Gran Turismo 7 is here and parallel to the release, the microtransactions and credit packages have now also been activated in the Playstation Store. And they make for plenty of long faces.
The ability to purchase vehicles in a racing game for real money by buying credit packs is nothing new. There was something similar in the predecessor Gran Turismo Sport, but apparently the prices for Gran Turismo 7 are at a much higher level.
There are currently four different credit packs offered in the store:
- 100,000 credits for 2.49 dollars
- 250,000 credits for 4.99 dollars
- 750,000 credits for 9.99 dollars
- 2,000,000 credits for 19.99 dollars
So far so good, but if you look into the game, what the vehicles cost there, you get a bit dizzy. Rare engines like the Porsche 919 Hybrid 16, Aston Martin Vulcan ’16 or Audi R18 TDI ’11 cost 3,000,000 credits or more there, which is the equivalent of 30 dollars. Per piece mind you. In other words, if you want to get one of the vehicles without grinding endlessly in the game, you can dig deep into your pocket.
After all, in the second-hand shop you can get an old Nissan slingshot for just under 40,000, and a MINI Cooper for as little as 23,900 credits. For a normal road Porsche, 250-350,000 are due.
To make matters worse, you’re not exactly drowning in credits, as upgrades also come at a cost and you can’t sell vehicles for credits. It remains to be seen whether this will be well received by the players, especially since the vehicle prices for the predecessor were significantly lower.