Gran Turismo seems like a game that is really simy but that also exists in games like Forza 6 and the F1 games. What makes GT Sport different than these other games? Is it the car lineup? is it the tracks? A combination of things?

Having raced real cars I'd say gt has usually been a better sim than Forza which is more arcadey. haven't tried the f1 games though.

Forget about the range of cars, and ignore the graphics for a moment though, because there's something a bit different about GT Sport. It will give you a license for the real world. Having worked your way through the game's campaign mode, completing lessons about racing etiquette along the way, you will be eligible for a FIA Gran Turismo Digital License from your local car club or national motorsports body.

According to the people at Gran Turismo, that license will "hold the same value as a real-life license" if the relevant body grants it based on the information from the game. Over 22 countries have signed up for the program, although details about what sort of real-world testing will be available to back up your digital education are limited

Additionally, races will be broadcast live and the FIA will award prizes to series winners. So it seems that the're leaning a bit further towards the realism. I'm a bit sceptical of the value of a digital licence, but hey, who knows.

Comparison wise Gran Turismo isn't the prettiest game ever. They strive for realistic lighting on cars that looks really dull compared to the colorful brochure look that Forza tends to go for. The weather effects aren't as great as the F1 games either.

The car lineup on Gran Turismo are not as diverse as Forza and there's a big bias for Japanese cars, for instance there will be every Mazda rx-7 or Nissan Skyline in existence, but only 2 dodge chargers.

Gran Turismo has a mixture of real life tracks and fantasy track just like Forza does, but most of the fantasy tracks date back to the PS1 era and haven't had much change since then so they're kinda boring. Forza definitely has more interesting fantasy tracks.

F1 has better simulation rules like yellow flags when there is a crash and the pace car comes out and not to mention that the damage system in F1 is definitely better as well with tires being able to get blow outs from debris and crashes affecting your car. Gran Turismo doesn't even have a damage system or proper crash physics. If you bump into someone it's very bumper car like with the cars bouncing off each other.

The focus for Gran Turismo is to get the most realistic driving experience you can get where all the physics of the car are as realistic as possible and that is something that Forza has never really been to accomplish since they go for more fun driving and even F1 has struggled with that as well with some games not having proper physics. Yeah all the PC sim games are probably more realistic but it's a lot cheaper to get into Gran Turismo than iRacing so there's that.

Also some of these things might change with the new game coming out.

The most interesting driving game for me was, is and will be F1 2012, for sound , for cars and for graphics

The most important difference is the menu design for GT is batshit insane. Why is there a mouse cursor icon when you are using a controller? No-one knows!

Becouse they are designing it as one of those touchscreens you can view car models on at car dealerships. They are running Windows 95 and when you click on the touchscreen an little mouspointer shows up there under your finger.

Thats the state of mind they want you to be in when playing GT ;)

They all have their pros and cons I guess. Generally speaking GT is a bit more dry and technical when it comes to the UI, career progression, visuals and racing itself. Forza is comparable to GT in the accuracy of the driving simulation, the argument of which is more "realistic" will go on forever I guess, but differs in being slightly more approachable and terms of UI, driving assists, career progression and so on.

In the end it's a matter of taste which you prefer. I used to buy and play both franchises quite fervently, up until GT5. In my opinion, at that point GT started to lag too far behind Forza in terms of features, the car list and the driving feel. To me, the cars in Gran Turismo feel a bit lifeless and there's a lack of suspension feel compared to other similar games like Project Cars or Forza that throws me off. Also, having gotten used to the impulse triggers on the Xbox One controller, it's kind of hard to play a racing game without them anymore. The aid that the triggers provide to you, being able to feel and predict tire traction and engine revs, is significant.

Again, it's all pretty much a matter of taste. Some people like Call of Duty, some people like Battlefield. The same applies to racing games.

I'd only recommend F1 for crazies who are way into the sport, including all the most recent rule adjustments, technical regulations and driver changes that come with each annual iteration.

GT Sport is an primarily online focused game. They seem to be going for a impossibly accessible take on iRacing.

Forza is like what GT used to be but really well built...

F1 is for hardcore F1 fans.

Yeah this is about what I expected. It sounds like GT was a game that started the sim racing craze for a larger market and now other games are cutting into that in different ways. GT Sport sounds like they're really returning to motorsport in a big, quite official, way. I just hope we get a game one day that let's us have a really diverse selection of cars. It would be rad if I could buy Forza or GT and have all those cool road cars, the touring cars, and the Le Mans Prototype stuff, as well as F1 cars and other open wheel cars. But F1 seems to be super rigid with that license so I guess what I 'm asking for is basically a pipe dream.

@laxbro19: forza has f1 cars and tracks just not the license same with GT. Obviously not every car but if want to drive f1 then you totally can.

F1 games are more about the sport aspect of racing, rather then just showing off fancy car models. So you have practise sessions, qualifying for grid grid position and then the race itself where you fight for points in an actual championship. I like that a lot more then just running around a (fantasy) track for 3 laps without much purpose.

But the F1 games are also having way lower production quality then a Forza or GT. Presentation is not as slick and graphics and sound are pretty mediocre. And the bugs... the bugs are real! :P

As with any games there are hundred of elements that make up the "look & feel" of a game. Currently, Gran Tourismo is a bit more straight laced and sim-ish; However, it is not a sim like a PC racing sim game. Currently, Forza and Gran Turismo are pretty much offering similar games on the same level. The differences are 'branding focus' Sony promotes their game's more sim-ish elements while Microsoft promote its game's arcady elements; however, both games have both elements. I really think it comes down to what elements are stressed over other elements, not 'empirical' or 'measurable' difference of tracks, tuning options, or 'whatever'.

I still think my favorite GT was GT2. I think that any time I hear "My Favourite Game" by The Cardigans my heart skips a beat. The original disc's opening cinema of GT2 still makes me smile.