i think you're being too harsh.. pulse was the first wipeout that i played, and and im currently at grid 11 as a total newbie (didnt even know what airbrakes were) i must say it took some time just to do the first grid, after getting used to how the game plays it started getting fun. speed and trial gave me reasons to get better and while the first were easy it starts getting harder, and the singleplayer is huge,,

if a gold is too easy for a veteran does that really matter? we have ranking tables and in a near future downloadble ghosts to keep them happy with the competitive aspect.

and for newbies, a not too easy but a little practice away gold will keep them from giving up and in the process getting better, after that you'll have a new person addicted to the game and both ranking tables and online to improve their skills