‘Gran Turismo 7’ is off the air and rescues criticism of ‘always online’ games

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Since its release on March 3rd, the ultra-realistic racing game “Gran Turismo 7” has been receiving critical acclaim and topping the best-selling game lists in Europe. Everything seemed to be going well for the title of the Japanese studio Polyphony Digital, until the last day 17.

That Thursday, due to problems with an update, Polyphony Digital’s servers went down for more than 24 hours. As “Gran Turismo 7” was developed on the “always online” model (needs constant internet access to work), most of the game was inaccessible, including some modes that, in theory, would not need a connection, resulting in an avalanche of criticism and complaints on social networks.

Problems like this are not new. For at least ten years, games that opt ​​for an “always online” model end up attracting the ire of consumers who, because of the developers, are unable to use the products they have purchased.

An emblematic case happened in 2013, with the release of “SimCity”, a reboot of the classic Maxis city simulator. The Electronic Arts game needed a constant internet connection, despite being an essentially individual experience. When the title reached the hands of consumers, anxious after ten years without a franchise release, the servers were overloaded, preventing the game from being used for days.

In its defense, the company claimed that the internet connection was necessary due to the use of cloud computing. However, some tests, like one done by the Kotaku website, showed that the game was able to work for quite a while without internet. A Maxis employee revealed to the Rock, Paper, Shotgun website that one of the reasons for implementing the “always online” model would be to make cheating and piracy more difficult.

Anti-piracy mechanisms like this — called “always-on DRM” — are widely used in the industry. Still, they are heavily criticized for hindering consumers more than actually preventing software counterfeiting. In general, it only takes a few days to find ways to circumvent these blocks.

Also, this tactic can make some games inaccessible in the future. It is enough for the developer (for economic reasons, for example) to decide to disable the servers of a certain title, which greatly hinders efforts to preserve old games.

In the case of “Gran Turismo 7”, Kazunori Yamauchi, CEO of Polyphony Digital and producer of the series, stated in an interview with Eurogamer that the choice of the “always online” model was made to prevent cheating. All game save files are stored on Polyphony Digital’s servers, so the developers can be sure that these files have not been modified to give the player some sort of advantage.

Still, the attempt was in vain. Despite “Gran Turismo 7” being an exclusive title for PlayStation consoles, gamers have discovered a way to program a computer to win races for them, taking advantage of the Remote Play system, which makes it possible to access the console over a network.

Tutorial videos are now available on YouTube on how to cheat the game and increase your stock of virtual coins — earned in races or exchanged for real money in microtransactions.

play

game tip, new or old, for you to test

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

(Switch)

Okay, the “Mario Kart” series isn’t on the same level of realism as “Gran Turismo”, but at least it’s playable without an internet connection. In addition, while “Gran Turismo 7” was off the air, the Nintendo title gained a (paid) expansion with 48 new tracks that will be released throughout the year. The first eight are already accessible.

update

news, launches, business and what else matters

• Rockstar has announced the launch of a subscription service for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of “Grand Theft Auto Online”. Paying BRL 31.90 monthly, subscribers will receive GTA$ 500,000 every month and will have access to other in-game benefits. The service, called GTA+, starts working on Tuesday (29).

• The Brazilian studio Rogue Snail announced that its game “Relic Hunters” will enter the Netflix catalog in April. The streaming platform also announced the addition of three more games to its subscription service. “This Is A True Story” and “Shatter Remastered” arrive on Tuesday (29), while “Into The Dead 2: Unleashed” has no set release date.

• Sony announced the purchase of Haven Entertainment studio, created in 2019 by Jade Raymond, ex-Ubisoft who was behind the creation of franchises such as “Assassin’s Creed” and “Watch Dogs”. The value of the deal was not disclosed. The studio was already working on a new PlayStation 5 title described as a top-tier multiplayer game-as-a-service.

• EA Sports removed Argentine Diego Maradona, who died in 2020, from Ultimate Team mode, Ultimate Draft and Soccer Aid World Team in the game “Fifa 22”. According to a statement released by the company, the measure was taken due to a “third-party legal dispute”.

• American studio Illfonic has published a video announcing that it is developing a multiplayer game in the “Ghostbusters” franchise. In “Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed”, four players will take on the role of the ghost hunter, while a fifth will be the ghost itself. The release of versions for PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles is scheduled for the end of the year.

download

games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worth it

29.mar

• “Crusader Kings III”: BRL 184.95 (Xbox X/S), BRL 249.50 (PS 5)

• “WRC 10”: price not informed (Switch)

30.mar

31.mar

• “Weird West”: BRL 99.99 (PC), BRL 147.45 (Xbox One/X/S) BRL 214.90 (PS 4/5)

Promotions of the week

• The virtual store GOG.com started its spring games festival on the 21st, with discounts of up to 90%. Among the highlights are recent games such as “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” for BRL 19.99 (80% off), “Disco Elysium” for BRL 30.19 (-60%) and “Prey” for BRL $27 (-70%), and some classics such as “Metal Gear Solid” for R$37.29 (-25%) and “The Curse of Monkey Island” for R$5.09 (-65%) . Offers go until next Monday (4)

• The Epic Games Store has also started its spring sale, with discounts of up to 75%. Among the offers stand out games like “Red Dead Redemption 2” for R$119.50 (50% off), “Deathloop” for R$104.50 (-50%) and “Borderlands 3” for R$29.97 (-75%). Offers last until April 7th.

Readings of the week

what came out about games in Folha