GT is the pioneer. The games are consistently good.

When the first GT game came out on PS, my older sister's friends used to come over and we'd rent it and play together. It was completely unique and had a bunch of tracks, a legion of cars and offered deep customization, with everything being based in reality even if the physics were poor back then.
It was huge, terrific and entirely unique.

It's because GT-GT4 were all ridiculously awesome games. It's brand is now bigger than it's product though imo and that's why it is still popular in spite of it's dipping quality.

It was revolutionary for its time and was the best racing simulator for a long while.

They're great games, sure. But GT3 was revolutionary. GT use to do things that no one ever saw before and given the tech, GT5/6 didn't push things forward like the PS1 and PS2 titles did.

Was? It still is. It's also the best selling racing sim. It's basically Sony's Halo. Well, Halo has dropped in terms of sales, but I think a new mainline GT on PS4 will still sell incredibly well.

All you need is a more powerful car? If you play some A-Spec challenges where you get the option to pick more powerful cars within that challenge's requirements. But actual competitive modes, or even just doing an exhibition race, if you pick a car, any car, and the game will make your match with similar cars. When I got the Bugatti Veyron in GT5 and picked an easy track (Indy Motor Speedway), I wasn't able to just blow past everyone, because similarly powerful cars were being raced against.

Was? I think you mean is.

I still can't briefs the 100 million views GT academy got. Wonder if they were unique views or accumulative views

I'll never understand the popularity of racing sims. I mean, I understand the appeal for enthusiasts, but the fact that it's such a massive genre just blows my mind, It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would have mainstream appeal.