Hello, I would like to raise an issue here that I have never seen discussed.
We know that the launch of FM was not ideal, and may have left a bad taste in some players’ mouths.
However, since then there have been 12 updates, and in December we will already have 29 tracks (counting the two Nurburgring), compared to the 20 we had at launch
The reality is that today we have a much superior game, and I believe that by the end of the year it will be even better.
However, unfortunately there are players who will never try these new features because they think the game is still the same way (I’m talking about players who don’t follow the forums or the news like we do, which is the vast majority)
And a A simple strategy to attract the curiosity of these players is to change the game’s cover, making it very clear and speaking loud and clear.
“Hey, I’m not the Forza you played in 2023 anymore!”
The reality is that today, even though it’s better than it was at retail launch last year, the game is still laden with significant shortcomings.
It’s now been 7 years since the prior installment launched in a series that previously released every 2 years.
…They’re taking longer than ever to deliver less - and at a standard of quality that leaves much to be desired.
At this rate, it still needs at least another year of substantial improvements before it’s recommendable.
I’m more interested in a substantiative career mode where we have a calendar and start in rust buckets on a budget before getting offers to drive the next season, until we are at the echilon of open wheel, gt, or lmp racing several seasons later.
And user metrics, like EVERY Forza before this pc-correct-no stats so none feel bad rubbish.
I dont think things have really changed that much since launch. Theres been a handful of changes and some recycled tracks added, i dont think a new cover would be warranted.
People were looking foward to a reimagined forza motorsport, what they got was a gutted then reassembled fm7. This past year theyve added back some of the missing stuff, but still arent there yet. In the next year they might reach where they were with fm7, but thats the problem, they just spent half a decade creating the same game they released in 2017.
The people that would play forza, know it still exists and likely know the changes that have been made. The fact that most havent come back tells you they just dont care anymore. It took too long to release what was released and its taken too long to try and fix it. People have moved on.
Compared to its predecessors, it’s taken more than 3 times longer yet still has less content & fewer features along with a number of issues.
…That’s not progress for the series or for the genre.
If one-third of a game was launched and got to be twice as good a year later, it’s still only two-thirds of a game, so it still needs longer to be whole.
The physics took an absolute dump after the update and cars which were once pleasurable are now chaotic to handle. So I wouldn’t say it’s better at this stage.
The logical point to do a new keyart (which based on experience is about 3-6 months of design, approval and integration work) is when the game version reaches 2.0.
EA SPORTS WRC did this recently as its 2.0 update coincided with an large expansion pack and rebranding of all relevant in-game assets to reflect the 2024 season, including updated Career and Championship modes.
Keyart is vastly more complicated and expensive than “take a cool pic in photo mode and stick it on a box art template”, as it is the singular most important asset in a game’s branding and promotion, worldwide. It is not something that is done based on vibes or an arbitrary “the game is better now than it was at launch” metric.
For common games it’s really not usual to change the cover…
But we’re talking about a game as a service, and in this case, for me, changing the game’s cover isn’t a big deal, it’s something common in games as a service, changing the game’s digital cover with each update.
Diablo 4 does this, among many others, and it does not mean that the game arrived in a 2.0 version
It only serves as a showcase for the update, that’s all and if other games do this frequently, then it shouldn’t be that complicated Fallout 76 is doing very well with this strategy
I believe you are giving too much weight to this, it’s just the art that the game appears in the game pass We’re not talking about changing the name of the game
I feel like the Forza Motorsport games need a cover with a bit more style. It feels like we basically take a photo of the game and slap the Forza Motorsport logo on it. It’s kind of like watching a movie and seeing a gas station named “Gas” or a diner named “Eat”, or the generic soda cans that are almost a solid color except a lazy stripe or two and plain words like “root beer” slapped on there. “How can we tell people this is a racing game? Make the cover be a screenshot of a car driving. Duh.” It feels like a phoned-in effort slapped together while sitting on the toilet, and I’m afraid potential players might see it that way. “Should I get Mountain Dew for PlayStation or should I get Mountain Lightning for Xbox?” I know it’s shallow, but the cover image can be a first impression for people, and we should make a good one.
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