Forza Motorsport 4 was released this month. It’s a great game — a great-looking game, too. Gran Turismo 5, released last year, is also a great-looking game. But which one looks better?
These kinds of questions ultimately end up being subjective. It’s a bit like asking, who is a better painter Camille Pissarro or Paul Gauguin? Your personal taste factors in, even with realistic racing simulators.
Eurogamer‘s Digital Foundry took these comparison images, so props to them for that.
In the gallery, the images marked “PS3” are Gran Turismo 5 screens. The images marked “Xbox 360” are Forza 4.
Forza 4 vs. Gran Turismo 5 [Eurogamer via オレ的]
the backrounds in the xbox are much better.
colour of arch? no, not black sorry t10.
pattern? no, from 2008, sorry t10.
1080p? no
3d? no
Doppler effect? no
day/night cycle? no
dynamic lighting? no
weather? no
Spa? no
and yet f4 is better than gt5?
srsly guys, you’d think this site was populated with xbots… wait what?
Nice feature list, but the xbox pics look better than the PS3 pics. Sorry, bro.
dont worry mate, Microsoft have not made a dime off me for years, just like apple.
i guess im just not cool enough.
also driving games are about driving…
oh i give up.
have fun 😉
You’d best go back to your corner and cry at the disappointment that was GT5, bro.
Forza4 looks much better, the only area where it does not, is the anti aliasing.
Face it fanboys, GT5 was a disappointment.
80% of the cars didn’t have a cockpit view, or the high quality body work.
3D is a stupid gimmick that makes no difference to most people.
most of the 1,000 cars were simply “different versions” of a car, there were around 23 versions of an MX5 miata from the 1985 – 1999 period, let’s be realistic here, changing a few numbers in the name and horse power 20 times is a gimmick.
Yes it was on the PS3, we all know that the ps3 is a better console, it does more, it’s more powerful etc, but get over it, i played both racing games, and i swapped GT5 for hot pursuit.
since i read the last line of your reply first, I knew the rest wasn’t worth reading…
everything you need to know
http://insidesimracing.tv/videos/view/586/0/Forza4
f4 is a bit like a show bag, looks good but its actually full of crap.
Are you serious his Miata comment is 100% accurate you gangly pimple covered fanboy
Forza 4 certainly loses the AA battle, but the shadows and especially the textures look a ton better in Forza 4, especially with the grass, of which there is none (just flat textures) in these Gran Turismo screen shots.
You’re also wrong about the game’s resolution. The 360 will upscale Forza 4 to 1080p, and it looks just as good as a native 1080p title on the PS3. The Doppler effect is also barely noticeable unless you’re wearing a set of headphones (but it is a noticeable omission). Not to mention the majority of GT 5’s cars don’t have interiors and are upscaled versions of the cars in GT 4, a Playstation 2 game, which is simply inexcusable. If Turn 10 can make current-gen car models, why does Polyphony think it’s better to use models from a previous-gen console? The damage modelling on these ‘Standard’ cars is extremely basic as well.
What you are right about is the weather and the day/night cycle, which Gran Turismo clearly has the upper hand with, but to be perfectly honest I think that isn’t enough to beat Forza with.
Wow. Xbox is massively better.
How long was GT in development?
I was expecting GT to be loads better….
Are you sure those GT shots are current???
They look unexpectedly polygonal and have low rez textures…even compared to other modern games it looks old.
I’m pretty sure they wouldv’e taken those screen shots from the current games considering they are identical shots 😉
There’s not as much difference as some people might expect. The competition between the both of these has made each one better imo. We win!
Rhetorical question perhaps?
The cars in GT5 are far and away much better in terms of graphics.
The distant backgrounds in Forza are better.
I’d say it’s a personal preference of which is more important.
sorry… but at least ALL the cars are of the same quality in forza… have you had a good look at the standard cars in GT5? they look horrid!
forza gets my vote by far
the only thing that looks better on f4 is the backgrounds look at the shadows and lighting in the gt5 and that in car view looks so much better than on f4 even the sky looks more realistic in gt5 thats in those pictures anyway maybe you need to get recent pics with all the updates added for gt5 the backgrounds look better on my 1080p tv
Gee, I really thought gt5 would have this, I think the car and interior looks better on GT5, but the detail in the track has got to go to forza. the lighting is a bit much though
Turn 10 looks like they had better handling with their kit than Polyphony.
I dont really follow/like racing games too much but i have to say graphically Forza takes the cake on 360..
Forza took a massive deuce on Gran Turismo.
Vehicle graphics are most important to me and that’s where GT wins hands down, Forza seems to *hide* details with oddly placed shadows.
I mean I usually going too face to see my surroundings in that detail.
going too fast**
I love GT, but Forza 4 is definitely better in every way except car details.
Something, something, better on PC.
Exactly. The PC version is the best. Every car has 12 gears instead of the consoles’ gimped 6 gears, and every track is at least 600 metres longer.
Also, tesselation on the gear knobs.
Monkey news
To those of you who are saying the cars look better in GT5 and the lighting is better in GT5 have you actually played forza 4 or are you just comparing the screens above? One of the best things about Forza 4 is its lighting which makes everything feel so incredibally real throughout a race. The sun is in an unfortunate position in the forza in car shot above which has placed the whole interior in shadow (making it a terrible comparison pic)
How about we just enjoy our own preference and shut up, trying to convice someone who likes the other is like throwing mash potato at a wall. At the end of the day the wall is the winner, your mash potato is on the ground being ignored. Just love people.
PS3 fanboy here,
I’m sorry to admit that the Forza 4 pics look better than the GT5 pics.
*hangs self*
TBH I couldn’t give a damn which one looks better. What I care about is which one plays better. My friend and I have put more hours into Dirt 3 than GT5 – simply because it’s more fun. It gives you ‘moments’. It’s thrilling to drive, and reacts better to your input. GT5 was a huge disappointment.
sorry, but since when did graphics matter in a racing game? as long as it’s not 800 x 600 pixels then im happy.
I have played both extensively and you will have to beleive me when I say forza is lifetimes better,
Reasons why
Game runs consistantly smooth at 60fps constant, gt5 does not
Gt5 has about 100ish premium cars the rest look like ps2 graphics lets be honest all of forzas cars are premium and fully customisable including custom liveries and even engine and drivetrain swaps etc
Forza has 500+ cars which are all unique whereas Gt5s car count is grossly inflated via about 10 different versions of every single Nissan GtRs etc which in forza is just a matter of tuning and a new livery…
load times on Gt5 are terrible
top gear test track on gt5 is rarely accessible can’t use it in split screen
No car soccer in gt5
tuning cars in gt5 requires lots of menu jumping and loading and stuff like cat washing and oil change is pointless and a utter waste of time, lets face it if you were a racing driver would you care about oil changes? Nope your lackeys would
And Forza has Jeremy Clarkson and albeit that is not massively important but its enough to sell millions of copies, lets be honest if you own a ps3 you will own gt5 but you will have a bitter taste left in your mouth when your mates are all playing forza 4 with their AWD turbo yaris and all you have a go karts on low detailed tracks
I rest my case
Lol realised I wrote cat washing yep derp derp
cat washing was my favorite feature of GT5 but only for premium cats was it worth it.
“Press Y to rewind race”
This makes Forza lose instantly because it is a game for girls who can’t drive and need a second chance on every corner.
GRAN TURISMO 5 WILL ALWAYS BE SUPERIOR BOW DOWN FOOLS, BOW DOWN BEFORE YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF SCREENSHOTTING IS GAY IT PROVES NOTHING ITS IN MOTION WHEN GRAN TURISMO PROVES GLORIOUS VICTOR 2.0 UPDATE UPPED THE RESOLUTION AND THE GRAPHICS LOOK SHARPER THAN EVER .. FORZA F-IN SUCKS.
*GRABS KEYBOARD BY THE END PREPARES TO SLAM IT INTO THE MOUTHS OF HUNGRY FORZA TROLL F-WITS APE RAGE YAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH*
BRB PLAYING GT5 ONLINE AND ENJOYING THE F OUT OF IT …. IF GT5 IS FOR HEROES AND FORZA 4 IS FOR DRIBBLING RETARDS WHAT THE F AM I DOING PLAYING THE WRONG GAME FOR ?
GT5 was atrocious. I’ve been a fan of GT since GT2 and loved all of them, even A and B spec for GT3 but by god GT5 was shit. Forza 3 even looks better than GT5. Forza 4 raised the bar just like Forza 3 did. GT5 lingers beneath it, beneath GT3.
Both games are utter shit, need4speed LOL
Wow, this article really manage to draw out the mouthbreathers.
GTFO of the genepool you brainless chimps. Seriously.
MAYBE MY NOSE ISN’T AS BIG AS YOURS PAUL DID U EVER THINK OF THAT!
Artistically speaking? Forza is leagues ahead. Better, more accurate tone to the pictures.
The poly budget is clearly being managed differently between the two games, with Forza throwing a portion of its budget at grass effects, etc. It’s clearly got a notch on GT in texture assets and pps, however.
This is sorta unfair as GT5’s Tsukuba was basically a port of the GT4 version. Tracks like Spa, Nurburgring or any of the remodelled tracks for PS3 have a higher level of detail than Tsukuba in this instance. As for my two cents: GT5 graphical highs are better than Forza 4, but Forza 4 is the more consistant game graphically, and if that’s what matters more to the casual sim racer consumer, so be it.
When I play GT5, It makes me feel like playing Forza instead
gt5 graphics are much better than forza 4. its hard for me to see the upcoming corners in forza and i overshoot them. gt5 is all clear ahead and can see much clearer.
@sam. Its not unfair. You say that it was “basicly a port of the GT4 version” like your helping GT5’s case. So they were so lazy they just upscaled a GT4 track instead of remaking it??? It seems like that’s what PD did with half of the game.
GT 5 for me is better but I am sick of the we will have damage next game bulls”__t” and being held on the track with orange tape. sort it out please
I really think the reason why gt5 at times looks better than fm4 is 1) forza’s poor anti-aliasing and 2) the perspective from which the games are played. Forza’s picture looks almost distorted, even though the visuals technically have higher detail.
one system has a cheap 900 degree steering wheel (sony) and the other one doesn’t.
one is 1080p native (GT5) which is good for a person who uses the steering wheel and i sit nearer the TV. but i do have my gripes, i admit the standard cars suck…(i have 41 cars, only 2 of them being standard)…and there’s no porsche…
for next gen wars, if Gran Turismo 6 doesn’t up the ante, then im gonna go for xbox…and porsche would determine it as well. but i marvel at a black Lexus ISF in premium…GT5 is a game u need to make decisions (like not buying standard cars), and buying RUF’s(which i can’t escape from buying even if its standard) if you really need to have a porsche feel. textures of the grass is way better on forza, but when driving in a cockpit you wouldn’t be able to see it. what u can see is colour of the grass, and i think the colour of the grass in GT5 is more ‘realistic’… and yes GT5 implements alot of mountainous 2D scenery but it also looks more ‘realistic’…
a cheap 900 degree steering wheel is good,.
ive played forza4 and it doesn’t seem that much better than forza3 (with a good samsung LED TV)…
wait til xbox720 and i might buy forza5 with a fanatec wheel [if porsche is on forza5] … if porsche is on GT6 or on GT5 DLC – you’ll know i go sony.
1080p is a major draw card, constant 60fps is not that important even with a little bit of screen tearing, – there are so many 30fps games these days which don’t look that bad, esp with new tvs that prob add frames.
less than $100AUStralian logitech steering wheel for the win 900 degree steering.
or a metallic blue acura nsx…430 scuderia permiums, they own forza bar none.
alot of people (even xbox users) who complain about the aliasing even on the cars esp while moving (which i have noticed, which is alot worse than foza3)…which (may or maynot) make internet screenshots somewhat misleading… my guess is that forza4 is more computation expensive than forza3, more cars, more detail, and they sacrificed the aliasing abit. this in MHO was a mistake, and thus i like forza3. theres alot of 720/1080p setting discussions on foza. i think a 720p plasma would be perfect for it. but it just brings to the conclusion that GT5 is cool, cos it has 1080p native.