Despite their inclusion in previous Forza Motorsport titles, Forza 4 won't feature any vehicles from German sports car company Porsche. In a FAQ posted to the official Forza website, Turn 10 creative director Dan Greenwalt explained, "EA couldn't see their way towards collaborating again," though it seems that it wasn't for lack of trying on Turn 10's part. EA currently has licensing exclusivity arrangements with Porsche, similar to the publisher's deal with the NFL. But with Need for Speed: Shift becoming its own sim racing franchise, it seems EA could be pushing back on the Forza folks.

"We've asked our contacts at EA to reconsider their position frequently and regularly over the last 18 months," Greenwalt said. "We also reached out to various influential people in gaming to lobby on our behalf, but that was to no avail." Though he said that his employer and EA have worked out sub-licensing deals before, this time EA didn't allow wasn't on board -- regardless of how hard Turn 10 lobbied.

In total, the game will be lacking 35 Porsche models, replaced with an unnamed cadre of "new makes and models." Greenwalt's lament is palpable in his conclusion, where he apologized to series loyalists: "Fans shouldn't have to think about any of this -- you should just be able to drive Porsches and Ferraris in the games you love. Porsche makes wonderful cars and I'm sorry that we won't have them in Forza 4." EA had yet to respond to request for comment as of publishing.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/08/25/forza-4-creative-lead-game-missing-porsches-due-to-lack-of-acce/#comments

Posted: Aug 25, 2011 1:27 pm