Gran Turismo: Games so real the best of drivers take them seriously

In this article about Gran Turismo, The Japan Times Online reports that advancing technology in the video game series significantly blurs the line between virtual and real-world driving, and today's auto racing champions can quickly and safely practice laps on the PlayStation and television screens. Reigning World Rally champion Frenchman Sebastien Loeb said that every real-world professional drivers he knows (including himself) uses Gran Turismo as a full-blown driving simulator for practice these days.

Gran Turismo can also help a normal driver make a smooth transition from the virtual race to the real one. In his first real auto race, the video game series creator Kazunori Yamauchi (who had never joined a real race before) was clocking the same times as seasoned race drivers; Yamauchi already had plenty of practice on Gran Turismo.

[ By Peter Lyon, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008 ]

[PStriple703]

GT5 will own

[rofldings]

Agreed.

Btw, does anyone know if famitsu ever came out with a real score for GT5: Prologue?

[TheTwelve]

I learned most of what I learned about cars from Gran Turismo, the original. It taught me so much. So this comes as no surprise.

Anybody notice how Kazanori Yamauchi is appearing EVERYWHERE now?

12

[mullet]

Fact.

If you disagree, you're an idiot in denial that owns a 360.

[jessupj]

Well that's 6 idiots in denial so far.

Please tell us which is better than gt....

[LinuxGuru]

Amazing.

Makes people who say video games have no relevance in real life look like fools.

[Gaara_724]

and it makes jack thompson look like god lol

[socomnick]

They should try Forza 2 the level of customization is immense.

[RonDeMuerte]

Forza 2 looks like a fantasy game next to Gran Turismo....

[Rai]

they dont care about customizing, to them its about the realism of the race.

[cmrbe]

They we referring to realism not customization

[rofldings]

Immense? like putting a 'hello kitty' sig on your car's hood?

GT has real customization, that effects the performance of your car.

[Gondee]

thats what he was talking about, Forza many combnations of upgrades to the car.

I tend to lean towrd the feel of Forza more than GT. but GT looks so amazing. If only there were a way to combine the two. =)

"when this baby hits 88 mph were gona see some sh!t"

[Damphear]

that is a GAME. Gran Turismo as a full-blown driving SIMULATOR

now dont blend the two.

you cant compare a turd to a diamond.

xbot

[name]

Who here has a wheel? I bought a porche wheel. =D Logitech can kiss my ass.

[EastCoastSB]

I will definitely be buying a wheel for this one.

[GIJeff]

the logitech and it owns. Its too good for the likes of you i guess...

[TheTwelve]

Don't have the extra money for it yet but I really want that one.

12

[Damphear]

head over to a frys if you have one in your town. they sell open boxes of DFP for under 100 bucks.

you have to get one man you just have to

[The_Engineer]

the driving force pro is a pretty sweet wheel, it was designed especially for the GT series.

[TheExecutive]

anyone got a link to compare prices? I am going to need to get a wheel... whats a good one?

[mintaro]

this game is gonna be awesomE!

[mintaro]

this game is gonna be awesomE!

[WilliamRLBaker]

Gran tourismo has realism?
last i checked it was less realistic then forca and PGR and those are arcade racers lol.

But hey its a japanese race driver supporting a Japanse owned franchise game...no surpize there.

[cmrbe]

Is not Japanese. He's french. The current WRC champion.

[mullet]

Rofl. Oh man, that was classic.

[Marceles]

"Reigning World Rally champion Frenchman Sebastien Loeb said that every real-world professional drivers he knows (including himself) uses Gran Turismo as a full-blown driving simulator for practice these days."

[Gaara_724]

who would diss agree to the truth lol ??? must ave been an xboxs 360 fan it has to beus sony/nintendo fans acept the truth like xbox actualy does suck and u get more with the ps3 bu..bu..bu u have no games shut up foul i have 123 ps2 games that get upscaled to hd and u wana tell me i have no games? lol (had to ad that in) but realy y dissagree with this post im gona give u a bubble

[cmrbe]

I kinda expected it. Fanboys defy logic, reason and now facts. Anyways bubble for you too :)

[TheExecutive]

cmrbe you deserve a bubble for virtually b*tchslapping this particular fanboy. so + bubbles, and I agree that fanboys defy any kind of logical thought.

[hotshot127]

but hey, n4g wouldnt be n4gs if you guys werent here so keep un coming. im about to own you like bluray owned hdeadvdead.

thier talking about the FEEL of the game when racing not the custimization you fool. and the graphics im sure.............OWNED!

360 fanboys runnin out of steam? hahahahahhaahahhaahhahhaha please stay on this site alittle longer. just so i can rub it in your face when ps3 starts beatin that a$$ some more.
i know all this bad 360 news is getting to you but its okay. soon you will have a ps3 and i new shiny copy of gt5.

[hotshot127]

and now CMRBE just owned you. ahahhahah 360 fanboys getting owned everywhere now.hahahhahahahahhaha i love it.

but anyway, it seems like the mart, zhuck,razor have dissapered from existance. lol. god i hope they come back.

ESPICIALLY THE MART. oh boy i cant wait.lol

[DrakenSilverwing]

I can't wait to add this game to my collection!!

How could anyone say anything bad on this game , its nearly so real ya can barly tell the difference from reality.. wait till GT6 and you wont at all.. it will look better the real life.. if it doesn't already!

Current Collection
31 PS3 games (in profile)
13 Blu-Ray Movies

[name]

lol I just realised my porche wheel is made by Logitech. Owned.

[rofldings]

is that Porsche wheel really better than the g25? I definetely need a wheel for this game.

I've been able to get through past GT games with only a controller, but I feel i'm doing this game injustice by not playing it with a wheel. I'll gladly drop 2 bills on it! :)

[Perkel]

GT1 to GT4 u may use dualshock/sixais. Use sixaxis in GT5 prologue is joke when u change to professional mode. Espesialy if u drivin' Bmw. I'm not sayin it is imposible but very hard.

I also must buy a wheel ;/ G25 or Porshe wheel, there is no other option for using profesionl mode and get good track's time...

[hotshot127]

okay williambaker disagreed with what CMRBE said. ITS FACT. the sun brings light to our planet...............ITS FACT. you cant disagree with it.

i guess we all know who the smarter fans on this site are......
but i a guess 360 fanboys can only hit disagree on the truth now.

[Gaara_724]

if zhuk was here he would say no the sun dont give us light the supreme power of the xbox 360 atracks it to us lolplz zhuk everyone is going on about the ice caps melting but get rid of ALL xbox 360's and we will be fine coz there so dam hot it cant handle it what theres been 17.7 million 360's sold 33%f= failed thats like 5.9 million failed 360's lol that 5.3 million rased the heat bye like 4'c damm u 360 lol i like takin digs at zhuk it should be a hobby

[Partisan]

GT-5 was meant to play in Fore fedback Steering wheel if you don't have steering wheel you are missing how Realistic GT-4 , GT-5P is . The way it handle in GT-4 and GT-5 are so realistic just like in real car.

PSBlu

[name]

It handles the same as the logitech, it's just modeled like the wheel of a real life porche car. It comes with the gear shift and even the key attached. It's really expensive though. I got mine for like 400 dollars. I'd recommend picking up an everyday logitech and cosmetically altering it for your tastes.

[Bnet343]

Wait, I thought GT5 doesn't have car damage?

[pwnsause]

it is, by the time the real GT5 releases, anyhow, who here still disagrees that GT5 sux in physics or that it feels arcady, cause thats what I've been hearing from Xbots who thinks Forza is better than GT5 LMAO

[mullet]

It's not about the car damage, it's about the car customization and the graphics. And as always, the unrivaled soundtrack. Gran Turismo has always been the top selling driving sim franchise since the original and people love it so much, that even in Japan, it outsold Lost Odyssey. LO, outsold by a demo. Lol. And it still continues to do so. :D Gran Turismo will probably sell 2 million copies at launch.

[Bnet343]

Hey PWNSAUSE, don't talk crap about Forza because it's a very good game and I play it all the time so please STFU ok, who cares what xbots say, just ignore them, but dont talk crap about the games? And no one can talk about how good or bad GT5 is, it hasn't even come out yet.

[name]

GT5 has been confirmed to have it. Gt5 prolouge doesn't have it. It's just a demo.

[mullet]

But it outsold the complete version of Lost Odyssey lol.

[DrakenSilverwing]

IMO I really don't need car damage, GT doesn't need damage to be the best simulator, yer not supposed to drive like a crazed madman anyways.. wouldn't mind scraps and dents yet no need for carnage like in Burnout..I love it for how real it is

[Douchebaggery]

I don't care for aesthetic damage but there should penalty and structural damage that affects the handling of the car and potentially render the car undriveable.

[Bnet343]

Then can it really be called a driving simulator? I mean, it's not simulating real life driving, or is it? I always thought GT had car damage because of the way everyone called it driving sim but whatever, I'm just saying.

EDIT: Douchebaggery has a good point. Games like Forza and GTR for PC go all the way, I don;t understand why can't GT do it. It should.

[risk]

they didnt add damage because they want "realistic" damage eg; you hit a wall and half your car is trash.

[InMyOpinion]

GT only needs to be named GT and be released on the PS3 to be considered the best racing sim ever.

[Bill Gates]

Hey BABOONS, you still think Foolza 2 is the best?.....AAAHHAHAHHAHAHHA

OWNED yet again. You BABOONS just don't get it do you? We speak the truth, while you BABOONS are just BLIND to it.....AAHAHHAHAHHA

[CaliGamer]

As a gamer if you can't admit that this is impressive then that is really sad. Not even Madden can tout the level of realism that the GT series can. This all serves to further legitimize the playing video games as more than just a hobby, but something useful for some.

[Blademask]

1. Its getting damage.
2. Racing is about not crashing.

Its a f`ing game. Even in GTR2, you wreck your car. You can always just... pause... and hit 'restart race'. GT has always concentrated on the realism of the representation of the Cars and Physics. Not 'what happens when I totally suck at driving and run other cars off of the road' That isn't how racers score themselves, its based on Lap Times and NOT hitting people. 'yeah but i still want a penalty when I suck'
There are time penalties in GT5:P for when you bump cars, or they bump you, or you veer off the track. Learn how to drive. Leave crashing for PC games or Burnout.

GT5 Is a beautiful experience. I love how the forza crowd tries to tarnish the image of GT5 with its bs. Look I love painting pokemon on cars just like the next guy. Its a great game. Its old, the cars look terrible compared to this game. GT5 isn't even in the same ballpark as Forza, its more like a hobby in its own. For real car enthusiasts. No one gives the series credit either for what it takes to complete the titles 100%. The replay value of GT WITHOUT online is daunting. Imagine it with it :) I am amazed at how Polyphony has pulled off the rendering engine.

Graphics play a HUGE factor in driving simulations. Most of the reasons we all love the games is to LOOK at the cars in motion, taking tight turns... going balls out on straight aways etc. GT sets the bar each and every time how a driving game SHOULD look, then everyone follows. When I am watching Top Gear, I'm not looking at the trees. I'm looking at the cars.

[Zomgbie]

YES!

[Bnet343]

Yes we know, but the point of a driving simulator is to simulate real life driving. For example, in Forza 2, your tires play a part in the way you brake, so you might have sh*tty tires and slide on a turn when braking ending up hittng wall. That, in real life affects your car and how it continues throughout the race. but GT5 will have damage like you said so GT5 looks to be the best their is from the looks of it.

[Blademask]

Uhm. Gt has tire wear.. as well.. in case you've never played it. Which ruins your traction for both braking and acceleration.

Forza/Forza2 is a great addition to the world of racing games. Its good to have competition.

Because it makes the next version of GT that much better when it tramples all over it.

[mullet]

Have you ever even played a Gran Turismo game? Do you only own a 360? That would explain your ignorance and trolling. If you've raced for too long without dropping by a pit every now and then, you'll lose because your tires get seriously screwed up.

[The_Engineer]

what is the xbot talking about, even in prologue you can choose the type and size of tire you put in front or back. noobs.....lol

[Zomgbie]

I'm not a huge driving sim person, but I know I'll be picking this game up. Hopefully it'll be better than Forza 2. Forza 2 was good and all, but it just got old really quickly. I think I spent more time making designs for my cars than actually racing.

[name]

@Kigmal

That tire thing has been in the GT series since GT3 on the PS2.

[risk]

no, the tires have been in GT since atleast GT2 the first version i played, and fell in love with :3

[zonetrooper5]

Damage is part of racing and racing games should have some form of damage model if your car hits a barrier or wall for example. Also if I wanted to learn how to drive, I would buy a real car and take lessons lol.

Its a game people, clam the hell down and yes Forza 2 is pretty awesome as well and I expect disagrees.

[Zomgbie]

Damage isn't part of racing...

[INehalemEXI]

GT5 is going to truely utilize blu ray. So many cars and tracks. Prologue is just the.... Prologue heh.

[Maddens Raiders]

to play Gran Turismo. Love it. It is so, so satisfying to me. I can run races in the best places, improve times with tinkering, and look at replays all day long.

[2 cents]

I think that car damage would be a cool feature, but i would much rather have some sorts of penalising system to make players look out for each other, cos believe me with 16 players racing at the same time there`s bound to be some morons who play unfair, and take you out.

I play forza2 and pgr4 alot, and when i see a full 8 players race i know it`ll get messy. Car damage or not morons will try and take you out, and there`s nothing more annoying than having your race screwed up by some careless punks.

[Zhuk]

After experiencing Forza 2, I can't go back to Gran Turismo. Forza 2 has set the bar for driving simulation on consoles and from what I have played of GT:5p it simply just doesn't compare to the depth and features that Forza 2 offers.

an insight into how complex Forza 2 really is, with its complex tire model:

"The point here is that Forza Motorsport 2’s tire model - developed in partnership with Toyo - is what drives it to supercar status in the world of videogame racing simulations. Forza Motorsport 2’s tire model is working extremely hard in the background, so you may not see it in action (especially with many of the game’s driving assists activated), but rest-assured it’s in full swing and refreshing its data hundreds of times per second (360 cycles per second to be exact). Turn on Forza Motorsport 2’s heads-up tire telemetry if you’re a non-believer. You’ll find temperatures, wear percentages and pressures for each individual tire; real-world accurate because Turn 10 and Toyo love physics (or at least crashing cars in the name of physics). "

[mullet]

Everyone knows who you are by now, so why keep posting? Just make a new account lol.

For your own sake, don't compare trash like Forza to legendary franchises like Gran Turismo. I didn't think it was possible but it makes you look dumber than you already are.

[Damphear]

froza has tires.

wow thats lame. gtp is a demo stop trying to act like its the full game.

gt4 set the bar for racing games. froza did nothing but make cheap arcade gt

[kwicksandz]

I Owned GT3 and 4 (Gt3 and MGS series was the reason i bought a PS2) and the tire damage is one area that pissed me off in that game. you could barely go ten laps with the good tires before they practically fell off your car, and you had to have exactly a 30 second lead on the competition or you where screwed in pit lane.

Forza might not be as pretty as GT series but it does alot of things right, regardless of the console its on. There are many features the GT series could take from it to live up to its moniker of " the real driving simulator"

If real race car drivers just plowed into the field like the GT series practically encourages you to do! they would be disqualified on the first turn.But if GT5 includes time penalty's for going off track and hitting other cars i hope it doesn't penalize you for being hit like you get in forza!

Also un related to game mechanics, has the GT series picked up any of the popular makes of car that the past iterations didnt have? like lambos, porshes etc? Hopefully we shall see more Aussie cars too. Including the Xr6 turbo and Monaro in GT4 was a very cool move!

[Kakkoii]

Gran Tourismo 5 makes me want to get a PS3... (If only I wasn't so poor :( )

[DaEnforcer]

PSTripple FTW!!!

[jorellpogi]

Start saving now. You will get your PS3 someday. Good luck!

[PirateThom]

This was already proven by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear.

He took Gran Turismo 4 and played Laguna Seca until he was awesome at it and then went to the real Laguna Seca, got the exact same car and his lap times were almost identical.

There's no competition for realism.

[turbogeek]

is simply amazing. nothing compares to it.

[RIPHDDVD]

that's a fact

[Fluffy2Duffy]

Damage isn't part of racing... is that what you say?? ok! ok! i see what your point is.. Wel i think damage does play a role in racing game, think about it.. if you look behind you and you are position one or any number and u taking a coner or a straight line and a person want to race u off the track or trying to cut the corner like an idiot, both cars get damage and for the idiot driver to get more damage etc.. penalty.. i'm sure u wil learn quickly to take responsibility of your car and yourself.

I believe next generation car games must have damage, graphic effect and real driving simulator...

[PirateThom]

It's a moot point since GT5 will have damage anyway. Hell, they already said it could be added to Prologue with a simple patch because of the way the cars are made.

The thing with Polyphony, unlike every other racing game dev out there is that they won't just tact on damage modeling to appease people. They'll make the most realistic damage model possible.

[rushbd]

I gotta get myself a Logitech G25!!!
Mayb

[Matpan]

Have you ever guys sat on a car and drove it?

I guess many of you did.

Just pay attention to detail for a moment...

Let´s just make thing a little easier for the game. Let´s say you can only look forward... And to make it even easier, let´s assume you cannot look at the dashboard and all of it´s real life details, so just a glance out front.

Grasp a frame of that reality, look at all the infinite details it has. Look at the asphalt, the varying textures and hues and tones of it, look at the passing cars, the people in it. Let´s assume you are driving on the countryside, just to make things easier for the game (again). Look at the cars passing by again, look at the accurate and perfect reflections, the imperfections, the little differences. Look at the trees, the sky, the light, how it affect each and every corner of the surrounding reality you are looking at...

Even at a driving speed you can get a glimpse of how it all look so much real than in a game...

I just say this because I am tired of reading. "it looks so real" since GT1... god... since older games than that!!!

We have a different view when sitting in front of a TV, our brains know it is notreality, we adjust our perception and go "game mode" that makes it soooo real... but always bear in mind that devs are just trrying to imitate something that is so vastly more complex than what any machine is (and will for a loooooooooooong time) able to process.

The game looks great... yes, for a game.

I like it so much better when games don´t try to be photorealistic, like Ratchet and Clank, Psychonauts, Team Fortress...

Anyways... the game looks really good!

I hope 360 gets a racer that looks that nice :) I really do, I own one.

[Matpan]

on the "real driving" issue I will have to dissagree... or agree, but only partially, to be more accurate:

bare in mind that some real life activities aren´t as fun when ported to a game... Gamers are used to a "video game reality" (this also backs up my "real life graphics" point)when handling a car (plane, boat, etc.) Simulation not being so accurate makes for lot´s of fun too...

I also believe there must be a "realistic" section for the hardcore simulation fans who really like to see their cars busted for a mere 40MPH crash against a tree (or prove they are such good drivers as to never get to crash like that).
Anyways... believe me, when they do get driving physics as real as life driving games will be really bring (at least for me...)

Personally, I rather race at 250 MPH crashing cars, drifting like no pro racer can and jumping without having to worry about the landing part :P. And the future of gaming, my friend, will have a lot more of that.

[level 360]

Graphics contributes a very big part in gamers' minds when your're playing. The more realistic it looks the more you are stimulated to play these sort of games.
Then it's your perception of ( physics ) that takes over, once this is up to your taste/liking the more you are inclined to play/re-play.

With GranTurismo 5: Prologue, think it's a knock-out graphically but am still partial to it's physics.

But then both will be addressed with the up-coming "true" and real GranTurismo 5.

Will be eagerly waiting for this masterpiece of driving/racing title.

[TUFFnNYC]

Forza so great real racers take it seriously.............NOT. No matter how much zhuk tries to help the 360 it still falls short of the amazing Gran Turismo. Gotta love haters.

[aggh im on fire]

I will be getting this day one. The graphics look better than Forza's. But Forza does have huge ammounts of tunning and telementary tools which i can't see GT reaching. And a love Forza's auction house. 2 great race games.

[jorellpogi]

This news is nice. I might get GT5 and so that I can practice my driving skills.

[Saaking]

That's why Gran Turismo has the tagline "The Real Driving Simulator" :) There's really no comparison between GT and Forza. Yes Forza has customization; however, GT is the real and only driving simulator (besides who really cares about putting stuff over their cars, the point is to look at realistic cars no?).