Support NeoGAF

[Yselacrey00]

Yeah review score-wise it'll be one of the best of the year easily. I think it'll do very well in sales but it most likely won't beat COD.

The sales on PC should be especially strong since Forza's been on Steam Top 10 charts more or less since it came to Steam (FH4 in particular).

This kind of statements surprises me. Has anyone played the game yet?

 

[Kagey K]

Do you really think after 7 forza Motorsport titles and 4 horizon titles it's only at 16 millions?

Forza Horizon 4 has passes 13 millions of players. Not all of them bought it, that's for sure but at least half did. It doesn't even matter, the game has over 13 millions of players. For a racing game that's huge. That's huge for any genre actually.
FH4 is right now in steam top 5 selling list, three years after launch and mere months before we get a next installment.

It was actually 24 million as of last November, and is surely much higher now with new Gamepass subs and a Steam launch.

Forza Horizon 4 is a Huge Success - Proving that Gamepass Works

Forza Horizon 4 has seen more than 24m players, making it one of the most successful non-Nintendo racers of all time. Gamepass works.

www.gamesreviews.com

 

[Hezekiah]

Come on everyone knows they don't have a "capable PC".

Maybe you're too broke, but I have a very capable PC.

And my next GPU will eat up a Series X.

PC and Playstation always the best way to go.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

It could be the biggest game of the year. I wouldn't read too much into anything that GamingBolt says though, I'd noticed that every couple of months they pop up with a new biggest game of the year video.

It's something that I'd noticed a while back, it just gets more people to watch the videos if they give them titles like that.

Hyperbole is the first thing they teach at game journalist school.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

It'll be a very good game, very fun to play, but GOTY awards aren't this shallow to go for such a game.

 

[Negotiator101]

When has a racing game ever won game of the year? what's so special about this one other than it looking better than the last one? it's still just a racing game.

It's the highest rated racing series of the last generation. The last one in the series has a 92MC rating, and theres no other racing game on the market like Horizon. Also, what's "its still just a racing game" got to do with it? What if I said, it's still just a third person action adventure game or its still just a first person shooter etc.

 

[Silent Viper]

Clearly the person is talking about sales. Not awards or critical reception.

Both.

 

[mxbison]

Not for me, just don't care enough about racing games.

But it will probably get a 90+ Metacritic and is great for GamePass.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

It'll be a very good game, very fun to play, but GOTY awards aren't this shallow to go for such a game.

It's gonna be Elden Ring and it won't even be close
edit: next year, and it might be close

 

[Chukhopops]

It's gonna be Elden Ring and it won't even be close

Elden Ring is 2022, and I don't think it will dominate the awards season since it will launch at the beginning of the year and filter casuals and journos. Just like Sekiro didn't win that many awards either.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

Elden Ring is 2022, and I don't think it will dominate the awards season since it will launch at the beginning of the year and filter casuals and journos. Just like Sekiro didn't win that many awards either.

Oh yeah I forgot

 

[Ghost of Caelid]

If its as quality as it seems to be I hope it isn't snubbed for GOTY like Flight Sim was. They rather nominate a narrative 8 over a simulation 10...

 

[Silent Viper]

My predictions-


BF6, COD and Halo best selling overall with highest player base.


Horizon FW and Forza Horizon 5 best reviewed games of this year.

 

[Negotiator101]

Oh yeah I forgot

And in 2022 we have Starfield

 

[THE DUCK]

It's going to be hard to measure in terms of sales, what if ms adds 10 million gamepass subs from the xbox and pc markets? (As opposed to traditional sales)

 

[Balducci30]

Huh?

 

[Balducci30]

Id wager Forza Horizon 5 will be bigger than Halo. And no I'm not smoking anything right now lol
The series has gone from strength to strength and has probably one of Xbox's most efficient developers behind it in PlayGround Games.
If there is one video game I would buy an Xbox console for, its Forza Horizon.

Wait what am I missing? I played forza horizon 4 through gamepass - you just drive around a lot? Why is it so popular? I completely missed the boat on this

 

[Heisenberg007]

It could be the biggest game of the year. I wouldn't read too much into anything that GamingBolt says though, I'd noticed that every couple of months they pop up with a new biggest game of the year video.

It's something that I'd noticed a while back, it just gets more people to watch the videos if they give them titles like that.

GameingBolt: Well, if you literally say this for every game releasing in a year, you will be right at least once #ChangingtheGame

 

[MOTM]

Maybe you're too broke, but I have a very capable PC.

And my next GPU will eat up a Series X.

PC and Playstation always the best way to go.

Yeah sure you do.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

FH games have always been decent. 5 will be really good no doubt about it.

 

[Data Ghost]

I think its going to be a great end to the gaming year with Halo Infinite, FH5, and Forbidden West. There is a lot to keep me going right there. I do wish we'd get past these cross gen titles through and have some REAL next gen games.

 

[MadPanda]

It was actually 24 million as of last November, and is surely much higher now with new Gamepass subs and a Steam launch.

Forza Horizon 4 is a Huge Success - Proving that Gamepass Works

Forza Horizon 4 has seen more than 24m players, making it one of the most successful non-Nintendo racers of all time. Gamepass works.

www.gamesreviews.com

Thanks for correcting me. I haven't been following closely. Amazing numbers for an amazing game. Many people don't understand how huge is forza horizon among gamers, as proven in this thread.

 

[MadPanda]

Wait what am I missing? I played forza horizon 4 through gamepass - you just drive around a lot? Why is it so popular? I completely missed the boat on this

You drive around in a driving game. Either you like it or not, but it's a polished product with high production value and tons of great content. Driving feels amazing, visuals are top notch and there's decent multiplayer. Some people prefer pure racing game on racing tracks a la forza Motorsport, gran tourismo or something even more hard core like asseto corsa.

 

[SLB1904]

And in 2022 we have Starfield

 

[Venom Snake]

So.. this is GamingBolt's fourth "Biggest Game of the Year" this year? Damn, what a glorious year it is!

 

[Data Ghost]

You drive around in a driving game. Either you like it or not, but it's a polished product with high production value and tons of great content. Driving feels amazing, visuals are top notch and there's decent multiplayer. Some people prefer pure racing game on racing tracks a la forza Motorsport, gran tourismo or something even more hard core like asseto corsa.

The Horizon games have also captured that feel good factor. Its hard to put a finger on it but basically they nailed the combination of driving exotic cars in beautiful locations with uplifting music and commentary. other racers in comparison can feel quite flat.

 

[Negotiator101]

It's been given a release date mate, I don't know what you posted that twitter post for to be honest?

 

[Banjo64]

Returnal, Ratchet, Halo, Psychonauts 2, Forza Horizon and Monster Hunter Rise are the 6 biggest in my opinion. Not a bad year at all.

If Horizon launches on PS5 that'll be huge, but I have a feeling that'll launch in q1 2021.

Battlefield is shaping up to be huge if they concentrate on making a game rather than a social politics stance.

 

[SLB1904]

It's been given a release date mate,

okay then

 

[Hezekiah]

Yeah sure you do.

Hate to break it to you, but not everybody is too broke to build a gaming PC.

Maybe now's the right time to ask mum and dad for an increase in allowance?:

 

[SLB1904]

Hate to break it to you, but not everybody is too broke to build a gaming PC.

Maybe now's the right time to ask mum and dad for an increase in allowance?:

 

[Fess]

It'll be big for Xbox, maybe for PC gamers too depending on what else comes out, but for gaming in general I don't see it reach any further than previous entries. Being a racing game holds it back on GOTY awards, great gameplay and having fun is never enough, it's a niche genre unfortunately.

Unless Playground break something fundamental it'll very likely be up there battling for my GOTY though. So far Ratchet & Clank is at the top for me.

 

[Hezekiah]

I recently purchased a mouse pad and a duster .

 

[sncvsrtoip]

 

[GymWolf]

It could be the biggest game of the year. I wouldn't read too much into anything that GamingBolt says though, I'd noticed that every couple of months they pop up with a new biggest game of the year video.

It's something that I'd noticed a while back, it just gets more people to watch the videos if they give them titles like that.

Gamingbolt is only good for comedy value.

 

[Data Ghost]

Hate to break it to you, but not everybody is too broke to build a gaming PC.

Maybe now's the right time to ask mum and dad for an increase in allowance?:

I've considered a top of the range gaming PC but every time I do, I just cant be arsed. I think my Xbox Series X and PS5 (along with Switch) are more than enough. You need to sort out your dust and pubes situation though my guy, its probably not great breathing that lot in and out while you sit there.

EDIT: The other thing I cant get my head around is the naff LED lighting all over everything it doesn't look good on most gaming PC setups I've seen.

Anyway, back to For Horizon 5. I think its safe to say that whatever Playground games come up with will be very pretty and lots of fun.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

This kind of statements surprises me. Has anyone played the game yet?

Previous Forza Horizons have always scored really well and it's not like 5 is gutting everything that made the older games work. Seems like a safe bet.

Not sure where you get your information but it really hasn't, all of the historical data since it's debut is available here:

Steam Weekly Global Top Sellers for the Week ending 14 March 2021

The top selling games on Steam by revenue for the week, updated every Sunday

steamdb.info

In 16 weeks it's appeared 6 times in the top 10.

My mistake; still though it's been a consistent seller on Steam. Not as much as a Sea of Thieves for them, but it does steady numbers regularly. And it's still had multiple chartings in the Top 10 which is pretty impressive for something in the racing genre, to my knowledge no other modern racing game's managed that on Steam.

We'll see, MS has only launched one AAA game since GP started and it only hit number 7 in NPD in it's first month then fell out of the top 20 in it's second and that was gears 5. There are more GP subs now too so that'll impact sales even more.

Well technically they've had two if you include FS 2020 and the definition for AAA stays traditional, referring to production values and scale (both things that game satisfies conditions for). I don't think using Gears 5 as a sticking point for GamePass adversely affecting sales works considering we have many more cases of games which have seen strong or in some cases even increased sales (on Xbox, let alone PC) even while in GP.

Outriders, MLB The Show '21, several indie titles, even some of Microsoft's own games like Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 (those two, particularly on PC where admittedly GP is tied to the shitty Windows Store) have all seen strong or in some cases increased sales while on GamePass. In that type of data, Gears 5 is an outlier.

 

[Hezekiah]

I've considered a top of the range gaming PC but every time I do, I just cant be arsed. I think my Xbox Series X and PS5 (along with Switch) are more than enough. You need to sort out your dust and pubes situation though my guy, its probably not great breathing that lot in and out while you sit there.

EDIT: The other thing I cant get my head around is the naff LED lighting all over everything it doesn't look good on most gaming PC setups I've seen.

Anyway, back to For Horizon 5. I think its safe to say that whatever Playground games come up with will be very pretty and lots of fun.

On the upside you have free online (obviously Halo Infinite will have that which is good, but the game's itself looks a bit shit, and free multiplayer is rare on console), better performance if you want it, and you have to deal with that nasty Xbox UI. Then there's the flexibility you have on PC, and access to Steam and cheaper games.

I don't bother with RGB inside my case, but ASUS ROG peripherals are the one lol.

Anyway those were olds pics on an old desk. I'll probably get a new GPU at the end of the year, and FH5 will be my first Forza game. Might be worth having a look at some steering wheels too.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Since their launch several months ago, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S have been consoles in search of games. The prevalence of cross-Gen AAA titles fundamentally restricts what developers can achieve on these machines.

Forza Horizon 5 is a cross-Gen game. But Playground's intelligent use of its highly scalable engine means that the top end Xbox Series X/S and PC versions look, at the very least, like something that wouldn't be out of place in a ninth-Gen exclusive. Despite being cross-Gen, this is a great visual showcase for the Series X. We're very interested to see how it'll stack up to future ninth-Gen exclusive Forza titles.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I can't wait it will 100% be my 2nd most played game after it launches for the next year behind Rocket League of all things

 

[RasAlGhoul]

I truly could not care less about this game. But you go gaming bolt.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

Racing games have always been synonymous with fancy graphics, and the Forza Horizon series is no different. There's something extremely exhilarating and adrenaline-inducing about flying past scenic vistas at a hundred miles an hour in a car teeming with reflective surfaces, all while some good music plays in the background.

Playground Games' Forza Horizon has continuously flirted with this fantasy for almost a decade now and stands tall among its contemporaries for a multitude of reasons including its sheer graphical prowess. Keeping that in mind, we take a look at the complete graphical evolution of the Forza Horizon series all the way from its humble beginnings on the Xbox 360 to the upcoming Forza Horizon 5.