Those of you who have been playing Gran Turismo games for a little while now will remember B-Spec since GT4 (correct me if I’m wrong). It was also in GT5 and supposed to be in GT6. The game has been out for basically a year now and not a word of it has been spoken. According to GTPlanet the next update (probably) will finally be bringing B-Spec to GT6.
For those unaware or have forgotten A-Spec is the game you are actually playing. You buy cars, tune them, go online and race with your friends, etc. B-Spec however is basically the same only instead of you racing the cars someone else is. The someone else is a computer simulator which you instruct during the race. I assume the Gran Turismo 6 B-Spec will be the same as previous versions where you can tell them to go faster, head to the pits, pace yourself, and other small amounts of control. The whole idea is you are the pit crew telling the driver what to do like it would be in real life. In GT4 you could enter a race that you were going to race and let B-Spec driver drive instead. I loved it since I might want to make a sandwich yet still earn some cash at the same time and B-Spec was perfect for that. Once I got back I could watch the end of the race while eating that same sandwich. Was even better for the long endurance races that could literally last hours. That changed in GT5. B-Spec had it’s own separate career mode. You would do all the races in A-Spec driving yourself and have to do it again with the B-Spec driver. Literally the exact same races only you are not driving. It became pretty pointless and frustrating.
I wasn’t super sad when I didn’t see B-Spec in GT6 honestly. The good news is it seems like when B-Spec comes back to the Gran Turismo series it’s going to be like it used to be in GT4. According to the German GT6 site B-Spec will allow you to enter races and either drive yourself or let the B-Spec driver do it.
“The B-Spec mode in which an AI driver can take over for the player who was introduced in all racing events in career mode. You can use the B-Spec mode for races where you find it difficult the qualifications, for example at the longer endurance races, or if you just enjoy as a spectator a race. You can select B-Spec from the Quick Menu, which will be shown before the start of a race event in career mode.”
This is great news for people who don’t want to actually play the game or to go make sandwiches, but does anyone care about B-Spec anymore? Most of the people still playing Gran Turismo 6 right now are the super fans who truly enjoy the series and WANT to drive. I love GT6 because I can take a car that I wish I could drive in real life to a track I wish I could drive it on, get behind my racing wheel and actually drive it! If it was released when GT6 came out originally I may have had a different take on it since it is great for making some extra cash, but I have enough cash now. I, like many others have beaten all there is, have lots of cars, pretty much playing just for fun now. Introducing B-Spec now seems kind of pointless. Of course if it offers something more interesting to the game I am all for it. What do you guys think about B-Spec and are you looking forward to it?
Update: B-Spec came out and my views haven’t really changed. However my driver did get into a battle that I had to record and share with all of you. Nothing like giving a B-Spec driver a 1000hp Saleen S7 and putting him on a wet track lol.
