https://forums.forza.net/turn10_postsm749722_FM7---Toyota-Production-Cars-Rumor.aspx#post_749722
Well, here you go.
So I guess that completely confirms it 
I really wonder why Toyota said “no” this time, what conflict of interests did arise exactly?
Goodbye my Supras, AE86s and Celicas…until we meet again (hopefully).
Did they say no though? Could just be a matter of not being able to agree on terms of the licensing or simply the contracts not being signed in time.
Quite a disappointment. Reminds me a lot of the VW situation las year. Almost the exact same statement.
Couple of things I’m interested in:
- Lexus was not mentioned in this statement. Probably not included, but it would be good to know anyway.
- ‘Small number of Toyota race cars’ is interesting. Excluding NASCAR FM6 had 6 Toyota race cars. Turn10 would call that a reasonable amount so I think a couple of cars will be cut from that.
Ok the Problem is that Toyota doesn’t want their cars being modified in games anymore. The content manager on PC2 seemed to have told it at an event on the Nürburgring. That means GT Sport and PC2 will get those cars because there aren’t any modifications. NFS will have the same fate as Forza. I don’t really understand this move, but we can hope it will change in the future (Audi did the same thing 2!years ago, that’s why we haven’t got any Audi LW/RB Kits ore optical enhancements, and NFS hasn’t even gotten one)
(Assuming that it is true)
Does Toyota walk on the same road as past Nissan used to do?
This is like a nightmare.
Toyota cars have been loved in various custom cultures.
It is very sad that they reject the this world.
I hope that Toyota will change his mind and give me Varis’ body kit and Celica ST205 again.
If this is true, then this is the most ridiculous thing ever.
Toyota always tries to make their cars seem “hip”, the GT86 basically exists to be upgraded…
I think you are on the right track with this. I fear the problem stems deeper than just Toyota though. Remember two years ago when the Automaker’s Alliance were trying to use the DMCA to say you can’t work on or modify your own car? Automakers Say You Don’t Really Own Your Car | Electronic Frontier Foundation The Automaker’s Alliance (a group of carmakers including BMW Group, FCA US LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes- Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America and Volvo Cars North America) were and still are considering cars “mobile computing devices”. “The real issue of concern here is that the sophisticated computers in vehicles are so intertwined that they shouldn’t (for security and safety and environmental reasons) be allowed to be tinkered with.”- An excerpt from a representative from the Automaker’s Alliance to Jalopnik’s article on this.
Now with what they were trying to do, wouldn’t you think that the manufactures that are a part of Automaker’s Alliance would step away from this if their views didn’t align here? And none of them did step away from this or make any statement on it. Toyota might be the first manufacture on the list to try to make a statement on modifying your cars by using the one thing it has control over, the licensing agreements in video games. Granted this is just my theory on this. I would love to be wrong on the subject and instead of Toyota being pulled from games because they don’t like some small detail of the 3D model or something.
It’s still a bummer for me that Toyota won’t be FM7 (with the exception of race cars), especially since I work at a Toyota dealership in the service dept as a tech.
This is freakin horrible.
I really have trouble believing this is about mods. One of the core attractions for most to Japanese cars, Toyotas especially, is that they respond so well to modifications. Its a part of Japanese culture for crying out loud. Toyotas in particular are favoured by tuners because they are engineered to be so overbuilt. They intentionally leave a lot on the table so enthusiasts can mod them without breaking them. To deny them being licensed (to the biggest game franchise in the world no less!) based on not wanting to allow modifications would be incredibly short sighted and would be a decision made by someone who is really out of touch with what sporty Toyotas are all about. Cripes, their only current sports car started life as a Scion, a sub brand almost completely based on being made to be modified!
I hate to say it, but I am a die hard Toyota fan, I probably won’t be picking up 7 now until this gets resolved. I’ve been missing my car horribly with 6 and Horizon 3 since my actual car, the 84 Supra, hasn’t made the leap to XBox One yet. Playing a Forza with no Toyotas at all, ugh, there’s just no point for me.
Hopefully this gets straightened out before launch or there will be a Toyota DLC ala Porsche in short order.
This will not get resolved anytime soon and maybe ever. If Toyota no longer wants their cars able to be modifiable in games then I doubt they will ever be back in a Forza game.
Disappointing for Toyota fans, but at least we still get their race cars (which seems odd to me) and hopefully this issue doesn’t impact Subaru’s version of the GT86. For me, the only car I’ll miss is the 2000GT, and dropping the others opens up more spots on that list of 700.
It just occurred to me: there’s an irony with the thought of the modifying issue and Toyota allowing us to use their race cars. The purpose of a race car is a highly modified, track-spec version of - albeit - a standard car. The GT500 Supra’s for example are Supra’s with track modifications. Yes, they’re not road legal but they are a legitimately modified car.
Their implication on this - if the modifying is the issue - is that they don’t want their cars modified for representative road use. The tuner car culture has leaned towards Toyota for years, as it has Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru and Honda. They’re an an iconic part of automotive history. And this is a game, not real life.
I’ve loved the Supra for many years and am feeling inclined to cancel my purchase because of the lack of Toyotas. Japanese cars are lures to so many petrol heads and in a franchise such as Forza, removing Toyota is like - for some - fishing without bait on the hook.
Mr Eckberg’s corporate speak explanation actually says nothing. Which is exactly what I expected. There is no point speculating about the reasons. There is only one:
Money
Of course it does. Did you really expect anything more? This is T10, remember. The kings of non-information.
If you want an even bigger laugh, listen to how Dan responds to the “what new cars are you excited about?” question at the end of the podcast linked to in this week’s WIR. How many times is he/T10 going to go back to that E3 presentation well? It will be running dry any day now, if it hasn’t already.
They are just…so…stingy with info it’s actually getting pretty infuriating. The whole “blind PO bonus thing” is the KICKER.
You think T10 can just come out say exactly what the issue is with Toyota? This is a licensing agreement, which are typically NDA contracts. Plus, saying anything more than what is needed could damage future negotiations. Expecting anything more than what Brian said would have been pretty out of line if you ask me.
There’s a reason they’re stingy with info. They’re holding onto a lot of it until Gamescom. Forza games have followed this pattern for the past 3-4 years now in terms of marketing. Not really infuriating if you ask me, just a different strategy of marketing there game.
With Porsche, it always seemed to me they were missing out on an incredible marketing opportunity. And even far more so for Toyota.
Obviously, they know better than I about the best way to market their product, but it would seem to me most people who play driving are their exact demographic. I would think the opportunity to get that demographic to virtually drive their cars on visually exciting game has to be invaluable. If anything, I’d want Forza (and GT, AC, PC2,etc) drivers to use my priduction vehicles.
But no one could use Porsche’s for about a decade because of being tied to an exclusive licensing agreement with EA and the only way to get Porsche was to pay EA a sum of money for a sub license which is a lot different to the manufacturer changing their tune on their video game licensing for ALL driving games.
At least they said something. Disappointing but there’s 90 others in. Can’t have everything all the time. VW and them just switched places for a game. Also, some cars will be in, so it’s not a total loss.