When the first Gran Turismo released in Japan in December of 1997 (May 1998 for everyone else), it was met with immediate praise by critics and would deservedly go on to be the top-selling game for the PlayStation. With each subsequent release in the series, Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital have gone above and beyond what anyone thought was possible in a hardcore simulation racer.
Fast forward to 2010, and the series is in a bit of a strange position. Millions of gamers are anticipating its release…whenever that may be. Unfortunately, PD’s strive for excellence comes at a price. In this case, it’s in the form of never, ever believing an announced release date for a Gran Turismo game until it’s spinning in your PlayStation’s disc drive. In the time since Gran Turismo 4 launched, Microsoft’s Forza franchise has seen 3 releases across two platforms. PlayStation gamers, on the other hand, have only seen the release of Gran Turismo for PSP. While I’ve never enjoyed any Forza game as much as any one Gran Turismo game, it’s always something that Xbox gamers hold against PlayStation fans. Sure, the games aren’t as good, but they have the advantage of being available for purchase.
Fortunately for those that have never wavered in their fandom, Gran Turismo 5 seeks to be not only the most ambitious game in the series, but possibly this entire generation. Anyone who’s so much as watched a Gran Turismo game can tell you that they set a high graphical benchmark, but have you seen the latest night driving trailer? Comparing it to any other racing game is just plain unfair, and not a single one can compete, and don’t be surprised if this is still the best-looking racer five years down the line. On top of this, GT5 will finally feature vehicular damage, which is the first thing detractors of the series always point to. So far it doesn’t look perfect, but it’s definitely a giant first step in the right direction.
As if that weren’t enough, PD got their hands on the licenses for several racing circuits: World Rally Championship, Super GT, and, most interestingly, NASCAR. While some may not find NASCAR very interesting (such as myself), there are millions of people in the United States that do. If you don’t think that the ability to race Jimmie Johnson’s number 48 is a big deal now, just wait until the game releases; I guarantee you’ll be shocked at the new demographic that this title opens up for the franchise. When you add this to the fact that Yamauchi wants approximately 79 million cars in the game, each with their distinct interiors, engine noises, and damage modeling… well, it becomes a little easier to see why this is taking so long.
Finally, GT5 will be the first full release in the series to feature online connectivity. Obviously, racing against other people around the world plays a major role here, but much more is expected these days. Going back to Forza, Turn 10 has done a fantastic job creating a community of players that not only race, but also sell custom cars to each other with the in-game auction house. While this doesn’t seem to be a feature that will make its way to Gran Turismo, players will have a different reason to be excited- Gran Turismo TV. GT-TV was introduced in GT5: Prologue as a hub for all the video content that a gearhead could ever want, with Top Gear leading the pack along with original content.
So why should this matter for those that have no interest in the Gran Turismo 5? For starters, Sony has poured an awful lot into this game and its success, with the game’s presence being felt since the launch of the PS3. Obviously, the game won’t flop; despite hardcore racing sims being a rather niche genre, Gran Turismo is Sony’s all-time best-selling franchise. However, this is the game that will finally prove whether or not Polyphony Digital is willing to evolve its game and craft. Just look at how long it took for PD to finally cave and implement a damage system. If GT5 releases to lukewarm reaction from fans and critics after all of this hype and hoopla, you’d better believe that this will change how much leeway Sony gives to future games, and not just in the GT series.
Is there anything to worry about? Even taking off my GT-loving goggles for a second, the chance of this game being less-than-stellar is slim to none. We’ve all seen the trailers and screenshots, and analyzed every last bit of GT5:P and other demos. It’s pretty apparent that this is shaping up to be the all-time driving sim.
At this point, it all rests on Yamauchi & Company.
@Soh-Knee
People were complaining because the GT Academy time trial was too hard. What does that have to tell you about the driving physics in GT5? Forza 3 was made for the wanna be sim players. The cars feel like they have training wheels. Over and understeer barely or mostly never happens ( except a few cars).
People obviously must have not felt Forza 3 was as good as Forza 2, since 2 sold 4 mil units and 3 only 2.3. I don’t know how anyone can tout Forza’s crash pyshics. I’ve seen a player wreck onto the top of his car, skid about 50 or so feet, only to be flipped back over with no damage to his car whatsoever. Yea, that’s so much more realistic. As far as driving physics are concerned, PD created a special tool so all they have to do is punch in the statistics for a car and then that car automatically drives like the real car in the game. I just hope with how much of a perfectionist Kazunori Yamauchi is about driving physics and graphics, he’ll treat the crash physics the same way. So far, the most realistic crashes I’ve seen in a game would have to be from Burnout: Paradise.
It’s a shame that this game has been so long in development. Since then I’ve brought a 360 sold my PS3 and lost all interest for this game.
Still it’s shaping up to be a stunner. It’s going to be hard to beat Forza on the physics though I reckon. I read that there is like 200fps on the physics engine.
I love that gt producers want it to be perfect, but its taking to long and that might come back to bite in the ass…
why would you sell your PS3? they worth more than 360
@Barry: dood, rebuy the PS3….its awesome without GT5 already lol
Haha great article, the Fanboys are going crazy. People need to wake up and see that Gran Turismo is the best Car game period. Oh, and TRF your an idiot.
Num skull -
Off-topic : Why is that when a discussion is initiated (as was the case by me) and something is posted that might cause a disagreement, someone such as yourself falls back to type with the immature statements such as “fanboy”? I am a fan of racing games, pretty much all of them, on BOTH platforms. I just see the truth in the matter, and presented viable points. Seriously, discuss, or move on.
Forza with superior physics? When it comes to driving, not hardly. Want to see “superior” physics? You should have tried the GT Time Trial Demo that was out in January. Winners went on to compete in an a actual academy to become a real race driver for Nissan and Sony. Plus, Kaz has test drove every car going into GT5 and has raced proffesionally. These two facts alone bring more merit him and PD then any other studio has. When someone from Turn 10 meets these qualifications that Kaz has, maybe I’ll take comments like yours more serious.
The damage modeling that I have seen anywhere is lacking when it comes to sim racers. Forza 1-3 has done nothing revolutionary, while Gran Turismo has done nothing at all (thus far). Shift? I have never seen fiberglass bend like aluminum before. No one has done damage right.
Forza’s tire model is impressive, but comepletely un-neccesary waste of time and resources. I would have much rather seen more cars (seriously 400?) , a way to get more cars on track (8 is even worse the NFS Shift), and a realistic driving model for each car. The RWD cars, despite obvious advantages in certain circumstances are comepletely rendered useless. Shameful when one considers how Turn 10 proclaimed themselves as car lovers.
I am currently at level 15 in that game, and I grew bored of it. The tracks outside of the real ones are un-inspired. The performance index in the game is so broken, all one needs to do install a race LSD and watch your index get worse. Yeah. OK. That game places way to much emphasis on weight of a vehicle, when there are so many more influencing factors and tunes that can work around it.
F3′s leaderboards are nothing more then one or two cars dominating each class. Go browse them, you’ll see something ugly. This game isn’t for automotive enthusiasts, it’s for people who want to do nothing more then play a race game and paint pictures. Yes, there is some extremely talented individuals out there, but come on. It’s one shoe fits all approach has failed to keep folks like me (which represent a majority) from buying F3 in droves. If GT5 was out, or coming in a few months, I would have never picked up Forza 3.
There is a reason ever Gran Turismo released has sold nearly 10 million copies each worldwide. The same reason can be defined by GT5 Prolouge selling over 4.5 million. As I mentioned in my first post, everything feels right.
Joe Garcia -
I took what you said about the 79 million cars as a reference to Kaz’s desire to have Gran Turismo become an encyclopedia of automobiles. I have read that he wants all cars in his game.
I think the overall message is that forza is a gd driving sim but when compared to gt5 its going to look ordinary at best. Gt5 is going to be a awesome driving sim game and proably the best on consles to date. The only bad thing about the game is how long we have had to wait!
*looks at #48′s wall of text*
oh lawdyyyyy
guys really tho, stop bickering about which one is better…the Forza series is a great one and GT5 isnt out yet so we cannot say. imo its GT5 thats going to be better but thats the GT fanboy in me talking lol
Gran Turismo 5 will define the future of console war arguments! :p
I played the first and thought it was fun but I think I just fit the crew who doesn’t care about the game but still being curious as to what kind of reviews it’ll release to. For a game that has been so long in development, it better damn well be as perfect as a racing game can be. I still prefer my kart racing games though, haha :p
I’m not a massive fan of sim-racers, I don’t find them all that fun. But there’s no doubt Gran Turismo 5 will be the elite of this genre, and a great addition to the PS3 library, for those that care.