GT5 has too many cars, says Shift 2 dev

'It's ridiculous,' claims the game's executive producer.

Gran Turismo 5 has too many cars. That's the controversial opinion of Marcus Nilssen, executive producer on EA's forthcoming Shift 2: Unleashed.

"I think it's ridiculous, I do," said Nilssen, speaking to VideoGamer.com at a recent showcase event. "How many of the millions of people who will buy GT5 are going experience all those cars? None!

"I don't think people are interested in driving a Polo 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 - if that would be in such a game, I don't know. I think that people want to drive the original cars that are out there, and those are the cars that we're building: everything from the car-porn cars that you see in the street - the Porsches, the Maseratis - to the race monsters that race around Spa or Monza. It basically caters to all those consumers."

Sony's flagship racing title finally arrived in stores last week, containing a massive 1031 cars. But despite his criticisms, Nilssen professed respect for his Polyphony Digital-developed rival:

"We're competing on the same turf. I would be foolish not to be concerned about GT5. GT5 is a beast. It's hard to understand what you should be worried about - it's so big and they have so many features."

Aside from Gran Turismo, Shift 2's main competition in 2011 is likely to be Forza 4, expected towards the end of the year. But for the time being, Nilssen is confident that his game will beat Turn 10's previous racer.

"I fundamentally think that if you look at Forza 3 and you look at Shift 2, they're not in the same division. Shift 2 is just so far ahead."

Shift 2: Unleashed will have somewhere in the region of 130 cars, Nilssen added. You can read our first impressions of the game here.