This thread has been approved by Radishhead. This thread isn't a Gran Turismo vs Forza thread, this was just as an example. It's acceptable to talk about these games in context of the original question ("does quality = sales?") but if it turns into a Forza vs GT flamewar then it will be locked again, and suitable moderator action will be taken against those responsible.

I've just discovered something shocking while browsing through the vgchartz database...quality does not equal sales, and I have definitive proof. Forza and Gran Turismo are the best examples I can use to illustrate this phenomenon because they're both their respective consoles flagship exclusive racing franchise. 

Anyway, lets look at quality first. Here are the metascores of all the Forza and Gran Turismo games released this gen:

Forza 2: 90 metascore

Forza 3: 92 metascore

Forza 4: 91 metascore

Forza average for this gen: 91 metascore

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 80 metascore

Gran Turismo 5: 84 metascore

Gran Turismo average for this gen: 82 metascore

Given that Forza games are better than Gran Turismo games and there are more of them, any rational person would assume that Forza has sold more than Gran Turismo... But that's not the case. Here are the sales:

Forza 2: 3.99m

Forza 3: 5.11m

Forza 4: 2.43m

Forza total sales for this gen: 11.53m

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 4.11m

Gran Turismo 5: 7.97m

Gran Turismo total sales for this gen: 12.08m

That's right folks, despite Forza being a higher quality franchise and having a higher quantity too, it has still sold less. What the hell?! Startling, to say the least. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

Uh oh

Oh. My. God.

I thought everybody already knew this.


People would rather be safe than sorry, and Gran Turismo is a more established franchise. It is natural that GT will sell more units.

Wait, Forza averages 91 a game? News to me.

Metacritic scores aren't always the perfect place to go when you want to know the quality of a game.

My best explaination is that Gran Turismo has went on for many years before solid competetion (Forza) sprang up, which has earned it a large dedicated fanbase. However, if you compare GT5's sales to that of the past entries in the series, one could make the case that Forza made quite a dent in GT5's sales, dedicated fanbase or not.

Indeed. It's instead an excellent place to find out what the "I play games like it's my job" audience thinks.

Locked for the sole reason of comparing Forza to Gran Turismo.

This thread simply won't end well.

One is the second most successful racing franchise of all time with games spanning 3 very successful consoles. The other, while critically acclaimed, has only been on 1 successful console. Obviously Gran Turismo has build up a much bigger fanbase. Metascore =/= sales can be shown without giving examples that are clearly trying to start a flame war.