Forza Motorsport 5 apologizes to Limited Edition owners with a free car

Forza Motorsport 5 has been overwhelmed by a microtransaction controversy. Turn 10 and Microsoft are hoping to extend an olive branch to users, especially to the Limited Edition owners that were promised enough credits to buy any car in the game.

22

Forza Motorsport 5's in-game economy has been a hotly-contested topic since the game's release. The topic is a particularly sore one to Limited Edition owners, who were promised that their 1,250 car tokens would be enough to buy any car in the game. Turn 10 and Microsoft are now attempting to extend somewhat of an olive branch to users, offering boosts for Forza Rewards members and giving Limited Edition owners their choice of car.

The Forza Motorsport blog offers this statement to Limited Edition owners:

In our original description for Forza Motorsport 5’s Limited Edition, we told you that Limited Edition owners would get 1,250 in-game tokens, which we mistakenly said would be enough tokens to afford any car in the Forza 5. It isn't. As a result, a number of you have pointed this out to us - that there are a number of cars in the game that cost more than 1,250 tokens to purchase.

We'e sorry. In order to make up for this discrepancy, we will soon be offering Forza Motorsport 5 Limited Edition owners the chance to download and own the car of their choice in the game. Players will be able to choose from any of the on-disc cars in Forza 5 and will be able redeem this offer on ForzaMotorsport.net via a dedicated page that will be available no later than December 16.

Turn 10 is also offering Forza Motorsport 5 VIP members a free 2013 Lotus E21 grand prix car for their continued support. This is the car that notoriously runs for 6,000,000 in-game credits or roughly $100 in car tokens.

Those looking to purchase cars through gameplay will see "dramatically increasing" credit payouts for all players through the Forza Rewards loyalty program.

If you'd like to read more about Forza 5 without reading too much more about microtransactions, you can check out our review right now.

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 27, 2013 1:00 PM

    Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, Forza Motorsport 5 apologizes to Limited Edition owners with a free car.

    Forza Motorsport 5 has been overwhelmed by a microtransaction controversy. Turn 10 and Microsoft are hoping to extend an olive branch to users, especially to the Limited Edition owners that were promised enough credits to buy any car in the game.

    • reply
      November 27, 2013 1:25 PM

      I don't understand why they changed their in-game economy so dramatically. There seems to be no apparent reason for it beyond the PR sounding answer Greenewalt gave us earlier inn the day, leading to the internet believing that MS and Turn 10 want to nickel-and-dime us.

      I understand that time-limitations lead to a decreased number of cars and tracks (again, Greenewalt got shit for his answer because he simply didn't say that, instead giving us the usual PR spin where it wasn't needed. We may cry about it at first, but we get that you guys had to meet a deadline).

      I even understand that maybe they didn't have time to bring back car clubs and a functioning store-front. What I don't get is why did they make cars prohibitively expensive and then take away the ability to test drive them? Even if I was into the whole microtransaction deal, I'd be extra pissed that I spent my real life money on a car only to later find out I don't like it.

      I hope Turn 10 continues to listen to their fans and fixes a lot of these issues. I don't mind paying for DLC if it actually feels like additive material isn't of something that was artificially left out of the retail disc just to get some extra money.

      • reply
        November 27, 2013 1:31 PM

        At the very least, they had to make this apology to those Limited Edition owners. You can't promise them enough tokens to buy *any* car and then have that not be the case.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 1:39 PM

          Agreed, but as we've seen before, the damage may already be done. I'm sure you've run into your fair share of people that still think the Xbox One requires Kinect and online check-ins every 24 hours.

          It's things like this that have made the internet so cynical. I just feel bad for the guys that made the most realistic racing game I have ever played, still blows my mind when I see my driver's hands reflected on the windshield.

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 2:00 PM

            people that still think the Xbox One requires Kinect

            It requires you buy it, what's the difference?

            • reply
              November 27, 2013 2:12 PM

              He probably means they think it required the kinect to be on at all times.

            • reply
              November 27, 2013 2:18 PM

              People were more offended by the privacy concerns. It may be shortsighted, but I discredited those same people because I know they post more personal shit on Twitter and Facebook than MS would ever bother capturing.

              I thought the MS was full of themselves and trying to convince people with their "Kinect for the XB1 will change everything;" and while it hasn't changed everything, I can fully agree with it's needed inclusion with every console.

              For better or worse, the XB1 needs the Kinect to properly navigate the train-wreck of a UI they currently have in place (Why does everything need to be an app?!) $100 may sound like a lot of money, but what's $100 over 5-8 years? It's still in its early stages, but using the voice controls is a great experience. I still get a stupid grin on my face everytime I say "Xbox, On" and watch it turn itself and my TV on and then having it log me in just by sitting in front of it.

              • reply
                November 27, 2013 2:21 PM

                I have a device called 'a remote' that does that. The best part is, I don't even have to say anything. I just press the magic button, and it turns everything on for me.

              • reply
                November 27, 2013 2:29 PM

                Gotcha, I wish it was an optional item. In fact I hope they sell it separately like they did with the first one because there was a ton of awesome hacks that people did with it. There's some mocap software on steam that's actually pretty good.

                • reply
                  November 27, 2013 2:43 PM

                  They're going to eventually sell a Windows one for I think it was $300. The current one is not compatible with PC and uses a proprietary cable.

                  • reply
                    November 27, 2013 4:09 PM

                    Good to hear they'll be doing that. The new Kinect seems like it has a LOT more resolving power and that will be awesome for mocap and point cloud generation.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 5:52 PM

          I haven't even used my LE Tokens yet. In fact, I didn't care before the apology, and I don't care now. Sure I got to drive the Lotus Grand Prix car earlier. Am I glad they gifted it to me? Yea. But they gifted me all sorts of random great cars during the other games too.

          I'm sorry, but the Internet has a raging hardon to make mountains out of any mole-hill on the Xbox One front. OH GOD HOW DARE THEY GIVE FREE GAMES TO THOSE WITH BROKEN BLU-RAY DRIVES! FORZA IS CHARGING (AGAIN) REAL MONEY FOR OPTIONAL TOKEN PURCHASES!

          Shit guys, calm the fuck down.

      • reply
        November 27, 2013 5:03 PM

        turn 10 180

      • reply
        November 27, 2013 5:38 PM

        "60 dollars should be treated like a substantial amount of money, and not something that is the baseline for your upsell." -- Jeff Gerstmann, Giant Bombcast 02-05-2013 (on Dead Space 3 having the "coin doubler" bot powerup upgrade DLC)

        I feel like that quote needs to be engraved in stainless steel tablets, to be shipped to every producer of every $60 retail game. Between Forza 5 DLC-ing the Nurburgring Nordschleife (seriously, WTF?!?! It's in the base game of Forza 4 and GT5, and unless Polyphony throws a curveball, it's going to be in the base game for GT6, which is out NEXT WEEK on PS3), and Bioshock Infinite's "Burial at Sea" DLC releasing over half a year after the game released, due to delays, it's infuriating to see broken promise after broken promise. "Are they even promises?", developers may say, but at the very least, they're failures of expectation management, part of which manifested out of product design and marketing efforts that changed drastically during development, and weren't properly conveyed to the public via appropriate PR and/or marketing messaging.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 5:53 PM

          Turn 10 laser scanned tracks. I'm sure that's not a cheap investment for the fucking Nordshleife course. In fact, I would be willing to bet it's at best a break-even proposition releasing it as DLC.

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 7:29 PM

            I think Microsoft Studios has enough revenue from the biannual Halo game to offset that; also, Microsoft had a rather good quarter after the restructure. Walling off the Nordschleife as paid DLC is reprehensible for a sim racing game, and if it turns out that the Nordschleife is on the disc of Gran Turismo 6 (as it was in Gran Turismo 5), it's going to make Turn 10 look even worse.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 6:22 PM

          [deleted]

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 6:24 PM

            [deleted]

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 7:24 PM

            I mentally bookmark the approximate location. When I think back to a specific episode and discussion, I play it back on the iPod or computer, and find the exact time of the specific quote.

    • reply
      November 27, 2013 1:36 PM

      Good thing I bought the limited edition.

      • reply
        November 27, 2013 1:40 PM

        I'm still confused as to what the VIP membership gets us.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 1:57 PM

          Unicorn cars at various intervals were the most valuable thing for VIP in previous Forzas. You'd just randomly receive custom paints and tuned cars, etc...

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 2:07 PM

          VIP Membership – Forza Motorsport 5 VIPs enjoy exclusive benefits, including 2x player reward acceleration, access to exclusive multiplayer events, an exclusive in-game player card badge, and in-game gifts from the Forza community team.** VIPs will also have access to the Forza Motorsport 5 VIP Car Pack, featuring five amazing cars only available to VIP members, including:

          1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C — Marketed as “the fastest streetcar in the world,” the 427 S/C is the most desirable of all the Shelby Cobra variants. Out of the 100 that were planned only 53 were built. They are nothing less than a purpose-built race car converted at the last minute for street use.
          1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird — Dubbed the “Yellowbird” by journalists during a test drive event, the 1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird earns its name thanks to the canary-like chirping of its twin turbo blow-off valve. Just 29 of these cherished classics were built.
          1991 Mazda #55 787B – One of the most beloved race cars of all time, the 787B holds the distinction as being Japan’s only winner of a 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Featuring a brash green and orange livery and an unmistakable screaming Wankel rotary engine, the 787B continues to inspire more than 20 years after its debut.
          2011 Ford F150 SVT Raptor — Say hello to your rear view mirror's worst nightmare. The Raptor is essentially a factory-built pre-runner race truck with suspension to match its under-the-hood muscle. Slide it, jump it, whatever you like — it just begs for more.
          2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport – Even among hypercars, the Veyron Super Sport stands alone. After all, this is the car that currently holds the Guinness record for “World’s Fastest Car” at speeds approaching 270 mph.

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 2:20 PM

            Ah of course, forgot about the cars. Also, I don't quite understand the 2X player reward acceleration, is it always active or is it for a limited time? Do I have to manually activate it?

          • reply
            November 28, 2013 5:35 PM

            I misunderstood thinking we started with these 5 DLC cars. I did not know we had to purchase them in game. Is this how it worked with Forza 3 (had limited edition of that too). Also can someone explain the new DLC priced at $50 on the Xbox Store that states you will receive 60 cars with a new car every other week or something.

    • reply
      November 27, 2013 2:04 PM

      I want to thank sites like shacknews and eurogamer who wrote article about this stuff and increased awareness enough to get things sorted. It seems like a contest to see how much they can get away with, and it's nice to have a voice to oppose it.

      • reply
        November 27, 2013 2:09 PM

        It's not really sorted. Read the site, most of significant changes are temporary through December only.

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 2:13 PM

          In the case of the "price drop" on cars, it's only supposed to last from Friday through Sunday. That isn't so much a "price drop" as it is a "Black Friday sale."

        • reply
          November 27, 2013 2:17 PM

          And the rest are just bonuses to the people already paying extra for VIP and DLC with a bonus car here and there.

          1) Starting this Friday we’re offering a 50 percent discount (credits & tokens) on every car in the game. This discount is available to all players. Every car, from the 1970 Nissan Datsun 510 to the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO will be 50 percent off, so, if you’ve got your eye on something special on the car list, now’s the time to play and add them to your garage! This discount will be available between 12:01 a.m. Pacific on Friday, Nov. 29 and 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, Dec. 1.

          Strange way to do damage control, trying entice people to buy the still overpriced tokens while they're 50% off, but can't blame them for trying!

          5) Finally, we’re dramatically increasing the credit payout available to all Forza players in December via Forza Rewards, our ongoing loyalty program that rewards players with credits and cars for playing Forza games. You’ll be able to redeem these rewards in December but here’s a tip: The higher your Tier level reaches before December rolls around, the better the rewards you’ll be able to redeem, so get your play time in now and level up!

          For an "Economy Update" it seems fairly flimsy and shortsighted. Perhaps they'll tweak it further after December? But it sounds like it will just go back to the default state.

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 2:22 PM

            That limited time 50% off sale couldn't have been timed more poorly. Most of us don't have enough money to really make use of it. I can't be the only one that would've loved to use the discount on the million+ credit cars.

            • reply
              November 27, 2013 5:56 PM

              Like I tweeted at Garnett, I hope it's not a one time sale and they make it a regular occurring thing to discount in-game cars.

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 5:43 PM

            BREAKING NEWS: Publisher turns apology into revenue opportunity

          • reply
            November 27, 2013 7:23 PM

            I feel like high pricing on cars is ok because they'll be more rare to see. But allowing them to be purchased for real money ruins the entire concept.

            • reply
              November 27, 2013 7:25 PM

              "More rare to see" in multiplayer is okay, but I'd like a chance to drive every car at least once in a practice run.

    • reply
      November 29, 2013 12:02 AM

      A free car in a $60 game, wow!!!!

    • reply
      December 1, 2013 10:49 PM

      Desire to be better than others. Facebook is unnatural environment. People often posts to tell others how they are important, how their life is great, how they are happy. There is no more need for telling stories, just one photo and share button are enough to tell them: "Yes... I'm important! I'm better than you! I spent a lot of [url=http://www.fifa14coinsale.co.uk/Fifa14coins/]FIFA 14 PS4 Coin/url] money!" Desire to be better than others persist is in each human, but sometimes, even unconsciously, that can make other Facebook friends less valuable and hurt them.If there is no Facebook, would people really try to impress a dear friend? Answer is probably no. And why they want to impress Facebook friends? One of the answers would be that they are not satisfied with themselves, so if others have high opinion about them, they will be more satisfied. Facebook will take worst things from a person.

Hello, Meet Lola