Gran Turismo (series)

Lore & Background

The series' origins trace back to 1992, when Kazunori Yamauchi, an employee at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, started developing the original Gran Turismo with a team named Polys Entertainment, which started with five people and eventually became seventeen. Development took five years. Sony initially rejected Yamauchi's pitch for a realistic racing sim, but after the success of the team's other arcade racing games, Motor Toon Grand Prix and Motor Toon Grand Prix 2, the idea was accepted. The first Gran Turismo was released for the PlayStation in Japan in 1997, and in North America, Europe, and other territories in 1998. Polyphony Digital was founded shortly after the sim's release.

Gran Turismo games typically feature a single-player campaign with races, championships, license tests, and challenges. Players start with slower, cheaper cars and build a garage of faster, more expensive cars. Handling is based on real-world physics, requiring real race driving techniques, though assists are available. The series includes a wide variety of vehicles, from everyday cars to exotic sports cars and purpose-built racing cars, and from classics to modern cars. Various modifications can alter performance and appearance. Tracks include laser scanned replicas of real-world venues and fictional tracks. The series also performed as technical support for cars in the LMP1 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nürburgring 24-hour race.

Newer installments include online multiplayer with competitive and casual play. Notable competitions include the Gran Turismo World Series and the former GT Academy. The series has partnerships with Brembo, Dunlop Tyres, Mazda, Toyota Gazoo Racing, and Fanatec for the Gran Turismo World Series. In 2024, Mercedes-AMG recognized Gran Turismo 7 as part of sim racing.

Reader's Guide

Gran Turismo is one of PlayStation's most successful franchises, having garnered both commercial success and critical acclaim. The first title was the highest selling game for the original PlayStation, while four subsequent installments have been among the top-three best-selling games for their respective consoles. Multiple entries have been ranked among the greatest video games of all time. In 2023, the series received a film adaptation, and it became a sport for the Olympic Esports with the backing of the FIA. Many car manufacturers have designed virtual concept cars specifically for the series. The series is known for its accurate driving physics emulation, a large number of licensed vehicles, attention to vehicle detail, the ability to tune a car's performance, and realistic graphics. Its physics emulation includes real-world dynamics such as weight transfer, suspension response, and understeer/oversteer characteristics. The sim has been a flagship for the PlayStation console's graphics capabilities and is often used to demonstrate the system's potential. Gran Turismo was the first modern simulator of the 21st century to promote racing with a wheel, instead of a controller.

Did You Know?

• The original Gran Turismo development took five years and started with a team of five people that eventually became seventeen.
• Gran Turismo 2 had to be put onto two discs due to its size, featuring 650 cars.
• The series has a subtitle 'The Real Driving Simulator' used since the first Gran Turismo, according to Polyphony Digital.
• Gran Turismo 4 Online Test Version, released for the PS2 in 2006, featured online play with up to 100 people in chat rooms.