No Porsches in Forza 4, thanks to EA

Dan Greenwalt of Turn 10 Studios explains why there won't be any Porsches in Forza Motorsport 4.

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The first installment of Under the Hood--a new series of features on FM.net meant to provide more information about Turn 10's next racing installment, Forza Motorsport 4--hit the internet yesterday. Along with the requisite information about improved career progression, racing modes and other features, creative director Dan Greenwalt revealed that Porsches won't be appearing in the series' fourth release.

According to Greenwalt, the absence of "more than 35 Porsche models" from Forza 4 is due to EA's unwillingness to sub-license the rights that would allow Turn 10 to include the cars in the Microsoft-published title. It's not a decision that Greenwalt is happy about, but getting Porsches into Forza 4 is a cause the studio championed for 18 months. He even claims that some "key people in Porsche circles" were lobbying to allow the inclusion of the vehicles.

"This kills me," Greenwalt noted. He continued:

In Forza 3, we were able to feature more than 35 different Porsche models by offering to collaborate with EA. For Forza 4, we were looking forward to adding even more Porsche cars, and we were especially looking forward to featuring multiple Porsche experiences in our new Autovista mode. In the end, however, EA couldn't see their way towards collaborating again.

He even points out that Forza had the exclusive license for all Ferrari cars (for Xbox and PC) at one point, but came to the realization that they ultimately "weren't willing to block other racing games from having Ferraris outright, as we believed that this would do nothing but hurt the racing ecosystem."

That said, the specifics of why an agreement couldn't be reached with EA weren't disclosed. Money can always get in the way of things, but it's possible that there are other reasons that EA wouldn't agree to sub-license the vehicle rights to Turn 10.

Greewalt closed the sad news with an apology to series fans:

I'm very sorry for all of this. Fans shouldn't have to think about any of this – you should just be able to drive Porsches and Ferraris in the games you love. Porsche makes wonderful cars and I'm sorry that we won't have them in Forza 4. As I mentioned earlier, we have added three RUF cars in Forza 4. RUF is a manufacturer in their own right, not simply an aftermarket mod shop—they completely remanufacture and enhance the models that they start from, and the results are unique, incredibly fast, and the cars look great. Losing more than 35 Porsche models is a lost opportunity for Porsche fans (as well as a lost opportunity to make future Porsche fans), but I hope that Forza 4 players understand and enjoy the new makes and models that have taken their place.

Forza Motorsport 4 will be available on Xbox 360 on October 11.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 25, 2011 10:45 AM

    Jeff Mattas posted a new article, No Porsches in Forza 4, thanks to EA.

    Dan Greenwalt of Turn 10 Studios explains why there won't be any Porsches in Forza Motorsport 4.

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 10:57 AM

      Damn it!

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 11:02 AM

      Fucking EA.

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 11:32 AM

      I really wonder what how much Porsche wanted.

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 11:42 AM

      Fucking EA. Can't wait for companies to just start refusing to work with them. I hope that house of cards comes crashing down on their heads soon.

      • reply
        August 25, 2011 1:03 PM

        How will they ever refuse the gobs of money EA will throw at them?

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      August 25, 2011 11:44 AM

      they should just include all 35 porsche models but just change the names like the Parsche 119 Turbo, or the Pusrch Sphidur

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        August 25, 2011 12:58 PM

        i wonder if they could do this, just leave off the logos and change the name?

      • reply
        August 25, 2011 4:19 PM

        Is RUF still around? That's how GT and GT2 managed to get Porshche into the game. RUF sold modded Porsches and were classified as a manufacturer in Germany.

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      August 25, 2011 12:13 PM

      [deleted]

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      August 25, 2011 12:14 PM

      EA is starting to rapidly lose the trust they built up over the last few years.

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      August 25, 2011 12:25 PM

      Wow, so fucking retarded. One of the things I hate the most about gt is the lack of porsche's. Have a racing game without the biggest race car manufacturer is dumb.

      This would be like having a baseball game without the Yankee's because EA has exclusive rights.

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        August 25, 2011 12:52 PM

        See [football games], it's pretty much the same story

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          August 25, 2011 1:07 PM

          yep, PES 2011 has Merseyside Red and Merseyside Blue for Liverpool and Everton, North London for Arsenal, London FC for Chelsea, etc. All because EA have an exclusive license. It's nothing short of bullshit. :(

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 12:58 PM

      Solution:

      1. Port to PC
      2. Allow mods for custom cars (and tracks!)
      3. Let 360 owners download said cars through the action house system.
      4. Profit

    • reply
      August 25, 2011 1:07 PM

      Yep, EA is back at asshole status.

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      August 25, 2011 2:39 PM

      Poor Microsoft getting screwed by an exclusive deal. :...(

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      August 25, 2011 4:17 PM

      Then again, it's just Porsche. Forza was always most fun when you modded out cars to B or A spec, and it's rare you'd do that with a Porsche.

      i imagine people would be far more upset if Nissan was blacklisted, oddly enough.

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      August 25, 2011 4:52 PM

      EA started to pick things back up for a while, but lately they've just been shooting themselves in the foot over and over and over again.

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        August 25, 2011 4:54 PM

        Yea no shit, they put out some great stuff a few years ago but now.....

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      August 25, 2011 8:28 PM

      This makes me sad...I'm a huge Porsche fan...but oh well. Someone mentioned RUF and I guess I could see that being done.

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      August 25, 2011 9:40 PM

      Another gift from the most treasured friend of the gaming community.

    • reply
      August 26, 2011 10:31 AM

      [deleted]

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