Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Forza Horizon only exists because Xbox turned down a Project Gotham Racing reboot | VGC

The Forza Horizon series was originally pitched as a reboot of the Project Gotham Racing series.

www.videogameschronicle.com

In a new interview with GQ, Playground Games studio head Trevor Williams recalled pitching a PGR reboot to Dan Greenawalt, Forza’s General Manager and Alan Hartman, Forza’s corporate vice president.

Williams recalled that Greenawalt and Hartman weren’t interested in reviving the series, but the meeting was salvaged by a last-minute change of plans.

“It was one of those stories where the steak turns to ash in your mouth, and I’m thinking, ‘how do we afford the flights home?’,” Williams said.

“After five minutes, Alan was like, ‘What would you do with Forza? Where would you take Forza?’ And we pitched what literally became Horizon, almost on a napkin.”

As a result of the meeting, the Forza franchise would essentially split into two separate series, Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon.

 

[Boss Mog]

That kinda sucks, PGR was better than Forza Horizon in my opinion.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

PGR4 was excellent. Forza Horizon 3 was godlike. It was worth it.

 

[mansoor1980]

of course they would expand their own franchise rather than PGR , also Dan greenwalt has his head up his arse , like kaz yamauchi

 

[01011001]

of course they would expand their own franchise rather than PGR , also Dan greenwalt has his head really up his arse , like kaz yamauchi

???? PGR is also their own franchise, and they released 4 games in that series...

the issue is, where do you take PGR. which direction? because a strictly track based racing game already exists in their lineup.

so going the Forza Horizon router made way more sense. it still also has some of PGRs elements like the more arcadey feel and something similar to the Kudos system

 

[Leyasu]

It is what it is. Forza horizon is an outstanding series and one which I have had more fun with than pgr.

 

[sCHOCOLATE]

???? PGR is also their own franchise, and they released 4 games in that series...

the issue is, where do you take PGR. which direction? because a strictly track based racing game already exists in their lineup.

so going the Forza Horizon router made way more sense. it still also has some of PGRs elements like the more arcadey feel and something similar to the Kudos system

I'd argue that the defining concept behind Metropolis Street Racer (MSR) and the Project Gotham Racing (PGR) series, that being motorsport on circuit layouts exclusively in city centres, was distinct enough that the series could have prevailed.

Turn 10 and Playground Games wanted to avoid cannibalizing sales from FM and FH, but those games are different animals.

Where would you take PGR? The same place they've taken FM, FH and GT.

Further.

 

[DeepEnigma]

That kinda sucks, PGR was better than Forza Horizon in my opinion.

Agreed. Loved me some PGR. The open world with 4 inch ground clearance supercars running a gamut off-roading, while I am sure is a good game, just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[ManaByte]

Farther.

 

[Darsxx82]

I love both FH and PGR equally. But if you ask me what would make me more excited if it were announced and what would cause an earthquake of attention ....... A PGR5 per PG would be a bombshell.

I certainly wouldn't regret an FH6 in Japan and only NextGen LOL , but a PGR 5 with the graphic level that PG is capable of, closed cities and routes, motorcycles... I think it's time.

 

[RoboFu]

PGR was awesome but is more like an arcadey FMS. which I would have loved but i can see why they would turn it down.

 

[Sanepar]

They could co exist? I would die for a new pgr, with tracks, no open world and gymkana, pure race.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

What is this PGR game? Has anything to do with Batman?

 

[Iced Arcade]

What is this PGR game? Has anything to do with Batman?

Stealth batman game where he hides in cars and races for clues. Just the gamer never knows

 

[SportsFan581]

I spend a lot more time in Horizon than Forza, glad they made the call. Now we need a Forza with crazy power-ups, wipeouts, etc.

Flatout Forza.

 

[ShirAhava]

As someone who loved PGR and barely even likes FH this kinda really pisses me off....

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I guess in hindsight they made the right choice; Forza Horizon's reached heights the PGR games never did. At the same time, the PGR series was pretty cool. It's not really a net loss though; they could always bring back modes and game mechanics from the PGR games into future Forza Horizon ones. In fact it would be pretty cool if they did so.

I spend a lot more time in Horizon than Forza, glad they made the call. Now we need a Forza with crazy power-ups, wipeouts, etc.

Flatout Forza.

TBH they should've had Playground do a futuristic Wipeout/F-Zero type of open-world racing game. There's literally nothing like that in the market, it'd be wholly unique, and pretty close to their wheelhouse in terms of expertise. I'm surprised they are on Fable instead of something like that.

 

[N0S]

So? That pitch was over ten years ago and we got some great games out of it. But I wouldn't mind an oldskool track racer about now.

 

[Riky]

A PGR expansion pack for FH5 would be incredible.

 

[SlimySnake]

If only Sony let GG name DriveClub, Gran Turismo DriveClub, im convinced the series would be almost as popular as Forza Horizon. DC already has a cult following and it never really got the 3-4 games it took Horizon to truly take off.

Easily the best decision MS management has made in over a decade.

 

[Batiman]

A worthy sacrifice

 

[Syphon Filter]

Horizon sucks, PGR would have been a way better idea.

 

[SportsFan581]

TBH they should've had Playground do a futuristic Wipeout/F-Zero type of open-world racing game. There's literally nothing like that in the market, it'd be wholly unique, and pretty close to their wheelhouse in terms of expertise. I'm surprised they are on Fable instead of something like that.

I too was surprised when they announced that their second team wasn't working on another racer variation. I guess they wanted a different challenge.

Something extra arcade like with an emphasis on multiplayer (Mario Cart esque) could stand out. Even if it was still using common car models.

 

[DeepEnigma]

A PGR expansion pack for FH5 would be incredible.

Or just make a new game, call it Project Forza Racing, copy over the Kudos system and arcade drift feel and they can keep the IP recognition for both.

 

[Certinty]

Not sure what I think about this. Both Horizon 3 and PGR4 are amongst my top five games ever.

 

[KyoZz]

As much as I liked PGR, it was worth it.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

I too was surprised when they announced that their second team wasn't working on another racer variation. I guess they wanted a different challenge.

Something extra arcade like with an emphasis on multiplayer (Mario Cart esque) could stand out. Even if it was still using common car models.

Definitely. Like you said there isn't much like it on the market outside of something like a Mario Kart. Burnout's dead. Test Drive's dead. Midnight Club's dead. Ridge Racer's dead. Outrun's dead. Maybe one of those will come back, but a futuristic racer like F-Zero or Wipeout but open-world, a full-on story mode, massive multiplayer events in Forzatech engine would've been something amazing and fresh for the market.

Missed opportunity but hey, maybe they can try it after they work on Fable (which I hope turns out well itself).

 

[Estocolmo]

I really dislike the fact that MS after Xbox 360 gen is incapable of handling multiple different types of games within a game series.
During 360 era we had Halo Wars, Halo Reach, Halo ODST, mainline Halo.
Today it’s ONLY Halo Infinite, and that is scraping the barrel.

 

[Stamps1646]

I always felt Project Gotham Racing was superior to Forza Motorsport, but not to Forza Horizon.

I've never been a fan of Motorsport, and I understand why it was created, but PGR was what Xbox fans wanted.

 

[Dontkidyourselfjimmy]

Would rather have project Gotham personally.

 

[adamsapple]

It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make if the end result is Horizon, a much more superior franchise.

 

[Lognor]

That kinda sucks, PGR was better than Forza Horizon in my opinion.

I have fond memories of PGR, but I don't know about that. Horizon is awesome and I'm not really a racing fan.

 

[wipeout364]

Interesting story. I loved PGR but I think they made the right choice as it has really established Forza as a major core Xbox franchise; which I think helped Xbox especially in the last 10 years where Xbox has really struggled with their exclusive IP.

 

[Robbinhood]

PGR is much better so thats a shame. PGR2 is top 10 material. It had way better physics and most of all...purpose. Horizon is an aimless game that almost plays itself.

 

[Jorav]

Loved PGR, enjoyed Forza Horizon 1 and 3. Lost interest in the rest of the series. I think Driveclub scratched a bit of that PGR itch for me. Shame we'll never see another DC.

 

[MastAndo]

Really liked PGR, but Forza Horizon is on another level of greatness. Come to think of it, being that I'm not much of a fan of the genre, these are the only two car racing franchises I ever spent a significant amount of time with.

 

[Barakov]

Sounds like it was good trade off. I loved PGR but Forza Horizon and its' sequels were on another level.

 

[skyfinch]

After Metropolis Street Racer and knowing Sega was going to leave the console market, it was Project Gotham Racing that made me buy the Xbox day one. Love the series. That being said, I'm happy that they went with Forza Horizon. I feel it's the superior series.

 

[Markio128]

PGR will always be my favourite arcade racer - me and a mate must have spent hundreds of hours nailing those cone challenges. The love affair started with MSR on the Dreamcast. I’d take PGR over FH any day of the week, but it is what it is.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

After Metropolis Street Racer and knowing Sega was going to leave the console market, it was Project Gotham Racing that made me buy the Xbox day one. Love the series. That being said, I'm happy that they went with Forza Horizon. I feel it's the superior series.

MSR has the best "fake" music soundtrack I have ever heard. For a game with no licensed music, it was damned good.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Forza Horizon is a superior franchise to PGR all day every day. Smart decision.

 

[KAOS]

You can love both Forza Horizon and PGR! A new PGR would be amazing! Cover all grounds MS! Circuit (Forza Motorsport), Urban Metropolis (Project Gotham Racing), Open World (Forza Horizon)!

MS also had a really nice dirt racing game and another city racing game that were pretty good.

 

[Verchod]

Well you could have both now. But I'd take another PGR over Another Horizon. Horizon is stale now

 

[Ozriel]

I really dislike the fact that MS after Xbox 360 gen is incapable of handling multiple different types of games within a game series.
During 360 era we had Halo Wars, Halo Reach, Halo ODST, mainline Halo.
Today it’s ONLY Halo Infinite, and that is scraping the barrel.

Huh? Halo: Reach is mainline Halo. And we had Halo Wars 2 in the Xbox One era.
Not to mention the multiple Minecraft spinoffs and Gears Tactics that just showed up in 2020.

You didn't think this through?

 

[MacReady13]

Microsoft with their constant stream of terrible mistakes (to be fair, I do like Horizon, although I much prefer PGR). I could only imagine what PGR5 on Series X would be...

 

[oldergamer]

That kinda sucks, PGR was better than Forza Horizon in my opinion.

No.

 

[93xfan]

Easily worth it

 

[Boss Mog]

Anybody remember the cat and mouse mode in PGR? I had so much fun playing that mode online. Forza Horizon 5 was my first Horizon and it's a beautiful game but I just get bored having to drive to events that aren't even that interesting for the most part.

 

[Max_Po]

They killed PGR themself by launching it within days of Halo 3.

I have 1000/1000 in PGR3 and 4... amazing games..

 

[In Cold Blood]

PGR was an excellent game and I was bummed when Bizzare shut down. However Horizon was born out of those ashes and its now the best racing franchise on the planet. No too shabby and a master-stroke of all involved.