The GHZ Forum

<a href="http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153775">Because that's exactly what you're doing with <i>Gran Turismo HD</i>.</a>

A quick sum up, here.

• Two versions; one gypped version with only 30 cars and two tracks, and a REALLY gypped version with <i>menus</i> and that's it.
• Extra cars, or in the case of the latter version, ANY cars, must be purchased separately for Â¥50-100 ($0.43-$0.85, or if we round up, $0.50-$1.00).
• Extra tracks, or in the case of the latter version, ANY tracks, must be purchased separately for Â¥200-500 ($1.71-$4.26, or as 1Up predicts, most akin to $1.50-$4.50).
• 750 cars downloadable, and 50 tracks. For completists, that's practically the price of the non-gypped PS3, just for the one game. For non-completists, I'd assume that's significantly less.

Frankly, I dunno what to think. I'd rather have a complete game with the cars I'd never use for the same price as a normal game, rather than have to pay extra to play pretty much anything. That can get way outta hand, and fast, if I begin to get a craving for more and more tracks. Still, I'm not getting a PS3, so this doesn't really impact me in any way, until the other companies try to replicate this practice.

So if you just buy cars and tracks online, what... what do you do in the game? The entire GT structure is that you race to earn credits for additional cars which you use to access additional tracks which you ultimately use to earn credits for more cars. If you can just buy all the features outright by mailing Sony a couple of Ben Franklins, exactly what are your goals while actually playing the game?

What does Sony care as long as you give them money?

Online races, I'd wager.

To be Sony's bitch.

Watch out Romero, you're being one upped by Kutaragi!

Microtransactions--paving the way for the future of gaming!

meh...

I blame MMORPGs. Their damn subscription service has paved the way to screw people out of their money by making them pay to use something they've already bought. It's pretty slick, but now the rest of the industry is catching on.

Oh, golly. Is Gran Turismo the one with rubberband AI? Or is it the one with drifting? Or is it the one that makes you complete mundane tasks for licenses? Or is it that one that makes you slightly hold your stick to the right as you plod along a generic looking strip of pavement?

Racing games. Bah. If you can't shoot people off track it's not even worth playing.