Do Seasonal Events Save Racing in GT5?

For many people, the single-player aspects of Gran Turismo are disappointing. Seasonal Events have served as a way to enjoy racing in Gran Turismo with many different events. Each Seasonal features many different ways to race. Most common are the A-Spec races, featuring five different events. The fifth event usually takes place on a generated race track. There are Time Trial events where racers are invited to post the fastest time. Posting the fastest time gets you some prizes in the game. Your time is also up against other online players. Sometimes, you just want to view all of the top times to see what everyone else is using. There are also Drift Trials that are part of the Seasonal Events package. The Drift Trials require you to furiously (yet stylishly) drift around corners to rack up as many points as possible. Finally, there are Expert events that are very strict in regulations. These Expert races will pay you heavily in Credits and in Experience if you are able to win these races.

The main question here is... do Seasonal Events save GT5's racing and replay value?

--- Gran Turismo 5 Seasonal Events: Racing Savior of GT5? ---

^ Do Seasonal Events, such as the German Touring Car Championship Seasonal, save and enhance the variety of racing in Gran Turismo 5? That will be debated on this blog post.

Many people disappointed with the array of races in GT5 single player racing feel that Seasonal Events help extend the replay value of GT5. Since these races usually require certain kinds of cars and cars of a certain level of Performance Points, it gives many gamers reason to race more with certain cars. Think about Gran Turismo 4. GT4 wasn't the first GT to have One-Make Races, but you know you had to have certain cars if you wanted to win all the races. You sometimes had these cars just to compete in the various One-Make Races. These events should at least be enjoyed for the money and for picking up racing suits and racing helmets (especially for victories).

You probably feel like the single-player elements could have been more interesting and enjoyable in GT5, but Seasonal Events are really a tad more challenging and fun. You always start dead last in the Seasonal A-Spec races, and you must work your way to win the race. A number of people probably wish you can qualify so that you don't have to work from behind all the time.

--- Can More Be Done? ---

I think a lot more can be done. Consider the following in enhancing Seasonal Events:

B-Spec Seasonals?

• I would actually be interested in B-Spec racing Seasonal Events. It would be great to get some more B-Spec experience going in these tough events if we're struggling through the A-Spec events. If it's my A-Spec skills getting a workout in these races, why not give the B-Spec racers some Seasonal races to take part in? Don't give me that stuff about B-Spec racers being pathetic and passive. B-Spec racers should have to endure through these races as much as we are through A-Spec. So why not Seasonals for B-Spec?

Rally Seasonals?

• I think some of my fellow GT fans will agree- as much as we have rally events, it would be GREAT to have rally racing Seasonals. Think about it for a moment. If we have (for example) a Seasonal dedicated to 4WD cars, why not an event or an entire Seasonal where you have maybe a three-race or a five-race rally. I mean, how tough is it to set up Seasonal or an event that's all about rallying? You could have any kind of rally Seasonals limited to cars of a certain horsepower level. Heck, you could (and I know my rally racing fans will LOVE this) even limit the choice of cars to the Group B rally racing monsters. Perhaps even have a Seasonal limited to proper rally cars (including Group B). You could possibly even set up a makeshift rally weekend where you do rally racing for two or three simulated days across a number of stages. Don't just leave the rally racing to the Special category- Seasonal rallying would be great!

Seasonal Endurances?

• It would be interesting to see a Seasonal Endurance. Since most Seasonal races are within 6 to 10 minutes, a longer series of Endurance races between 25 to 30 minutes would be nice. Or at the most, a race of about 55 minutes to a full hour would be more than suitable for endurances. An Endurance Seasonal featuring only one event (or maybe more than one) is also possible. I say to make these time-based rather than lap-based.

Seasonal Championships?

Rather than five races, why not a championship? Maybe you can win both a new helmet and a new racing suit for winning the championship. Set up five races and find out if you can win the championship. Of course, you can still win individual prizes for clearing individual rounds. However, imagine winning much more for winning the championship. Talk about making money and earning experience! No better way to do so than to clear all of the races in a championship. Or if not new racing outfits, put up [for one time only] a prize car for winning a Seasonal Championship. It could either be a specific car or a ticket/coupon for a car of a certain theme. For example, winning a Seasonal Championship with muscle cars could earn you a Ticket that could earn you a Ford GT40 Race Car.

More Interesting Seasonal Events.

• If you remember Gran Turismo 1, there were some events where you could take your machine and mod its performance extremely. The Megaspeed Cup and Tuned Car races were two of the best in anything-goes tuning and racing. I still remember taking my 930 horsepower Mitsubishi GTO (3000GT) and just go crazy racing full speed in all of the races. I'd say more races where you could race almost whatever you want (no Performance Point restrictions) would be great. More unique events, more unique races... just make it interesting! Only problem, however, would be that certain people would take certain cars (like a formula car or the X2010) and easily win. Maybe even grind for money and experience. So SOME restrictions would have to be placed.


The real reason why I mostly do Seasonals is for the money and the experience. If you have the Spec 2.0 update, consecutive logins result in up to 200% boost in your winnings and experience. Winning one Seasonal Event is almost enough to max out your car's performance. Therefore, winning these can be very beneficial. You can also keep racing these Seasonals to build up money to purchase more cars or save up for a really expensive car. Two of the PSN Trophy goals are to get 1,000 cars and to have an insane amount of money (10M Credits or more). Making all the money you can will help you get there.





So do you think Seasonal Events save the single player racing aspect of GT5, or do you think the Seasonal Events should maybe replace the A-Spec and B-Spec events? What are your thoughts on Seasonal Events in regards to enhancing Gran Turismo 5's array of races? Also, what do you think about my ideas for enhancing the Seasonals? Comment away and thank you for reading!

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