Gran Turismo (GT) is a series of sim racing video games created by Polyphony Digital. These games are available on PlayStation systems and aim to copy the look and performance of many real-world vehicles, most of which are officially licensed. Since its first release in 1997, more than 100 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it the most successful PlayStation game series.
The way cars handle in Gran Turismo games is based on real-world physics. Players must learn real racing techniques to compete effectively, though the games offer tools to help less experienced players. The series includes a wide range of vehicles, from common cars to rare sports cars and specialized race cars, as well as models from different time periods. Players can often customize cars to change their performance and appearance. The games feature many tracks, including detailed copies of real-world locations and fictional tracks. The series also provided technical support for cars in the LMP1 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nürburgring 24-hour race.
Gran Turismo games usually include a single-player campaign with races, championships, license tests, and other challenges. Completing these tasks gives players in-game money, which can be used to buy new cars or upgrade existing ones. Players typically start with slower, cheaper cars and gradually build a collection of faster, more expensive vehicles. Newer versions of the series include online multiplayer modes for both competitive and casual play. Notable events in the series include the Gran Turismo World Series and the former GT Academy.
Gran Turismo is one of PlayStation’s most successful franchises, achieving both commercial and critical success. The first game was the best-selling title for the original PlayStation, and four later games were among the top three best-selling games for their respective consoles. Many entries in the series have been ranked among the greatest video games of all time. In 2023, the series received a film adaptation and became an Olympic Esports sport with support from the FIA. Car manufacturers have created virtual concept cars for the series, and it works with companies like 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.
Gameplay
The Gran Turismo series is famous for its realistic driving physics, a wide variety of officially licensed cars, detailed car designs, the ability to adjust a car's performance, and high-quality graphics. The game's physics include real-world effects such as how a car's weight shifts during turns, how the suspension reacts, and how the car handles when turning sharply. The game has been a key example of the PlayStation console's graphics power and is often used to show the system's abilities. It includes a replay feature that displays events like movies. The cars' physics are based on their real-life versions, and these effects are felt through the vibrations in PlayStation controllers and special racing wheels made for Gran Turismo and sim racing.
Although Gran Turismo has a fun, less realistic game mode called "arcade mode," most of the game is played in a simulation mode that mimics real driving. Players begin with a set number of credits, usually 10,000, which they use to buy cars from specific manufacturer shops or used car dealers. They can then improve their car's performance at parts stores. Some races are only open to certain types of vehicles. To enter and complete harder races, players must complete a license-testing system that helps them learn driving skills. Players can use prize money from races to upgrade their current car or buy a new one, building a collection of vehicles in their garage. Gran Turismo was the first modern simulator in the 21st century to encourage racing with a wheel instead of a standard controller.
History
The Gran Turismo series began in 1992 when Kazunori Yamauchi, then an employee at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, started working on the first game with a team called Polys Entertainment. The team originally had five members and grew to seventeen people. It took five years to complete the game. Unlike other racing games of that time, which had simple, exaggerated driving mechanics, Gran Turismo was a detailed racing simulator. Sony at first did not support Yamauchi’s idea for a realistic racing game. However, his team continued working on it as a side project. After the success of their other games, Motor Toon Grand Prix and Motor Toon Grand Prix 2, Yamauchi presented the idea to Sony again, and they agreed to support it.
The first Gran Turismo included role-playing elements. Players began with basic cars that could be upgraded over time using prize money earned from races. The game taught players about driving through in-game tests. It had realistic visuals that showed the PlayStation’s graphics abilities and included 150 licensed vehicles, more than any other racing simulator at the time. Players could customize cars and access game content through icons in a central hub. The game was released for the PlayStation in Japan in 1997 and in other regions in 1998. It sold two million copies in Japan by mid-1998. Polyphony Digital was formed shortly after the game’s release. Gran Turismo 2 followed in 1999 for Japan and North America, and in 2000 for other regions. It included rally events and 650 cars, with seven tracks, two of which had reversed layouts. Because the game was large, it required two discs.
The next four games were released on the PlayStation 2 (PS2). Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec came out in 2001 and originally had the title Gran Turismo 2000. Players could now maintain their cars by changing oil and washing them in a new area called "GT Auto." Endurance events, where players raced the same track for long periods with pit stops, were added. A spin-off game, Gran Turismo Concept, had three versions released in 2002. Gran Turismo 4 Prologue was released in 2003. The series has been called "The Real Driving Simulator" since the first game. Gran Turismo 4 had 700 cars, a larger hub world, and new modes like photography and a "mogul" mode where players managed an AI racer. The AI racer, called the "B driver," could compete in endurance events.
A youth-focused version of Gran Turismo was planned for 2005 but was not released. In 2006, Yamauchi confirmed the game was still being developed. In 2008, he said the idea might be included in Gran Turismo 5. In 2013, he stated that the 2009 game Gran Turismo was a version of the youth-focused idea.
Sony showed an updated version of Gran Turismo 4, called Vision Gran Turismo, at E3 2005. This version later influenced Gran Turismo 5. Developing for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) was very difficult, and the game was delayed multiple times. A test version of Gran Turismo 4 Online was released in 2006 for the PS2, featuring online play that had been removed from Gran Turismo 4 during development. Players could join races, view profiles, or chat with up to 100 people at once. Gran Turismo HD Concept, a demo for the PS3, was released in 2006 and included ten cars and one track.
Since Gran Turismo 5 Prologue launched on the PS3 in 2007, the series has included online play. Players could race with up to 16 others at once.
Another game titled Gran Turismo was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2009. It had 800 cars and 35 tracks, each with a reversed layout. It did not include a traditional career mode, as noted by IGN, which described it as "just racing." Gran Turismo 5 was shown at E3 2009 and released for the PS3 in 2010. It introduced GT Academy, a program that allowed players to become real-life racers. According to Yamauchi, cars in the first two games had 300 polygons, while those in Gran Turismo 3 and 4 had 4,000 polygons. In Gran Turismo 5, "premium cars" had 500,000 polygons, and "standard cars" had slightly more detail than those in Gran Turismo 4. Gran Turismo 6 was released for the PS3 in 2013 and was not announced until shortly before its release. It came out after the PlayStation 4 (PS4) was already available, due to similar development delays as Gran Turismo 5. Players now had 1,200 cars to drive.
Yamauchi said the PS4 was easier to develop for. Gran Turismo Sport was released for the PS4 in 2017. It was the first game in the series to focus only on online racing, with no single-player mode or career mode. It received free post-release updates, including new cars, tracks, and offline events. The latest game, Gran Turismo 7, was announced in 2020 and released in 2022. It was developed for the PS4 and PS5 and brought back the traditional career mode.
In 1998, a special demo of Gran Turismo was included with the PlayStation console. The demo allowed players to race in an Arcade Mode event for 90 seconds with three cars: the Subaru Impreza WRX, Honda NSX, and Chevrolet Corvette. Other demos in different regions had similar but slightly different restrictions.
Gran Turismo 2000 was a demo shown at E3 2000 and 2001 to promote
Related products
Polyphony Digital has worked with Logitech, a company that makes computer accessories, and Sparco, a company that makes car parts, to create official driving simulator kits for the Gran Turismo franchise. The latest product is called Driving Force GT. Two other racing wheels also work with Gran Turismo.
In 2009, HPI Racing, a company that makes remote-controlled cars, released an official remote-controlled car model: the HPI E10 RTR Ford GT LM Race Car Spec II. This car was designed to look exactly like the cover car for Gran Turismo 4. It is a ready-to-use, officially approved kit. Future plans include making more kits to copy other Gran Turismo cover cars.
Sponsorships and partnerships with the car industry
Gran Turismo made car companies more involved in racing video games. The game helped increase sales of some cars, like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII. The first seven models of the Lancer Evolution series were only sold in Japan, but the eighth model was sold in the United States. Mitsubishi said the decision to sell the eighth model in the U.S. was partly because of the game's popularity. The TVR car brand from the United Kingdom saw its sales increase six times after its cars were included in the first Gran Turismo game. The series has worked with many companies, both past and present, such as Japan Race Promotion, Brembo, Dunlop Tyres, Michelin, Mazda, Toyota Gazoo Racing, BBS, and Fanatec. It has also partnered with car manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Chaparral, Subaru, Mazda, Infiniti, Alpine, Dodge, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and others to design new cars for the future through the Vision Gran Turismo project. Companies that participate in the Gran Turismo World Series include Alfa Romeo, AMG, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Citroën, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mazda, McLaren, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, and Volkswagen.
Gran Turismo has supported many sports events and teams, including Super GT, Super Formula, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb since 2014, D1GP since 2008, the 2004 Race of Champions, the first chicane on the Mulsanne Straight at Circuit de la Sarthe until 2012, and racing teams or drivers like Prost Grand Prix, Pescarolo Sport, Audi/Oreca, Peugeot, Abt Sportsline, Signatech-Nissan, Audi A4 DTM, Vita4One-BMW Z4, Aston Martin Rapide S, Igor Fraga, Lewis Hamilton, and Sébastien Loeb. In 2009, a Gran Turismo-themed cafe opened at the Twin Ring Motegi racetrack. The series also provided technical help for cars in the LMP1 class during the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Competitions
The GT Academy was a program to find and train new drivers. It was started with help from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Polyphony Digital, and Nissan Europe. The program ran from 2008 to 2016.
Online competitions were held in the game Gran Turismo. The top players from each country were invited to National Finals. The best drivers from each country then went to a Race Camp at Silverstone, UK, for final testing. Winners of the Race Camp joined a special training program created by Nissan. This program taught them to become professional drivers who could compete in real-world races. The top four drivers joined the Nismo Global Driver Exchange and later raced in the Dubai 24 Hour event. Winners of the GT Academy include Lucas Ordóñez, Jordan Tresson, and Jann Mardenborough. These drivers have competed in professional real-life racing. Some of these drivers, who were not professional before, have been praised for their skill, which is similar to drivers with many years of experience. Because of their skill, four GT Academy drivers were not allowed to join the British GT competition’s "gentleman driver" group.
The Gran Turismo World Series is a set of Gran Turismo tournaments held worldwide since 2018. Before 2022, the competition was called the FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships.
In 2021, the FIA and the International Olympic Committee worked together to create the Olympic Virtual Series. Gran Turismo Sport was one of the games used for the motorsport event. The event was an online time trial competition open to all players who use Gran Turismo Sport’s Sport Mode.
In 2023, Gran Turismo was part of the Olympics Esports Series 2023 as the motorsport event. Gran Turismo 7 was used for the first Olympic Esports Week motorsport event in Singapore, held from June 22 to June 25. The competition was won by Kylian Drumont from France.
Reception
The Gran Turismo sim series has been one of the most popular video game series over its lifetime. It has attracted players from all skill levels, including both amateur and professional sim racers like Igor Fraga.
In 2017, Edge magazine named the first Gran Turismo game one of the 10 greatest video games of the last 20 years. Gran Turismo 2, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Gran Turismo 4, and Gran Turismo 5 have all been recognized by different groups as some of the best games ever made. Gran Turismo Sport introduced changes that were at first controversial among fans, but the game later became popular for esports competitions. Gran Turismo 7 faced strong criticism from players due to its use of microtransactions and a "pay-to-play" system. As of March 20, 2022, Gran Turismo 7 had a user score of 2.2 out of 10 on Metacritic, which is the lowest user rating for a Sony game and the lowest score for a PlayStation exclusive game on the site.
Because of the success of the Gran Turismo series, Guinness World Records awarded the series seven world records in the 2008 Gamer's Edition. These records include "Largest Number of Cars in a Racing Game," "Highest Selling PlayStation Game," "Oldest Car in a Racing Game," and "Largest Instruction Guide for a Racing Game." The popularity of the series inspired other studios to create similar simulation racing games. An early example was Advan Racing by Atlus, released for the original PlayStation in November 1998. Sega's response to the series, Sega GT, was released on the Dreamcast console and later had a sequel on the original Xbox before the franchise ended due to low sales. Turn 10 later created the Forza Motorsport series for Xbox consoles, which later appeared on Windows and is often considered the main competitor to Gran Turismo. Other similar games include Driving Emotion Type-S by Square and Enthusia Professional Racing by Konami.
In 2005, Maeda Corporation, working with Tokyo University of Science, studied whether a real-life version of the fictional Grand Valley Speedway from the series could be built.
In recognition of the Mount Panorama Circuit's inclusion in Gran Turismo 6, the City of Bathurst in Australia created a new street called Gran Turismo Drive in December 2013. Mayor Gary Rush said, "Driving a lap of our world famous motor racing circuit is a life changing experience for those who have the chance, and the Bathurst Regional Council is very excited about opening up the Mount Panorama experience through the launch of Gran Turismo 6." Also in 2013, the series creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, had a street named after him in Ronda, Spain. Named Paseo de Kazunori Yamauchi, the street runs near the Parador de Ronda. Ronda's mayor, Maria de la Paz Fernandez Lobato, said, "There is no doubt that his work has a huge cultural resonance with people today. He has driven the racing game genre to new levels of realism and his creations are as much art as technology. Ronda's association with Gran Turismo is also a reflection that our ancient city is a modern, vibrant place to live and very much part of the 21st century."
More than 100 million copies of Gran Turismo titles have been sold. It is the highest-selling sim series on PlayStation consoles. The first Gran Turismo sold just under 11 million copies, making it the highest-selling sim on the original PlayStation. Gran Turismo 2 is the third-best-selling sim on the console, with 9 million copies sold. As of 2022, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was the highest-selling game in the entire series, with 15 million copies sold. It was also the second-highest-selling game on the PS2, behind Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Gran Turismo 4 was the third-best-selling game on the console. Gran Turismo 5 was the second-highest-selling game in the series, which IGN attributes to the long time between main series releases. Gran Turismo 6 sold half as many copies as the previous game, even fewer than Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.
Films
At the Jalopnik Film Festival, Kazunori announced a documentary film called "KAZ: Pushing The Virtual Divide." It was released on Hulu on January 22, 2014.
In 2013, Sony Pictures said it was working on a Gran Turismo movie. Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti helped to make the film, and Alex Tse wrote the script. In 2015, Joseph Kosinski was chosen to direct the film, and Jon and Erich Hoeber wrote a new script. By 2018, the project with Kosinski was put on hold.
On May 26, 2022, a new version of the Gran Turismo film was announced to be in development. Neill Blomkamp was considered to direct. On June 14, 2022, it was confirmed that Blomkamp would direct the film. The movie was planned to be released on August 11, 2023. It is a non-fiction story that follows a person's life journey, focusing on Jann Mardenborough, a 2011 GT Academy graduate who became a race car driver. Jason Hall and Zach Baylin wrote the screenplay for the film.
Filming started in Hungary in November 2022 and ended in December. The film was released on August 25, 2023. The producers of the film include Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Doug Belgrad, and Dana Brunetti. David Harbour plays Jack Salter, a character who teaches Mardenborough how to drive a real car. Archie Madekwe plays Jann Mardenborough, and Orlando Bloom plays Danny Moore. Darren Barnet plays a top-ranked racer who is not happy about Mardenborough's success. Djimon Hounsou and Geri Halliwell-Horner play Mardenborough's parents, and Daniel Puig plays his brother. Josha Stradowski plays Mardenborough's rival, and Thomas Kretschmann plays the rival's father.