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GVMERS: Sony's Failed "Forza Killer" - The Tragedy of Driveclub

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
lol the Rain nonsense is bullshit. The game looked phenomenal for two months before they patched in the rain.

The track detail level and lighting is still unmatched. And its not just the graphics. Simulation wise, the game was using dynamic weather, time of day and 24 hour races in 2014 when GT7 and Forza 8 have only just started doing them in 2022-2023.

Only the awful IQ on 4k TVs is holding this game back but thats on Sony who refuse to patch this game.

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To me this just exposes everyone who didnt buy this fantastic game on day one and were mostly bandwagon rain fans.
 

Saber

Member
I don't remember Driverclub being announced by Sony or talked by its fanbase as a Forza Killer. Maybe GT?
Anyway, its a pretty game with some gorgeous car presentations and details. Kinda impresses me at the time it would look that pretty. Maybe playing that shitty Project Cars 3 made the game even more beautifull to me, dunno. I think this game could use a PS5 version, but I think the team behind is already gone or something.
 
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Prime example of a game that needed to be in the oven a lot longer than it was. Had a lot of potential that was ultimately never realized. It was fun, looked great, but had no real depth.
If you put a turd in the oven...aint gonna taste good no matter what.

The point is. (By watching all the GVAMERS videos).

Sometimes the design decisions (among they things) early on are what kill the project down the line
.
 

coffinbirth

Member
If you put a turd in the oven...aint gonna taste good no matter what.

The point is. (By watching all the GVAMERS videos).

Sometimes the design decisions (among they things) early on are what kill the project down the line
.
Prematurely shutting down a potential evergreen title before being properly updated with content didn't help the lack of options and content issue either. It wasn't a turd, it had a good foundation to build upon.
 
This game was such and embarrassment for Sony (especially with Horizon closely released if I remember correctly).

Personally, I like more this kind of racing game (my favorite is Riiiidge Raaaacerr Type 4).
 
Prematurely shutting down a potential evergreen title before being properly updated with content didn't help the lack of options and content issue either. It wasn't a turd, it had a good foundation to build upon.
I didn't said Driveclub was a turd.....thinking about it. I think being a turd is actually a good analogy.

In nature when an animal poops, this poop gives nutrients to the soil, making it stronger.

Driveclub's nutrients force PlayStation to fix their approach to multiplayer stress tests or something like that (is in the video). Making PS stronger.
 

coffinbirth

Member
I didn't said Driveclub was a turd.....thinking about it. I think being a turd is actually a good analogy.

In nature when an animal poops, this poop gives nutrients to the soil, making it stronger.

Driveclub's nutrients force PlayStation to fix their approach to multiplayer stress tests or something like that (is in the video). Making PS stronger.
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I dont remember Sony or Evolution saying themselves Forza KIller, but googling it it seemed to stem from game sites in particular VG24/7 who quoted it.

And then Sony used that quote in their DC trailer. 53 second mark.



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Wow good eye, I didn't even remember this at all.
 

CamHostage

Member
Forza Horizon ~ Driveclub
Forza Motorsport ~ GT

I would have loved it if this was actually the case, but I don't think that's not much of an apt comparison? Forza Horizon is built for fun and thrills and freedom (and of course its open-world driving) while DriveClub is pretty serious-racing but as serious-racing as Gran Turismo. It always felt like a game doomed to be the also-ran in the PS library (even if GT has had its struggles in keeping on top of the tech stack,) and aside from GIFs of its pretty graphics effects in posts I never felt its loss in the years since it disappeared. They did get a VR game out, and it was more robust than the GT Sport VR experience. But I'd rather have had another MotorStorm or something more crazy like OnRush (or even if DriveClub had been open world) instead of what we got.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
how the fuck is it a forza killer when they already had gran turismo which was already selling more than Forza anyways? the game being shelved is no surprise tbh
anyways... i never really heard about this game until now
 

Max_Po

Banned
In reality, anyone who has played DriveClub would know...

Driveclub is nothing like Forza or PGR4. It is a much easier closed circuit game compared to PGR4. (Love PGR3 and PGR4 have full achievements)

DriveClub was suppose to be a community orriented racing game with alot of social aspects that SONY was promoting at the time of PS4's release and that is Evo. Studio dropped the ball.
 

Crayon

Member
I was dissapointed with the way this game handled. I think they did a good job emphasizing the undulations of a paved road in a unique way but everything else fealt kind of screwy.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
I finished watching the video and it did make me remember BLUR and it's fate, seems more or less the same. Shame.
 
I played it since launch and loved it ever since. I had no issues with MP being bugged out in the beginning as there was so much SP content available. I think that I will never understand why SONY so swiftly tried to wipe it off its existance, including the studio. The Order 1886 was a bigger failure in every way as it was presented as this second coming of next gen Jesus. Besides graphics, it failed in everything else.....that studio still exists, the game is still on PSN and even sometimes promoted on banners, yet DC which was more succesfull, sold more got wiped off the universe.

Somebody must of banged someones wife or something of the CEO in that studio.
 
I’m sorry all the people saying Driveclub looked amazing I have to disagree. It only looks good in motions. The game really doesn’t look that great imo.

Its a racing game, you are supposed to be in motion lol. Who buys a racing game to watch the cars and scenery without moving. DC had way more outisde track detail than any other game at the time, which you can always see as the track is loading. They had modelled houses with people on hills that you barely even notice cuz its so high up. Game looked amazing.
 

tusharngf

Member
I dont think they got the budget of a AAA racing game. Forza games has big budget and more people are working on them for couple of years. Driveclub is made by small team. They really matched the graphics quality with the game.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Its a racing game, you are supposed to be in motion lol. Who buys a racing game to watch the cars and scenery without moving. DC had way more outisde track detail than any other game at the time, which you can always see as the track is loading. They had modelled houses with people on hills that you barely even notice cuz its so high up. Game looked amazing.
Not me, but there's got to be a lot of people who do because devs spend a lot of time and money on Photo Mode for gamers to inspect bumpers and bolts at 10x zoom.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I’m sorry all the people saying Driveclub looked amazing I have to disagree. It only looks good in motions. The game really doesn’t look that great imo.
Good thing it’s a racing game where you are moving all the time.

There are clearly cut backs made in this game. It does not look good on 4k tvs due to those cutbacks but they made those sacrifices in IQ to push other visual features like foliage, trackside detail, weather effects, dynamic time of day and some stunning visual effects to capture a sense of speed few games have been able to capture since.

Its a shame we never got a pro version because it aged really well. I’m convinced Sony killed the game because it was making PD and GT look bad.
 

Jennings

Member
Yet another game with an epithet ‘…killer’ that no-one actually claimed at the time.

Driveclub: Inside PS4's Forza killer​

Published May 22, 2014

Hmm

Driveclub initial release date
October 7, 2014

Okie dokie.
 
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I would have loved it if this was actually the case, but I don't think that's not much of an apt comparison? Forza Horizon is built for fun and thrills and freedom (and of course its open-world driving) while DriveClub is pretty serious-racing but as serious-racing as Gran Turismo. It always felt like a game doomed to be the also-ran in the PS library (even if GT has had its struggles in keeping on top of the tech stack,) and aside from GIFs of its pretty graphics effects in posts I never felt its loss in the years since it disappeared. They did get a VR game out, and it was more robust than the GT Sport VR experience. But I'd rather have had another MotorStorm or something more crazy like OnRush (or even if DriveClub had been open world) instead of what we got.
I’m not personally comparing them, just pointing out the equivalent. As in Driveclub is more arcade style even though it’s not that similar to FH and GT is more serious sim like as is FM.
 

fallingdove

Member
People forget how crap this game was. It had a bad driving model/ it felt awful to drive, and there was no content.

And despite great screenshots it looked like a smudge in actual gameplay. Stores were literally trying to give the game away it was such a disaster.

Lol. Far from crap. Driving model was fine for the time. Still feels better than Forza Horizon (a game that hides poor/unpredictable driving mechanics behind chaos, destructability and sense of speed). And the graphics were only a smudge in specific sections of the game — hand picked by pathetic Xbox fanboys. The game was very impressive (graphically); still is.

Driveclub’s biggest issue was the lack of content, anemic list of cars and it’s over reliance on online play.

There were shades of brilliance in the game’s dramatic courses through the countryside where the AI shined and every moment felt unique without a lap-focused structure. The team should have spent more development time refining these Motorstorm inspired moments. Instead, the game failed to deliver on the online/service-y stuff it mistakenly prioritized and didn’t have a handle on; neglecting all of the things racing fans really care about.
 

Tunned

Member
It was a great racing game, with an amazing season pass that all publishers should take a note of. If anything Driveclub was more reminiscent of the original NFS games, and its track variation and environments, shit on any open world racing game that exists today.

We need more racing games likes DC, I'm sick of open world racing bs.
 

Konnor

Member
Only the awful IQ on 4k TVs is holding this game back but thats on Sony who refuse to patch this game.

Oh c'mon dude can't you be a little patient, I'm sure Sony is working it and will sell it to you for 70 dollars as soon as humanly possible
 

sinnergy

Member
To me the game was pretty bad, it was like a game they put every visual effect in that where new, but I couldn’t see jack shit in cockpit view. And forgot to make a replayable game .Also the view was to far back and made the window very small. That combined with the weather made for a not very enjoyable experience.Playability wise it was very mediocre imo.

It was a great photo mode game though 🤣 ideaal for consoles warriors on forums.
 
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skit_data

Member
It’s so wierd that they completely erased every trace of it from PS Store, it would easily have made them quite some money over the gen. Not to mention they closed down one of their oldest amd recognized studios. I claimed Driveclub when it came to PS+ last gen but since then I switched accounts and now there’s no way to access it, it’s a shame.

Edit: Never heard of Driveclub being seen as a ”Forza killer” though. I’d say Forza was made to be the GT killer, and it turned out to be a pretty damn successful one to a pretty large extent.
 
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