3 for this game, Jerk Face.
I liked Forza 2, but its not Gran Turismo and I'm pretty sure it will never be.
PhrawzT @ Dec 20th 2007 4:18PM
I've never been a big fan of the GT series, but this does look interesting.
Mario Party DS is damned addictive.
rjg @ Dec 20th 2007 4:20PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again. No driving game is realistic, even so called driving sims (GT series, Forza, etc).
I highly recommend you take your car out on a local race track for an open track day. It will change your perspective on these games forever.
I love great driving games, Forza2, PGR, Test Drive Unlimited, GT Series, etc. Great fun. But I never confuse them for simulators because they are not.
It will be a long time before a sim captures the experience of rocking down a straightaway going 120 into a long sweeper and losing it. Trust me, no game captures that terror/excitement/pants wetting experience. ;)
rice @ Dec 20th 2007 4:23PM
That's an obvious answer....cause you're only playing it through a TV and you're not in the car...SIMS will always just be that, SIMS
arrrgh @ Dec 20th 2007 4:54PM
It's not just that.
and honestly it's not because the systems cant handle simulating many of the effects of actually hitting a race circuit. It's the simple fact that the CONSUMER cannot handle driving under those conditions. The average consumer would annihilate their car if they took it out on a track. Game makers don't want to make a "real" auto sim because no one would buy it save a few thousand guys who really know how to race....and they'd probably be too busy to bother with a game as such
NATO_Duke @ Dec 20th 2007 5:14PM
Would you be the same guy that tells people they should get a real guitar when talking about GH? You sound like em.
phihexy27 @ Dec 24th 2007 8:06PM
"I love great driving games, Forza2, PGR, Test Drive Unlimited, GT Series, etc. Great fun. But I never confuse them for simulators because they are not.
It will be a long time before a sim captures the experience of rocking down a straightaway going 120 into a long sweeper and losing it. Trust me, no game captures that terror/excitement/pants wetting experience. ;)"
@rjp
The ironic thing is that you say these games are not simulators and then in the next paragraph you refer to them as sims. If they are not a simulation than what is? Most of the people who play and enjoy these type of games would either:
a.) do not wish to participate in the real life thing.
b.) do not have the money to participate in the real life thing.
or
c.) play these games in addition to participating in the real life thing.
I may enjoy playing playing Call of Duty, but I do not want to shoot people in real life.
zuburi @ Dec 20th 2007 4:23PM
And playing real guitar is more fun than guitar hero, playing real drums is more fun than rock band, playing real football is more fun than madden, shooting real guns is more fun than CoD4. :p
Noshino @ Dec 20th 2007 4:26PM
...and who said Madden was fun to begin with?....
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Dec 20th 2007 5:02PM
real sex is more fun than hot coffee
Jerk Face @ Dec 20th 2007 5:50PM
Beating up real hobos is more fun than playing Monster Hunter.
ThornedVenom @ Dec 20th 2007 6:22PM
Real animal mistreatment is more fun than Pokemon.
rjg @ Dec 20th 2007 4:27PM
Maybe so but race sim fans love to think they are really experiencing what autoracing is from the comfort of their living room. That isn't the case with Madden or NHL 2k7 fans. For some reason race games are often considered real sims (perhaps the makers foster this illusion?).
Point being, if you are really into this type of game you owe it to yourself to try the real thing.
FidliousWong @ Dec 20th 2007 4:34PM
So if we enjoy the occasional racing game.... we owe it to ourselves to drop $200K randomly on a sports car, enter street races or circuit races, and put that $200K investment at constant risk right along with our lives...
...You sell Ferrari's... don't you? You're just here pissing on video games in a lame attempt that someone here will be stupid enough to take your advice. Sorry, no Gizmondo execs here.
Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 20th 2007 5:34PM
Dude... most of us own cars and many of our cars ARE in games like Forza and GT even if they aren't a $100K Porsche. We know the difference even if we aren't taking our cars onto a track. I'm not sure why you harp on this so much.
Mr Khan @ Dec 20th 2007 4:32PM
Looks like all of the sweet time Polyphony took is actually worth something
The real deal will be a big deal for the PS3 in 2008, probably as big a talking point as MGS4
digitaldisco @ Dec 20th 2007 4:34PM
So let me get this right. An extended demo of a game that won't come out for at least another year tops the charts and is the most anticipated PS3 game? Boy oh boy, does Sony have problems.
FidliousWong @ Dec 20th 2007 4:35PM
Prologue releases have always been hot shit. At least in Japan.
rjg @ Dec 20th 2007 4:42PM
You got that right brother... crazy isn't it?
Nate @ Dec 20th 2007 4:44PM
In Japan, GT is huge. In Japan, the 360 is crap. What's your point?
digitaldisco @ Dec 20th 2007 10:03PM
my point is that if they're trying to bring this marketing style to the US it shows a complete lack of understanding of non-Japanese markets. Sure Gt is awesome, but the series continues to be nothing more than a refinement of a Playstation franchise i.e. better graphics, control and physics. whoopee freakin' do!
cold school @ Dec 20th 2007 4:48PM
TOCA > GT, Forza, PGR.
as for the sales chart; the japanese wouldnt know a good game if it punched them in the face.
rice @ Dec 20th 2007 4:59PM
"TOCA > GT, Forza, PGR.
as for the sales chart; the japanese wouldnt know a good game if it punched them in the face."
What does being Japanese or not have to do with this, it's matter of your own opinion and also cultural differences. I personally enjoy GT more, so does that alienate me as being japanese now?
Mr Khan @ Dec 20th 2007 5:04PM
And they call the Japanese xenophobic...
maverick_saturn_626 @ Dec 20th 2007 5:06PM
What have people here got against the Japanese? Just because they don't buy mindless shooters they get slagged off. Have people no rights anymore?