MasterMongoose
Member
First of all, GT6 is at 4.71 million now, so it's surpassed FM4. And GT6 was in the weird position where the PS4 had come out a month before it did and there were rumors going around about a possible port which led to people skipping it (including myself)
Furthermore, current gen Forza also has the factors of the Xbox One not being terribly popular outside the US (where a big chunk of the market lies for these games), mix that with there being more competition, and there being minimal improvements with each iteration, consistently getting criticized for still not implementing stuff GT5 had did (which now GT Sport is getting criticized for as well). And you get why Forza sales have dipped greatly.
I have no doubt in my mind that GT Sport is going to sell poorly compared to past GTs, but it isn't going to be because the market isn't there anymore or that's the trend, it'll be because of the cutbacks they have done, the shift in focus, plus there being more competition.
But these games have not meaningfully changed since what? GT3? FM3 with rewinds and helping "casuals?"
Do you really think the market for "Drive an old muscle car, drive a hot hatch, drive a older sports car, drive a newer sports car, drive a supercar, drive a hyper car, drive an F1/Indy/etc" campaign is really the same as its always been? I love these games and have done exactly that for FM3, FM4, FM5, FM6 and GT6 and even then I'm getting burned out. I'd rather just lap Laguna Seca in a single car and chase lap times these days and tune and tune and tune.
I think the market has moved on or it's too expensive for the Polyphony guys to even make that kind of game anymore without either huge microtransactions or something. Forza being every other year has left GT in a place where it feels incredibly antiquated to the average consumer.