Forza is the higher rated game racer and the self-proclaimed definitive racing franchise yet it has sold on par with with Gran Turismo boasting 6 iterations versus 3.

By all means the definitive racing game should have sold close to 30 million in the 8 years since it's reception! It's tens of millions of fans should have inspired a Spike Television show called Forza University, right?

or is it Gran Turismo's is to racing games what Mario is to platformers what Call of Duty is to Shooters, Gran Turismo represents racing in every aspect and way however much it's metascore fluctautes through every new iteration.

Sure GT has been around 7 years longer than Forza yet let us not make up excuses, the highest rated racer of the 7th generation shouldn't need an excuse and if it does, does that mean it's not definitive?

Forza is the self-proclaimed definitive racing franchise?  I thought it was Mario Kart :O

Sim racing = Gran Turismo. Nothing you can do about it.

You are right GT is to racing what mario is to platforming

metacritic =/= sales

Sony's biggest exclusive. A lot of bundeling since the first version, many ads, the first serious racing-sim on consoles, it is much more known in the public.

I think to the car racing enthusiasts - Gran Turismo is definitively the better series simply because of the physics, car mechanics and actual simulation and sells better because of it. It has what the audience is looking for. People say Forza has better sound, music, graphics and menus - and sure, but that's not really what appeals to the audience buying the games; the gameplay is.

Or at least that's what I'm getting from the online audience.

Regional bias probably has a big deal to do with it. Playstation is bigger in europe and japan where sim racers are actually popular.

Xbox is not as popular in europe as the Playstation Forza is not that good known. Gran Turismo is considered the definitive simulation when it comes to cars (if its true or not doesn`t matter). Everybody knows it in Europe and Europe is the place where it counts when it comes to games like Forza and GT.

Europe.

Also, not enough guns.