Turn 10 explains lack of Porsches in Forza 4

Turn 10 explains lack of Porsches in Forza 4
Tom Orry Updated on by

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Forza 4 won’t include Porsches and it’s all EA’s fault, according to Turn 10 creative director Dan Greenawalt. While Turn 10 wanted to include all the best cars in the world, EA has the exclusive license and couldn’t agree a deal with Microsoft.

“This kills me,” explained Greenawalt. “While Forza Motorsport 4 will feature RUF, it will not include Porsche cars. As many of you know, since the beginning of the Forza franchise, the Porsche license has been available only through a sub-licensing deal with EA. 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.”

The lack of a deal isn’t through a lack of trying by Turn 10 or by people on its behalf.

“We’ve asked our contacts at EA to reconsider their position frequently and regularly over the last 18 months. We also reached out to various influential people in gaming to lobby on our behalf, and on your behalf, but that was to no avail.

“In our business, we stay friendly with all of the manufacturers and licensors necessary to deliver players rich and innovative automotive experiences. As you’d expect, this includes quite a few key people in Porsche circles. To make sure we tried everything, we consulted with these advocates and were happy to find they were already aware of the situation and lobbying from within on behalf of Forza 4 – and, despite the result, we thank them for their efforts.”

Greenawalt also explained how the two companies had worked together in the past.

“While we respect EA’s need to run their business as they see fit, we’ve regularly collaborated in the past and hope we can find our way back to that approach. Forza had the exclusive license for all Ferrari cars, for example, on the Xbox and PC platforms. But at the end of the day, we’ve always found that we just 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.”

There is some silver-lining in the shape of the three new RUF cars 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.”

Speaking in a presentation attended by VideoGamer.com at gamescom, Greenawalt said that Forza 4 will pave the way for better looking games.

Forza Motorsport 4 is due for release on Xbox 360 on October 14.