The biggest problem with Gran Turismo 7 isn’t its servers anymore. Recent changes to the game have heavily nerfed payouts for several races, and players aren’t happy about it. The game already heavily encouraged microtransactions before patch 1.07 with things like roulette spins for invitations to buy certain high-end cars. Today, series creator and GT7 director Kazunori Yamauchi directly addressed fan sentiment in a blog post that seemed dismissive of their concerns.
What are the problems with Gran Turismo 7?
High car prices and low payouts are the primary issues players have with Gran Turismo 7. The game has microtransactions, and players perceive the game’s economy is steering them toward them. Some cars that could be purchased for $4.99 in Gran Turismo Sport now cost $40 worth of credits in GT7. Some of these cars only give players an invitation to buy them that lasts for a limited time, tapping directly into FOMO.
In the blog post, after addressing the recent server outage, Yamauchi states:
“Also in this update, some event rewards have been adjusted. I wanted to also explain the reasons for it and our plans going forward.
In GT7 I would like to have users enjoy lots of cars and races even without microtransactions.
At the same time the pricing of cars is an important element that conveys their value and rarity, so I do think it’s important for it to be linked with the real world prices.
I want to make GT7 a game in which you can enjoy a variety of cars lots of different ways, and if possible would like to try to avoid a situation where a player must mechanically keep replaying certain events over and over again.
We will in time let you know the update plans for additional content, additional race events and additional features that will constructively resolve this.
It pains me that I can’t explain the details regarding this at this moment, but we plan on continuing to revise GT7 so that as many players as possible can enjoy the game.
We would really appreciate it if everyone could watch over the growth of Gran Turismo 7 from a somewhat longer term point of view.”
So, the reasoning behind nerfing races is to avoid a situation where a player will use them to grind for credits. He also believes that the pricing of cars should be linked to real-world prices to “convey their value and rarity.” That’s all well and good when the game doesn’t expect you to throw down real money to buy them.
In other news, the Resident Evil Netflix series got a release date, and Hogwarts Legacy is confirmed to not have microtransactions.
