Can Gran Turismo Ever be the Best Racing Game Again?

Gran Turismo took racing titles to the next level.When Polyphony Digital released the original PlayStation title, it featured a higher level of detail and accuracy than had been seen before. If you were into simulation titles, it was undeniably the best racing game. Since then, we’ve seen other contenders compete with Gran Turismo for the crown. Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport is the biggest rival, and its more frequent release schedule has made it a mainstay in the racing genre. Meanwhile, other simulations such as Project CARS and Assetto Corsa have all popped up.

That’s why the question we posed in this week’s Now Loading was “With Gran Turismo Sport releasing this week, will Gran Turismo ever be the face of simulation racing again?”

Check out the gallery below to find out what the staff thought of this week’s question:

Now that you’ve seen our answers, we’d love to see hear your thoughts on the matter at hand. Feel free to chime in below with your answer to this week’s question. We’d love to know what you think about the racing genre, and if Gran Turismo can still be as relevant today as it was in its early yearsC!

We’re always looking for suggestions for our next Now Loading. If you’ve got a good one then let us know via email (or leave a comment below), and we might feature it next week. If we do, we’ll make sure to include a special thank you to the sender!

Now Loading is a weekly recurring feature where the PlayStation LifeStyle staff discusses anything video game-related ranging from hot topics to more whimsical subjects. Past editions can be found here.

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Now Loading Gran Turismo

Will Gran Turismo ever be the face of racing again?
Chandler Wood

@FinchStrife

Racing isn't exactly my forte, so it's hard for me to say. With so much competition on the track now in the way of Forza and Project Cars, I doubt that Gran Turismo will ever stand alone as the face of racing sims. However, I do feel like it still has a place of prominence, most notably among PlayStation players, much as Forza is the go-to Xbox racing sim. Project Cars just straddles the line and satisfies everyone. In the end, choices are always a good thing for players, and competition is a great thing for evolving franchises.
Elizabeth Henges

@gaiages

Since I'm not really on the up-and-up on what's in and out in the racing genre nowadays, I wasn't even aware that GT lost its status as 'the face of racing' in the first place, at least on PlayStation systems. Well, obviously... since Gran Turismo is exclusive to PlayStation the same way Forza is exclusive to Xbox. I suppose I'm a bit behind on the times!
Louis Edwards

@ftwrthtx

To me Project Cars is now the face of sim racing. I've never played a Forza game, and much like the Gran Turismo series, their biggest problem is console exclusivity. Gran Turismo has always been a great simulator, but only if you own a PlayStation console and the same with Forza. No Xbox means no Forza. Project Cars, being multi-platform, reaches a much larger audience. As far as actual game-play, Assetto Corsa and Project Cars both are equal to any other simulator out there, with Project Cars matching even the Gran Turismo Sport beta on graphics. Bottom line, Gran Turismo had a nice run as the top simulator but now must take a back seat to Project Cars.
Tyler Treese

@TylerTreese

I sort of doubt it. Sony's racing series just takes too long to develop, which means a lot of time out of the public's eyes, and when I think about a console sim racer my mind goes straight to Forza Motorsport rather than Gran Turismo. It's also not the peak of simulation anymore, as if players are that serious about racing and want a crazy accurate representation then I bet they're playing iRacing on PC. I still think the Gran Turismo name holds a lot of brand recognition, though, and it's clearly one of the PlayStation 4's technical marvels. So, while it might not be the first name I think of, it's certainly still up there as one of the kings of the genre.