Gran Turismo released a couple of weeks ago to very favorable reviews but since then, it has faced a lot of criticism for an extended outage and poor in-game economy design. Thankfully, Polyphony Digital President Kazunori Yamauchi has offered a formal update for players.
The update was provided via PlayStation Blog this morning and provides details on compensation for players along with a high-level overview of changes to come. Here are the details:
Thank you for your continued support and feedback on Gran Turismo 7, your voices have not gone unheard. I would like to apologize for the frustration and confusion caused last week with our patch updates which resulted in, not only a server outage but also adjustments to the in-game economy which were made without a clear explanation to our community.
We know that this is not the Gran Turismo experience you expect and we will be making a goodwill gesture in the form of a non-paid credit pack of 1 million Cr. available to those players who may have been affected*. You will see this hit your accounts shortly. Make sure you log into the game before April 25 to claim the credits.
The patch update previously deployed was intended to rectify an issue with inconsistent reward payouts within a part of the World Circuit Events. But, to re-establish the intended equilibrium and provide more accurate rewards based on time investment and completion, it was necessary to recalculate the rewards system as a whole.
To improve the player experience, we will be rolling out a considerable patch in the beginning of April. The number of events will be increased, and we will reestablish the reward system with greater balance throughout the game to benefit all players.
Updates which will come into effect beginning of April:
- Increase rewards in the events in the latter half of the World Circuits by approximately 100% on average.
- Addition of high rewards for clearing the Circuit Experience in all Gold/All Bronze results.
- Increase of rewards in Online Races.
- Include a total of eight new one-hour Endurance Race events to Missions. These will also have higher reward settings.
- Increase the upper limit of non-paid credits in player wallets from 20M Cr. to 100M Cr.
- Increase the quantity of Used and Legend cars on offer at any given time.
Finally, we also want to take the opportunity to lay out some of the near-term updates we are working on. We can’t confirm an exact date or specifics yet, but will give advance notice via www.gran-turismo.com.
- Increase the payout value of limited time rewards as we develop as a live service.
- Further World Circuit event additions.
- Addition of Endurance Races to Missions including 24-hour races.
- Addition of Online Time Trials and awarding of rewards according to the player’s difference with the top ranked time.
- Make it so cars can be sold.
Our Take
This is a very good step in the right direction and needed for the game. While GT7 features some excellent design, events, and racing, the current issues are absolutely plaguing it. Stay tuned for further thoughts on Gran Turismo 7 as a whole from Ainsley Bowden soon!