On December 23, 1997, the then largely unknown Japanese studio Polys Entertainment caused a sensation. After five years of development and countless hours of overtime, game director Kazunori Yamauchi and his core team of just seven people released the racing simulation “Gran Turismo”.
The PlayStation game offered a groundbreaking driving experience for its time, looked fanatical, attracted nearly 140 licensed vehicles, and is still regarded as the main pioneer of the racing simulation genre on consoles. Not only that: with 10.85 million copies sold, it laid the foundation for a series that continues to this day.
Yamauchi’s latest series installment is called “Gran Turismo 7”, which came out on March 4, 2022 for PS4 and PS5 and aims for one thing above all: to combine the past, present and future of the series in one game. An important element in achieving the latter is the Gran Turismo World Series, a racing tournament organized directly by the developer (called Polyphony Digital since 1998), the last races of which are now held in Monaco.
Gran Turismo is celebrating its birthday
Before the event on 24.11. However, when Polyphony Digital really took off, Polyphony Digital first surprised the community with a patch that added a host of new features shortly before its 25th anniversary. One of the highlights is the new Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit, better known to motorsport connoisseurs as the site of “Petit Le Mans”. On the other hand, several new vehicles were offered: the high-performance BMW M2 Competition ’18, the ’90s powerhouse Nissan Silvia K’s Aero (S14) ’96 and the spirited ’80s touring car Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth ’87.
If you click on the in-game anniversary banner until January 3, 2023, the Gran Turismo X2019 25th Anniversary will also allow you to place a special version of the concept vehicle co-designed with Red Bull in the virtual garage. Keyword garage: Vehicles that have already been picked up can finally be sold – a feature that has been sorely missed until now. There are also many detail improvements and generous credit bonuses, which are still available until December 5th. granted in sport mode.
Crazy concept car from Ferrari
The organizers saved the biggest surprise for the last day of the event. There, the studio unveiled a sleek concept vehicle written by Italy’s most famous racing team. The Ferrari Vision GT weighs 1.25 tons, has three electric motors, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in less than two seconds and breaks through the 350 km/h mark when the accelerator pedal is fully depressed. The best: no later than 23.12. all «GT7» players can take a seat in this fiery furnace. A life-size model of the speedster can be admired from December 15 to the end of March 2023 at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.
Polyphony Digital spoke not only about the status quo of their cult brand, but also about plans for the future. In an interview with the GTPlanet fan site, series creator Yamauchi announced that he could definitely envision a PC implementation. This is by no means an official confirmation, but it’s a hopeful statement that would fit well with Sony’s current strategy of rolling out more Playstation hits for PC.
Yamauchi also insisted on talking in more detail about the planned Gran Turismo movie, which is set to hit theaters on August 11, 2023. For example, the comic – which is based on a true story and tells the rise from an enthusiastic Gran Turismo player to a true racing professional – aims to inspire new target groups for the brand, among other things. With Orlando Bloom (“Lord of the Rings”), David Harbor (“Stranger Things”) and Djimon Gaston Hounsou (“Gladiator”, “Blood Diamond”), director Neill Blomkamp also managed to get several Hollywood stars on board.
Yamauchi also confirmed to Watson that he great interest in a different route through Switzerland had in play. When it came to the question of a PS VR2 implementation, the Japanese – who had already donated a VR mode to ‘GT Sport’ – did not want to comment in more detail. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if this feature is integrated as early as 2023.
But back to the tournament itself, which spanned four days, during which the invitees and the fan community were able to experience numerous nerve-racking races on the internet. For example, in the grand final of the GR Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup at the start of the event, the only 18-year-old Japanese T. Sasaki – who only qualified for the race through the repechage – took bronze. The Frenchman K. Drumont took silver, the Brazilian I. Fraga gold.
The DACH region played no role
Days two and three continued with regional final races in the Nations Cup (with the winners progressing to the Grand Final) and the Manufacturer’s Cup, which Team Subaru won at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after a thrilling catch-up race. But there was also excitement at the Grand Finals on November 27, especially on the last lap when a strange accident occurred, the exact cause of which sparked debate in race management for minutes.
When all inconsistencies were finally cleared up, official confirmation followed: Spaniard Coque López is the new world champion, followed closely by Chilean Angel Inostroza and Japan’s Takuma Miyazono. We too congratulate ourselves and look forward to many more years of top-class esports. Then hopefully again with more drivers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
At watson, the Games.ch team provides exclusive stories from the gaming universe for gamers, fans, nerds – and those who want to become one in the “Loading…” blog.
