I've heard it on many podcasts this week, and one of the biggest problems people have with the GT series is that the License Tests shouldn't be there. 
 
I don't get why people dislike them so much, I really enjoy them and end up learning a lot at the end.  Some of the tests even help you as a better driver, as you know how to properly judge breaking pressure and whatnot.   
 
Maybe it's because most reviewers don't drive to work and whatnot (as many of them take public transportation), but for me as a driver, I find them fun and interesting. 
 
Sure the game is locked out if you can't do them, but that's the entire point of the GT series.  They're like boss battles, and you're leveling up.  :| 
 
So people who dislike License Tests...what's your reason?

  Sure the game is locked out if you can't do them "  

" @KaosAngel said:

  Sure the game is locked out if you can't do them "  

 That's why.  "

Well people want to play the game and if they cant do that due to not being able to pass the first thing in the game its not very fun. It didn't help that the older games in the series didn't have much in helping you learn how to get better so if you couldn't pass the license test then well there wasn't much else for someone to do.

Because it's boring, slow, and I hate breaking. Give me balls-to-the-wall JET MOTTO any day. That's right, I said Jet Motto.

I don't dislike them. I don't drive and the licence tests are one of the main things I'm looking forward to doing. They're on of the most enjoyable challenges in the series. The people who complain about them are probably the type of people who don't like to be challenged - ie. the majority of the gaming press.

" @Manhattan_Project: Do you guys complain in RPGs when you can't beat a boss and progress the story?  It's the same thing.  x.x "

I'm just a bit sick of doing them again and again. Granted, I've done them before but it's just so time consuming.

" Because it's boring, slow, and I hate breaking. Give me balls-to-the-wall JET MOTTO any day. That's right, I said Jet Motto. "

" @Manhattan_Project: Do you guys complain in RPGs when you can't beat a boss and progress the story?  It's the same thing.  x.x "

I couldn't do them in the first game so I said screw it and stopped playing it. But, I was like seven years old at the time and wanted something akin to Test Drive. Gran Turismo certainly wasn't that lol.

I like them. They're challenging and probably a big part of the success of the GT series. A reward with no challenge involved is just not rewarding. I know Jeff thinks so, but maybe that's just a side effect of playing a million games as a game reviewer. Being impatient and just want it all right in front of you.
 
I only played GT 1 but I remember we spent a ton of time on those tests. We never unlocked the best license but we had a ton of fun playing with all the licenses and the races that we could play with the first two licenses.

In an RPG you don't have to beat a boss before the game proper starts.  It is a tutorial that locks away the main game.  Maybe you are crap at games, maybe you are really good but find taking the licence tests really boring - either way you paid for the game and  you shouldn't have to pass a tutorial to unlock the game proper.  Earning cars already takes care of the "levelling up" and this aspect is just antiquated design.

Because its already a pain in the ass in real life

Because the gaming press has this urgent need to beat a game in the shortest time possible, and while RPGs can be long and grinding, they at least feel like they are making progress wheres a license test you can work on it for a while and still never get anywhere if your driving skills just isn't there.