| Gran Turismo | |
|---|---|
 Japanese cover art featuring aNissan Skyline GT-R (left) and aToyota Supra (right) | |
| Developer | Polys Entertainment[a] |
| Publisher | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director | Kazunori Yamauchi |
| Producers | Kazunori Yamauchi Shuhei Yoshida |
| Designers | Kazunori Yamauchi Takeshi Yokouchi Hirotaka Komiyama |
| Programmer | Seiichi Ikiou |
| Artist | Masaaki Goto |
| Composers | Masahiro Andoh (JP) Isamu Ohira (JP) Jason Page(EU/US) |
| Series | Gran Turismo |
| Platform | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre | Sim racing[4][5] |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Gran Turismo[b][c] is a 1997sim racing video game developed and published bySony Computer Entertainment for thePlayStation. It was directed byKazunori Yamauchi and produced byShuhei Yoshida. It is the first game in theGran Turismo series.
After five years of development time,Gran Turismo was well-received both commercially and critically, shipping a total of 10.85 million copies worldwide[1][6] (making it thebest-selling PlayStation game), and scoring an average of 95% inGameRankings' aggregate, making it the highest rated racing video game at the time of the site's closure in 2019.[7] Many publications have deemed it one ofthe greatest video games of all time. The game has started aseries, and has spawned over 10spin-offs and sequels.
Gran Turismo is aracing game. The player must maneuver a car to compete againstartificially intelligent drivers on variousrace tracks. The game uses two different modes: Arcade Mode and Simulation Mode (Gran Turismo Mode in PAL and Japanese versions). In the arcade mode, the player can freely choose the courses and vehicles they wish to use. Winning races unlocks additional cars and courses.
However, simulation mode requires the player to earn different levels ofdriver's licenses in order to participate in events,[8] and earn credits (money), trophies and prize cars by winning racechampionships. Winning one particular championship also unlocks a video and a few additional demonstration tracks. Credits can be used to purchase additional vehicles, and for parts and tuning.
Gran Turismo features 140 cars and 11 race tracks (as well as their reversed versions). Two Honda NSX cars from 1992 were included in the Japanese version, but were removed from the North American and European versions. There is also a1967Chevrolet Corvette and a1998Mazda Roadster exclusive to the Arcade mode.
The game took five years to complete[9] with a development budget of $5 million.[10] The development personnel were largely the same team which was behind the earlier PlayStation racersMotor Toon Grand Prix andMotor Toon Grand Prix 2, andGran Turismo uses parts of theMotor Toongame engine, such as the physics model.[11] Kazunori Yamauchi said that the development ofGran Turismo started in the second half of 1992. Yamauchi added that at different times only seven to fifteen people were assisting him.[12] SinceMotor Toon Grand Prix 2 was still in development when work onGran Turismo started, several people only joined the development team after the completion ofMotor Toon Grand Prix 2 freed them up to work onGran Turismo.[11]Shuhei Yoshida, at the time head of Japan Studio, was the producer of the game.[13]
When asked how difficult it was to createGran Turismo, Yamauchi remarked: "It took five years. In those five years, we could not see the end. I would wake up at work, go to sleep at work. It was getting cold, so I knew it must be winter. I estimate I was home only four days a year."[9] While the team used standard PlayStation libraries in part, to get the game to run at optimal speed they had to useassembly code, and even then, they found the limitations of the PlayStation'sCPU would not allow them to meet their initial goal of having 12 cars in each race.[11] Sound design was one aspect that Yamauchi believed was compromised due to a lack of time. Although Kazunori considered the game's artificial intelligence to be superior to its competitors, he remained unsatisfied with its development.[14]
Gran Turismo was the first game designed to fully support the PlayStation'sDualShock controller.[15]
WhenGran Turismo was released in Japan, Polys Entertainment was still a development group within Sony Computer Entertainment'sinternal development team. The studio was reestablished asPolyphony Digital in April 1998, before the Western release of the game.[16] Yamauchi estimated thatGran Turismo utilized around 75% of the PlayStation's maximum performance.[17]
Gran Turismo was a commercial hit.[1][2] In May 1998, Sony awardedGran Turismo a "Double Platinum Prize" for sales above 2 million units in Japan alone.[18] In its first month on the Japanese market, it sold over 1 million copies, making it the best-selling video game of the 1997holiday shopping season in Japan.[8] According toWeekly Famitsu, it sold an additional 1.34 million units during the first half of 1998, which made it Japan's second-best selling game for that period.[19] Overall in 1998, it ranked third in the best-selling video games of that year in the country, only behindPokémon andResident Evil 2.[20]
In the United States, it was the best-selling PlayStation game of 1998 with 1,431,483 sales and$58,568,520 (equivalent to $112,987,739 in 2024) revenue.[21][22] It was again the best-selling PlayStation game of 1999 in the United States, where it sold1.3 million units and grossed an estimated$35,000,000 (equivalent to $66,000,000 in 2024) that year,[23][24] adding up to 2,731,483 sales and about$62,000,000 (equivalent to $120,000,000 in 2024) revenue in the United States by 1999.
It was also a high-seller in Australia, selling over 100,000 units in the first two months[25] and with sales exceeding 130,000 by October 1998.[26] It received a "Gold" award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) in August 1998,[27] for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[28] It sold 270,000 units in the German market from January through September 1998, which made it the region's best-sellingconsole game of the period across all systems.[29] The VUD raised it to "Platinum" status, indicating 200,000 sales, by November.[30] At the 1999 Milia festival inCannes, it took home a "Platinum" prize for revenues above€66 million or$78,000,000 (equivalent to $150,000,000 in 2024) in the European Union during 1998. This made it Europe's second-highest-grossing game of the year, behindTomb Raider III.[31] It was again Europe's second highest-grossing game of 1999 with€94.444 million or$100,658,000 (equivalent to $190,000,000 in 2024) grossed that year,[32] adding up to over€160.444 million or$175,658,000 (equivalent to $339,000,000 in 2024) grossed in Europe by 1999, and over$238,000,000 (equivalent to $459,000,000 in 2024) across Europe and the United States by 1999.
By March 1999,Gran Turismo had sold over six million units worldwide,[33] of which two million were derived from the United States.[34] By February 2000, it had sold7 million units worldwide, for which it was awarded theGuinness World Record for Best-Selling Driving Simulator.[35] By December 2000, it had sold more than10 million copies worldwide, including3.7 million units in the United States.[36] As of April 2008, the game has shipped 2.55 million copies in Japan, 10,000 in Southeast Asia, 4.3 million in Europe, and 3.99 million in North America, for a total of 10.85 million copies. It remains thebest-selling video game for the PlayStation and the fifth highest-selling game in theGran Turismo franchise, behindGran Turismo 4,Gran Turismo 5,Gran Turismo Sport andGran Turismo 3: A-Spec respectively.[1][2][37]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 96/100[38] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |  [39] |
| Computer and Video Games | 9/10[40] |
| Edge | 10/10[41] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.25/10[42] |
| GameRevolution | A[43] |
| GameSpot | 8.6/10[44] |
| Hyper | 92%[45] |
| IGN | 9.5/10[46] |
| Next Generation | [47] |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | 10/10[48] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | [49] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[50] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Spotlight Awards (1999) | Best Simulation |
| Official UK PlayStation Magazine | Perfect 10 |
| Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences | Console Racing Game of the Year |
| MobyGames | Game of the Year |
Gran Turismo received widespread acclaim, with praise for its graphics,[42][44][47][51] sophisticated and believable physics,[42][44][46][47] tight controls,[42][44][47][51] and number of cars;[42][44][51]GamePro commented it has "more cars than a mall parking lot."[51] It was classified as "universal acclaim" byreview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[38]
A number of critics gave particular praise to the replay mode, lauding the usage of multiple camera views and likening the quality to live action video.[46][47][51] The ability to upgrade and customize cars in a variety of ways was also widely applauded, with some noting this allows the player to build a car that fits their own particular playstyle and compensates for their own weaknesses.[44][47][51] Dean Hager ofElectronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and Vince Broady ofGameSpot both particularly notedGran Turismo's successful blend of arcade-style and simulation racing, with Broady commenting, "Some players enjoy the raw excitement and unfettered control of an action-oriented contest, while others go gaga over the realistic physics and heavy-duty customization features of a sim-style game. Rare indeed, almost nonexistent, is a racer that has a legitimate appeal to both camps, a game that blends the elements of action and sim in such a subtle manner that something altogether new is the result."[42][44]
Next Generation stated that "as it stands in the Japanese version, everything aboutGran Turismo is a class act, and it raises the bar for racing games on almost every possible level. Our highest possible recommendation."[47] Reviewing the U.S. release, John Ricciardi and Kraig Kujawa of EGM criticized that it retained the Japanese names and likenesses for many of the cars instead of using the American versions, but were just as enthusiastic about the game as a whole, commenting, "Get used to this quote, 'cause you're gonna hear it a lot: Gran Turismo is the best racing game of all time."[42] Hager andGamePro were less certain of this claim, opining thatGran Turismo contemporaryNeed for Speed III was at least a viable competitor.[42][51]IGN described it as the best racing game to date, and especially praised how the game's physics cause cars to react to the environment and the driving in a realistic manner.[46]
The one significant criticism voiced againstGran Turismo was that the licensing procedure is excessively drawn-out and difficult.[42][51] Broady particularly criticized that passing a licensing exam can be more difficult than winning the race which that license unlocks.[51]
Gran Turismo won "Console Racing Game of the Year" at the2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as theD.I.C.E. Awards),[52] won "Best Simulation" of 1999 at theSpotlight Awards,[53] won "Best Driving Game" and "Best Graphics" of 1999 according to the staff ofPlayStation Official Magazine, and was voted the sixth best game of all time by the magazine's readers in the same issue.[54] At the 1999 edition of the Milia D’Or Awards inCannes,Gran Turismo won in the "Racing Game" category.[55] In 2000, readers ofComputer and Video Games voted it the eighth best video game of all time.[56]Game Informer ranked it the 21st best video game ever made in 2001. The staff felt that the racing genre had not offered as "complete [a] package" asGran Turismo.[57] In 2017, Gran Turismo was declared the best driving game ever by Top Gear.[58]
In 1999,Next Generation listedGran Turismo as number 15 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "Gran Turismo features cars that handle better than any other racing game ever made".[59] In 2006,Gran Turismo was inducted intoGameSpot's list of the greatest games of all time.[60] In 2015,IGN listedGran Turismo as the second most influential racing game of all time (afterPole Position), calling it "the grandfather of all modern console racing sims."[4]
While Nintendo 64 titles dominated the top-10 best-seller list in 1997, PlayStation software rebounded in 1998, occupying six of the top-10 spots. Nevertheless, the leader in sales,Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, is the continuation of a popular fantasy series manufactured by Nintendo. The second leading game,Gran Turismo, is a car-racing game produced by Sony for its PlayStation platform.
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| Other games | ||
| Concept cars | ||
| Related articles | ||
| Upcoming games | ||
