A Retrospective Look at Gran Turismo

December 1st, 2009 by Jordan

GTPlanet Twitter follower jef722 sent me a link to a recent article posted by EDGE Online, and I found its perspective and approach incredibly refreshing. EDGE argues that Yamauchi’s creation is much more than just a racing game – it’s a classic Japanese RPG, played out in hundreds or even thousands of races:

While you can extrapolate Gran Turismo’s unusual design forward into the beginnings of customizable, sandbox gaming, you can also trace it back to a much more traditional source. It so drastically expanded the scale and lifespan of the racing game by following a path parallel to that of Japan’s dominant game form, the RPG epic. The arc is the same: from humble beginnings, you incrementally acquire greater power, in order to best new opponents, in order to earn more currency and in order to acquire greater power still. Buying parts and tuning settings to develop car performance is a close analogue of leveling RPG characters, increasing and tweaking their stats by buying them new abilities and equipment. The experience of playing the game is characterized as much by acres of menu downtime, browsing, comparing, fiddling and planning, as by the action itself.

This formula seems commonplace now, but it changed everything back in 1998. These other games, however, fail to emulate the seemingly endless choice of vehicular options in GT, and its open structure gives you no choice but to write your own story. Of course, if you want to write that story, it’s going to take hard work, something which EDGE touched on quite eloquently:

You have to step out of Arcade mode and start on the long road of a Gran Turismo career to get past the immaculate sensory sheen and unearth GT’s radical agenda for racing games. In doing so you step straight into the first round of the infamous license tests, the austere lessons in driving technique that provide access to the various championships and racing events. They’re almost perversely unexciting; the first thing the game asks you to do is drive a small hatchback in a straight line and then stop it. It’s a long way from the seductive rush of the arcade, or even the steep demands of a motorsport simulation. The tests’ purpose is to train, yes, but also, by their very dullness, to imply the deadly seriousness of what’s to follow. This isn’t kids’ stuff, and you can’t just walk into it;Gran Turismo is a privilege that must be earned with graft. Many are put off by them, and it’s almost as if they were meant to be.

Indeed, if you’re a patient, hard worker, you’re going to find the Gran Turismo experience incredibly rewarding. If you’re just looking for a quick thrill, you’re going to have a more difficult time appreciating what GT really is. Thankfully, for those of us who enjoy the challenge, Yamauchi has kept each major release true to the original, and let’s hope that doesn’t change with GT5. As we look forward to it, we should not forget to appreciate his artistic foresight which has provided us so many great memories over the last decade. Check out the fullarticle right here for more!

http://www.gtplanet.net/a-retrospective-look-at-gran-turismo/

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AMAZING ARTICLe, now endorsed by our partner Gtplanet.com

@sabby

YES $3 Billion!!!

Might as well put my Gran Turismo story here too, what with your "officialness" and all. :)

Back in 1998, I was enthralled by the gift of my first Playstation, with the awesome Gran Turismo. Man I had liking for that game that you could not imagine. I loved my Playstation. In fact, we bought 3 of them throughout the course of it's life. Gran Turismo 2 gave me a similar adrenaline rush, and I knew there and then that I was a GT and Playstation user for life.

A shiny new Gran Turismo 3 in a red Playstation 2 bundle in 2001 gave rise to a new desire that needed to be quenched. That very day that I saw it, I had to have it. This time, when I brought it home, my brothers all got involved and, as I was a little older then and could actually understand the inner workings of cars, I came from being addicted to the series to an overblown passionate, zealous fan. I would defend the Gran Turismo name until the end of time. A-Spec truly was, and still is, the happiest gaming experience I've ever had.

Gran Turismo 4 came in a little later and came with it more tune up options and techniques (or rather, I was just more aware by then because I had my real driver's license already) and I came from a passionate fan on the sidelines to the absolute-craziest car fanatic in the land. In fact, it was my experience with the Nissan Skyline GT-R on GT4 that coerced me into pooling everything I had (and a lot of help from my parents) for that very car sitting in my garage right now.

Then came the Gran Turismo Vision video back in 2006 that really whetted my appetite. I already knew I was going to buy a Playstation 3 ever since the rumors of the new console started, and this made me absolutely sure. In preparation, me and my brother pooled together to buy a new HD-TV (Sony 60" Plasma, top end model at the time). When the PS3 finally came out though, my passion for the console started to fade...

I was in far too much anticipation and expectation brought about by the video and was sorely disappointed by what I saw. There was virtually nothing good on the console to play at the time. Because of this, we decided not to buy the console yet until Gran Turismo 5: Prologue would come out. When it came out in March, I was still skeptical. It looked amazing, but much of the stuff I expected in a next generation GT weren't there. There was still no car damage and, according to reviewers, the online mode was the absolute shits.

My thirst for a nex-gen racer instead went to the 360 because I saw Forza 2 dominating with car damage and superior online performance. My brother bought it, and it quenched my longings for awhile, but I knew from the very moment I held the 360 controller that something was missing. I just didn't have that same passion for Forza that I did for GT.

We finally bought our Playstation 3 on June 12, 2008, to coincide with the Metal Gear Solid 4 launch. Of course, I was also a big fan of MGS4, but the reality was I bought the thing for the hope of one day getting to terms with the Gran Turismo of my dreams. GT5P satiated that hunger for a short while, as the new Logitech GT Force racing wheel was a real treat to hold and the new Nissan GT-R was a dream to drive, but my PS3 quickly faded away in the darkness after Valkyria Chronicles, Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet, and MGS4 faded from my tastes. I only really bought this expensive, disappointing, bulky black hunk of *phew* for a Real Gran Turismo.

Alas, it took far longer than I expected. 2009 and still nothing. I awaited E3 with huge expectations for Sony. Instead, I saw something from Microsoft that took my breath away. Project Natal and Mylo, along with the new Forza 3 took my attention by storm. I wanted a 360 on day 1 of E3 (my brother had one, but he wasn't sharing anymore). I shopped around that very day to inquire about it. I was, at that point, abandoning GT forever.

Then, after work, I saw the Sony conference, with the first real video of Gran Turismo 5. WRC, NASCAR, and car damage, to go along with graphics that far surpassed that of the video shown for Forza 3. There it was. In 5 minutes, my interest in buying a 360 went away completely. The passion that died after the PS2 days resurrected itself in bright colors. I am seriously glad now, for the first time, that I bought a Playstation 3.

GT Academy 2010 Launches December 17th With Downloadable Time Trial

Hello everyone, its Penrose Tackie here Gran Turismo, European Brand Manager.

Following the groundbreaking success of the GT Academy last year and as part of our activities around the forthcoming launch of Gran Turismo 5, I am delighted to officially unveil GT Academy 2010.

On 17th December exclusively via the PlayStation store, we will be launching the GT Academy 2010 Time Trial. The time trial will be the only way into this year’s Academy, and if you’ve got what it takes it could be the start of a life-changing journey.

Last year the GT Academy programme unearthed a real driving talent in the form of Lucas Ordonez from Spain, who after winning the GT Academy went on to drive for the Nissan PlayStation race team and take an astonishing second place in the GT4 Championship – all in his first season!

This time around the Academy is even bigger and better, and competition is bound to be pretty fierce – perhaps best of all though for Gran Turismo fans, it will be the first opportunity to get a hands-on taster as to what Yamauchi-san and his Polyphony team have been carefully crafting and polishing at their Tokyo base.

Qualify in the top twenty within your country and you will be invited to a national final event, where you will pit your wits against the best Gran Turismo drivers in the country. If you make it from there only then will you join the elite 20 that will be taken into the GT Academy 2010.

Only the two best drivers will make it out of this 5 day test of nerve and skill. From there will follow an intensive driver training schedule from which we will select our one GT Academy ace.

The time trial features the stunning Nissan 370Z in two guises. Firstly a blisteringly fast, race-tuned monster and secondly an only slightly less fearsome non-tuned version.

The 370Z is the most recent of the new range of cars wearing the famous ‘Z’ brand revived by Japanese manufacturer Nissan. The car has been specially chosen for its challenging but hugely entertaining rear-wheel drive dynamics and the time trial should allow GT novices and veterans alike to get a real idea of what its like to get to grips with this sensational car

To enter the Academy racers will have to post their best overall leaderboard times negotiating a specially created section of a new Gran Turismo 5 circuit. This best time will be a composite of two separate runs – one with the tuned vehicle and the other with the non-tuned version.

You will have the opportunity to keep refining your overall best time from the launch of the demo right up until the close of this time trial stage at 24.00 CET on 24th January 2010.

To give a flavour of what the GT Academy is all about, check out this trailer.

The GT Academy will run in the following countries:

• UK
• Ireland
• France
• Switzerland
• Italy
• Germany
• Austria
• Denmark
• Norway
• Finland
• Sweden
• Spain
• Portugal
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Australia
• New Zealand

However gamers in countries not mentioned on the list need not fear as there will be a special Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Challenge for them to get to grips with it, too.

If you want to keep up to date with what’s happening with GT5 and the GT Academy 2010 keep checking back on the PlayStation.Blog and also check out the following links.

www.gran-turismo.com
www.facebook.com/GTAcademy
www.twitter.com/GTAcademy

GT fans get ready to start your engines!

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2009/12/03/gt-academy-2010-launches-december-17th-with-downloadable-time-trial/

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EXCELLENT NEWS!!!!

Same day as FF13 launches too.....WOW!

OMG GT academy sounds awesome.... From virtual racing to reality racing....
too bad i don't have a driving licence yet =(

@gustave

the main thing is we get a TASTE OF GT5!!!!!!!!!

awesome

Woohoo, GT academy :) Finally some good news about GT, remember the great success that the last victor of GT academy had? I will be all over this when it launches xD

Discussion For The New Page:

Share with us the following:

WHAT was your first Gran Turismo game?

WHEN did you become a fan of Gran Turismo & describe why you became one?

HOW many Gran Turismo games you own?

WILL you buy Gran Turismo 5 Day 1?

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Thanks to bugrimmar's idea of sharing our Gran Turismo experiences, this will be the discussion for this page

NOTE you can STILL vote for you top 5 FAVORITE tracks in a Gran Turismo game!

This thread is soooo good! well done mate
cant wait till it hits Europe, im going to live on this game for about 6 months lol

WHAT was your first Gran Turismo game?

Gran Turismo 1 for the PSone

WHEN did you become a fan of Gran Turismo & describe why you became one?

I became a fan when I first played it on a friend's house, before I was a GT fan I was a huge Gran Prix 2 and Gran Prix Legends fan, so the transition from a PC F1 simulator to a console racing simulator blew me away. Since that moment I knew that I had my hands on the best overall racing simulator ever made, and it hasn't dissapointed me since them, each new game can still blow me away :)

HOW many Gran Turismo games you own?

All of them, even the Shaddy Gran Turismo Advance for GBA xD (not made by Polyphony Digital mind you)

WILL you buy Gran Turismo 5 Day 1?

That ain't even worth questioning xD