#DriveClub PS4 (Evolution Studios)

[Digfox]

Wasn't it recently announced that over 3 million players a day were playing Destiny. I know that across 4 different formats but it does show that irrespective of the consoles infrastructure it is possible to have a successful online game launch.

To be fair Microsoft has recently been offering 3 games a month for it's two Xbox consoles though Games with Gold promotion so there a certain amount of parity with these freebies. Whilst I've enjoyed the odd freebie I do prefer that revenue from subscriptions is used to strengthen and expand the online infrastructure. Reliability and maintenance out of peak service hours is the key here.

Whilst I'm no expert in this area and I understand it must be complex to maintain a large service like this, particularly if it's not your area of strength my gut feeling is there's a large profit to be made from the subscription revenue these companies receive. That ultimately they put a fraction or the bare minimum into servers and staff that they can.

[MartyG]

I think sony are worried about psn though i got a survery through from them the other day and there where loads of loaded questions asking me to compare my impresions of xbox live to psn.

The one where they ask you to describe PSN and you get a selection from (paraphrasing) "PSN is the best for online games" "PSN is best for my friends" and a myriad of other overly positive nonsense? If so I got that email too. Took bloody ages to complete the survey too.

[baad bwoy]

The driveclub PS+ is a shambles. If Sony made it clear they were no longer releasing it as a freebie on PS+ then I think more people would just go out and buy it, such is the dearth of racing games at the moment on PS4. Instead by holding out that promise I think lots of people won't purchase the game and wait. Feel frustrated as want to pay the game

[MoFo2]

Update on their Facebook-page:

Hi everyone,

The team at Evolution continues to work diligently to resolve all of the server issues. We know you have all been extremely patient and understandably frustrated during DRIVECLUB’s launch, and to show our appreciation for the support during this challenging time, we will be offering the premium DLC packs for November (25th November-SCEA/26th November-SCEE/27th November-SCEJ) free to those who purchased the full game.

These premium DLC packs – The Ignition Expansion Pack and Photo-Finish Tour Pack along with two livery packs – will give you a total of five new cars, 22 new tour events, 10 new trophies and 10 new livery items to play with online and offline.

The Season Pass will be extended to include four extra packs in July 2015 to ensure players who purchased the pass get everything that was promised. So on top of the free DLC in November, the Season Pass will still include 38 cars, 176 tour events and 80 unique liveries.

On Tuesday we will also be releasing our next game update which includes our first round of player requested feature updates.

In addition to Photo Mode, which will allow you to share your most thrilling moments with your friends, we will be adding:

• Improved multiplayer collision physics to reduce frustrating spin-outs
• Adjustments to soften the corner cutting penalty system
• Options in the club menu to view everything your club has unlocked
• A fix to allow all club owners to update their club badges

This update also includes the first new tracks, which we announced back in September as part of our plans to keep supporting and expanding the game as you play. These include the following free new tracks for online and offline play (also playable in reverse):

• India – Yedepalli
• Scotland – Wester Ross
• Chile – Los Pelambres

Although currently we do not have an update regarding the timing for the launch of the PS Plus Edition, we are continually working on improving the server capacity to enable us to launch the PS Plus Edition as quickly as possible.

Once again, thank you for your support. We are truly sorry that the road to delivering the full DRIVECLUB racing experience on PS4 has been such a rocky one.

[Digfox]

Good news that's there is some compensation being given out although debatable that its enough.

It reads more like a marketing release for upcoming content rather than a meaningful update on the current situation. Suggests that new content will arrive before a fix for the game does.

[Neon Ignition]

http://www.vg247.com/2015/01/12/driveclub-is-this-the-first-look-at-japan-dlc/

A new image on the Drive Club FB page has hinted the Japan track is on its way

[Family Fry]

When's the PS+ edition on its way?

[Neon Ignition]

Still completely MIA, late this year seems the earliest likelihood

[VR46]

Free Japan DLC is up, all the additions/improvements are in the link.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-19-driveclubs-free-japan-dlc-available-now-via-3-33gb-update

[Wools]

That is a **** load of improvements!

Rainbows, heat haze, Japan tracks and the ability to race online in time trial mode. Good on Evolution for supporting the game so well after release.

[speedlolita]

I need this game now...

[Neon Ignition]

I'm still not touching it for now. After the first few tournaments I feel like I'd be best served waiting till Evo are effectively done with it and then letting the improvements smack my senses when I return lol

[Kron]

To be honest its a shame people are happy to purchase half finished games and send a message to developers it's ok to leave out stuff like Japanese and American cars, Driving aid options, Tuning, the ability to change wheels and aero parts. And a fully fledged livery designer. It's bad enough watching the promo vids where even the people who designed it make the game look like bumper cars due to the crummy AI.

You'd think someone at the studio would have piped up and said it looks completely stupid to launch some Japanese DLC tracks and still have no Japanese vehicles in the game. The way they've brushed the PS plus version under the carpet is just another example of how badly and cynically managed this project is.

We seem to be going backwards.

['Press Start']

We seem to be going backwards.

This whole gen is backwards. Saying that it is 2015 now so hopefully it will pull itself out of beta mode.

[doodledude]

To be honest its a shame people are happy to purchase half finished games and send a message to developers it's ok to leave out stuff like Japanese and American cars, Driving aid options, Tuning, the ability to change wheels and aero parts. And a fully fledged livery designer. It's bad enough watching the promo vids where even the people who designed it make the game look like bumper cars due to the crummy AI.

You'd think someone at the studio would have piped up and said it looks completely stupid to launch some Japanese DLC tracks and still have no Japanese vehicles in the game. The way they've brushed the PS plus version under the carpet is just another example of how badly and cynically managed this project is.

We seem to be going backwards.

No one that bought drive club bought it for the ability to change wheels and fiddle with cars they bought it for a great arcade style racing experience, which it succeeds. The devs never advertised those features so you you should stick to your Xbox threads and keep your trolling out of here.
Not everyone cares about Japanese cars either, buy gran turismo for 500 different skylines if that's your thing.