The Evolution of Gran Turismo
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The Gran Turismo series debuted in late 1997 with the original PlayStation 1 game, Gran Turismo. The game sported an unprecedented 180 cars, 11 race tracks, and high-quality visuals. It was quickly sold out in Japan, and developer Polyphony Digital raced to produce both North American and European versions of the game. The original Gran Turismo was very well-received not only due to the quantity in the game but also due to the quality racing simulation gameplay. Eventually, Gran Turismo would become the highest-selling game ever on the PlayStation 1 platform.
Shortly after the success of Gran Turismo 1, lead developer Kazunori Yamauchi announced plans to release a sequel which was aimed to be even better than the original. Nearly 2 years later, Gran Turismo 2 was released for the PlayStation 1. The game beat its predecessor in nearly every regard with a whopping 650 cars and 27 race tracks. While Gran Turismo 2 never outsold its predecessor, most critics agree that it was a worthy sequel, and was arguably better than the first.
Fast forward a year, and the PlayStation 2 is finally out. The system increased the potential of the series, and now the premier racing simulator was seeking a solid sequel. In 2001, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec was finally released for the PlayStation 2 platform. While there were less cars than both previous titles, the sheer quality of the driving experience and the overall presentation outdid both. The game sold out in most stores worldwide as people raced to see what all the fuss was about. Not only did the title push the PlayStation 2 platform itself, it also was rated as one of the best games ever made.
Just a few years later, Gran Turismo 4 was released for the PlayStation 2 platform. Unlike its predecessors, the game was met with criticism. Polyphony Digital had promised an online mode which never materialized, and what was considered the ultimate racing simulator still lacked damage modeling. Forza 1 was released only months later and was able to pull together what many considered the superior simulator experience. While that is debatable, Gran Turismo 4 still sold over 3.5 million units despite criticism.
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18 Responses to “The Evolution of Gran Turismo”
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August 25th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
great write up
August 25th, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Nice article. I believe they would push it to be released this year.
August 25th, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Nice write up. I’ve always been a fan of the GT sereis. Very much looking forward to GT5.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:11 PM
no write up. I love the evolution pix. This might be the game to push the graphics
August 25th, 2009 at 12:23 PM
GT 1 & 3 were my favorites so far. Prologue had it’s moments till people started bumping in the last turns.
GRID was/is a great racer in my opinion too. When you reach the 24 hour LeMans race with a million dollar car, and your in the zone… doesn’t get much better than that. the muscle cars are pretty bad ass too.
Hurry up GT5!
August 25th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
You guys never seem to fail with these Editorials. Great job and keep them coming
08/25/2009 at 1:19 PM
Thanks! We definitely will. =]
August 25th, 2009 at 12:57 PM
personally, i dont really like the GT series because of 10min races and licence stuff that put me off. i prefer the crash the wall and drift to nitro of need for speed. great editorial though!
August 25th, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Nice write up and comparison. You did forget to mention GT: HD Concept though. When in the first year of the PS3, Polyphony Digital planned a business model to where they give you a base number of things and you have to pay for more cars and track and such. They were met with huge criticism over this and thus made GT: HD Concept available on the PSN for free on Christmas Eve 2006 with something like 16 cars and 1 track. You can still download it today.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:57 PM
yeup, and HD Concept was a really cool freebie, it was like an extended demo. I was confused at the time though, I thought the next full game would be out shortly after that, and haven’t heard anything more until recently. Since my last GT game (3) got taken by someone at college, theres been a gaping void in my games collection. This should fill that nicely. Nice article!
August 25th, 2009 at 2:28 PM
Don’t get me wrong, 1000 cars but no customisation and limited car damage is kind of pointless. The only advantage GT5 has over Forza 3 is the superbe graphics.
The fact that GT5 has 1000 cars and Forza only 4-500 really leaves me cold. Are we looking for quality or quantity? Are the 1000 cars the reason they repeatedly postponed GT’s launch? I would have LOVED if GT5 let you customise the cars.
Keep in mind that a lot of those 1000 cars may end up being compact Suzuki’s and Daihatsu’s, just like in GT5 Prologue. 600 cars and 400 60HP compacts? No, thank you!
August 25th, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Since I never owned a Ps2 , i missed out on this series, but since I got the ps3 60gb I bought gt3 used at gamestop.. But I didn’t play it much . This is a great article and makes me want to get gt5 SO BAD!
I did notice tht u dent mention GTPSP which should really impress
also GT Concept is not the psn anymore because of prolouge.
August 25th, 2009 at 4:01 PM
@The1Weapon I dont see the GT: HD Concept demo on the US PSN..I need my GT fix lol…
August 25th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Great article and What a great story for GT.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:46 AM
Maybe they will find some other solution than slowing down your car for 5 seconds every time you hit a wall or a fence in online multiplayer. It’s one thing to punish players with road rage, it’s a totally different thing to make it even harder for the ones who happen to graze the rails.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:10 AM
I never really played racing games until I got Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Now I’m really looking forward to Gran Tourismo 5. Eighty tracks and 1,000 cars will be sweet! Personally I don’t care about customization, I want to race, not tinker around in menus.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:28 PM
[...] PSP, the portable racing simulator brings custom soundtrack support for the first time in the GT franchise history. “I looked around for a Custom Soundtrack option, and was initially let-down when I didn’t [...]
October 7th, 2009 at 2:18 AM
Nice article. LoL seeing that screenshot of the Demio brings back memories!
October 11th, 2009 at 8:57 PM
I’ve played all the GT’s except 2,Concept and Psp, and I am really looking foward to this, hopefully it’s better than GT5 Prolouge, which wasn’t that fun for me since I have Dial-up and can’t use PSN on my PS3