Pontiac G8 GXP to feature in Forza Motorsport III

[Kamshaaft]

Pontiac G8 GXP to feature in Forza Motorsport III
Kamshaft - 4:20pm, Fri 17 July .




Forza Motorsport III, proclaimed "the definitive racing game ('console sim' actually) of this generation", will feature the Pontiac G8 GXP among it's 400+ strong roster of cars, the rest of which are being revealed gradually every fortnight. There will be over 50 manufacturers in the game, including GM brands such as Saab, Holden, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Pontiac. According to leaked information, a further ~10 cars will be released as downloadable content every month after release, and the occasional track.

Car & Track list so far is here, and the official website & screenshot gallery is here.

Originally Posted by Turn 10

"2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

It’s sad but true: Car models can get it right one year and fall off the side of the earth the next. The now-defunct Pontiac has the G8 GXP, a gem of a sports sedan with roots in Australian road racing under the Holden banner. This four-door barn stormer boasts the legendary LS3 version of Chevy’s small-block V8. Churning a six-speed manual the car’s 425 horsepower can be coaxed to a 4.7-second 0-60. There are all manner of performance parts made for this stout powerplant and plenty of suspension mods to harness the car’s road racing pedigree. Get the combination right and skilled drivers should really open some eyes as the lap times drop."

- source.





I haven't had any hands on experience myself (with this edition) to give me a solid impression, but was surprised (to say the least) what the most modestly unbiased of hardcore simulation fans had to say about it - or more, what they didn't as they seem at a loss for words with their demo experience of Forza III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVzhkASVCQ0




For the Pontiac G8 GXP to make it into a game of this caliber, I am thoroughly fraught with anticipation. If anyone's interested, the game is still in an apparently early stage of development, but should be available at some stage - but I will not tell you the release date. I am not here to advertise the game itself, even though it bloody well looks like it, just bringing the good news on the GXP front.

[Suziebob]

Are there any Opels in this game?

[Slideways]

In X amount of months when the game is released, all across the country, gamers will have the following conversation:
Gamer #1: Whoa, a Pontiac G8 GXP, I've never heard of that. What's a Pontiac?
Gamer #2: Hmmmm. . . I dunno, I think I saw a commercial for them once.

[Kamshaaft]

^Hah, well it's a good advertising opportunity for manufacturers to get their cars in this game. They should all embrace it, as it reaches a large audience of car fans - and surprisingly the median (or was it average?) age is 30's. Pity that Pontiac is no more, the G8 GT & GXP were ripper rides.

Originally Posted by Suziebob

Are there any Opels in this game?

I'm not sure - Opel and Vauxhall both had a couple of cars in previous instalments, though it'd be nice to see more from them (such as the Opel GT). 400+ from 50 manufacturers makes an average of at least 8 cars per manufacturer, so it's possible although have not heard anything about Opel yet. Barely 1/5th of the cars have been revealed so far.

[Suziebob]

You know what's funny? This shows how much technology has changed the way the auto industry works.

There was a time when racing (NASCAR and IRL specifically) were used as R&D testbeds and marketing.

Today, that is diminished. The real marketing trove is games like this. People who play games like this have or will have money. I feel it's important that GM keep making cars worth featuring (and being good...) in these games.

[Elvisuperman]

Awesome stuff...thanks for the info...

[newdude]

Cool car...bad game. GT5 FTW!!!!!

[dindak]

My Xbox 360 is waiting for this game!

Sad that this may be the only place most people will get to drive a G8.

[95Olds88]

Can't wait to get my hands on this one.

[MorphWS6]

Originally Posted by newdude

Cool car...bad game. GT5 FTW!!!!!

Bad game? Are you from the future? You must be if you're qualified enough to say that it's a bad game when it hasn't even been released yet.

GT5....GT5.......OH YEAH! That's the racing game that Sony has been working on for what.......7 years now?

Forza 4 will probably be out before GT5.

[newdude]

Originally Posted by MorphWS6

Bad game? Are you from the future? You must be if you're qualified enough to say that it's a bad game when it hasn't even been released yet.

GT5....GT5.......OH YEAH! That's the racing game that Sony has been working on for what.......7 years now?

Forza 4 will probably be out before GT5.

HAHA!! Forza will sell, dont get me wrong, but it can't touch the greatest in the industry. The only reason Polyphony Digital and leader Kazunori Yamauchi are taking their time, is so that they can perfect it beyond anything else. The game is done according to the creator, and he has the ability to release it anytime he wants. (http://www.gtplanet.net/yamauchi-rei...e-at-any-time/ and http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009...NEWS/906039991)


http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXtbXy5vO70


The trailer for GT5 shown at the E3 game convention was full gameplay. If you examine gameplay footage and screens of Forza 3 and GT5, there is some major differences. Forza has a more darker, cartoony appearance, while GT5 is much more robust and cleaner. Many of the details on FZ3 are not fully modeled but "painted" on...i.e. things like fog lights, door trims, moldings, etc. To run the 60fps they claim, (which also noted by Turn10, was the fact that what you will see in the gameplay is the max potential of the 360) no way everything could be fully perfected due to the Xbox 360's lack of a strong processor, such as Sony's Cell. Alot of the details in FZ3 on cars are wrong too. Many obvious features on the real cars either never made it to the game version of the car, or were completely modeled wrong. GT5 on the other hand, is as if the car was literally copied and pasted into the game. The visual details are stunning. Every little line on the headlight, LED in the tail lights, the slots in grills, the badges that some might expect to be left out, etc. All of that can be had at 60fps, and 1080p, NASCAR, WRC (maybe more), with 16 cars on a track (compared with FZ3's 8) without having to cut out excessive detail to do so. Now, being that neither game is out yet, nobody can say how they truly play yet. Will there be comparisons?? Heck yes...but thats a few months away.

[H3AlphaGuy]

I'm just happy there's 2 quality racing franchises out there. More cars and tracks for everyone!

[H3AlphaGuy]

Originally Posted by newdude

HAHA!! Forza will sell, dont get me wrong, but it can't touch the greatest in the industry. The only reason Polyphony Digital and leader Kazunori Yamauchi are taking their time, is so that they can perfect it beyond anything else. The game is done according to the creator, and he has the ability to release it anytime he wants. (http://www.gtplanet.net/yamauchi-rei...e-at-any-time/ and http://www.autoweek.com/article/2009...NEWS/906039991)


http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXtbXy5vO70


The trailer for GT5 shown at the E3 game convention was full gameplay. If you examine gameplay footage and screens of Forza 3 and GT5, there is some major differences. Forza has a more darker, cartoony appearance, while GT5 is much more robust and cleaner. Many of the details on FZ3 are not fully modeled but "painted" on...i.e. things like fog lights, door trims, moldings, etc. To run the 60fps they claim, (which also noted by Turn10, was the fact that what you will see in the gameplay is the max potential of the 360) no way everything could be fully perfected due to the Xbox 360's lack of a strong processor, such as Sony's Cell. Alot of the details in FZ3 on cars are wrong too. Many obvious features on the real cars either never made it to the game version of the car, or were completely modeled wrong. GT5 on the other hand, is as if the car was literally copied and pasted into the game. The visual details are stunning. Every little line on the headlight, LED in the tail lights, the slots in grills, the badges that some might expect to be left out, etc. All of that can be had at 60fps, and 1080p, NASCAR, WRC (maybe more), with 16 cars on a track (compared with FZ3's 8) without having to cut out excessive detail to do so. Now, being that neither game is out yet, nobody can say how they truly play yet. Will there be comparisons?? Heck yes...but thats a few months away.

Didn't some of that exterior work that Forza did was in order to keep their livery makers happy? I mean there's a whole community that all they do is paint up cars and such, which would require making more of the exterior items "painted on" to support that?

[Darc Requiem]

Newdude please take your fanboyism elsewhere. This GMInsidenews not GameFAQs. GM made a bad habit of engineering by press release and that is what Polyphony Digital has been doing GT5. GT5 was announced before Forza 2 was released and it still doesn't have a release date.

Rally, Night driving, and NASCAR are great additions to the GT franchise. However they mean nothing if PD doesn't get GT's physic's and customization options up to snuff. You shouldn't be able to bounce of wall and slam to opposing drivers with no penalty in racing sim. You've been able to go full speed into a turn, slam into your opponent to slow down, and pass them while their in the grass since GT1.

[Ming]

Good for GM. Keep getting your cars into the games that the young stare at, modify and enjoy for hours on big flat panel screens. It's much better than dumping millions into another poorly executed TV spot.