Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo License celebrates its 25th anniversary

In 1997, the video game license that would revolutionize the world of car simulations on the PlayStation, created by Polyphony Digital and distributed by Sony: Gran Turismo. And to celebrate its current quarter-century, its creator thanked his fans with an open letter.

For early fans of the series, this wouldn’t make them any younger, but Gran Turismo was released in 1997 on the first PlayStation. A quarter of a century later and 90 million copies sold, the license has gained popularity, realistically, and declined where possible.

Gran Turismo, already 25 years old!

The Gran Turismo saga was first born in 1997, but its genesis actually dates back to 1992. At this time, Kazunori Yamauchi developed the initial project for the game. In 1994, he was at the helm of another game, Grand Prix Car Toon Racing. Three years later, most of MTGP’s core physics models have been incorporated into the original Gran Turismo game.

When the first announcements were made in the specialized magazines of the time (PlayStation Official Magazine, Consoles +, Joypad …), some saw that it was just another arcade-type car game (the display of gadgets on the screen participated in this deception), but others analyzed in depth The game is pretty good, but especially the car physics. In fact, when the first images were put down on paper, we saw many cars dangling due to their suspension… that we haven’t seen in any other video game!

A 90 million title sold later, and 25 candles blown out for the franchise, this epic is an exception in the video game world. The license has kept its title, but above all, the original developer team, has had a record of longevity.

Kazunori Yamauchi

Initially, the Gran Turismo project was started by bringing together a team of two part-time artists and three engineers. From there, the number of comrades has grown steadily for more than a quarter of a century, and today they are Polyphony Digital, a company of more than 200 people. I don’t think there are many video game franchises in the world that have been around for 25 years with the same title and the same team.

The founding members of the company are still working on the front lines, and I am grateful and proud that our 200 employees make up a team with the same drive and love with which the company began.

Over the past 25 years, cumulative sales of the series have totaled more than 90 million copies as of November 16, 2022. Behind this figure of 90 million are all the media people who have transferred the appeal of Gran Turismo to their works. readers. There are people at PlayStation who have eagerly sold GT to us all over the world, and there is incredible support from retailers who have been in touch with our users.

Above all, I cannot thank the GT users and members of the GT community who have played our new titles, which we’d say were very experimental at times. If we are here today, thanks to all who have supported us.

I think the Gran Turismo series has always strived for “beauty”. The beauty of cars, the beauty of landscapes, the beauty of lighting, the beauty of driving, the beauty of sounds and music, the beauty of graphics. “The pursuit of beauty” is the driving force behind Gran Turismo’s creation. We appreciate all of your support over the past 25 years. Thank you.

This motive is clearly visible in every title. While the features, sounds, and physics engines have often been the subject of criticism from the public, Gran Turismo’s graphics are rarely questioned.

Gran Turismo goes beyond video games! It sparked a passion for cars and motorsports in some, if not boosted confidence in others. Take part in discovering the range of different world markets with exotic, exclusive or unknown models from our region. Mazda Demio, Toyota Sprinter Trueno (Initial D Champion), Mitsubishi GTO Twin Turbo and, of course, the incomparable Nissan Skyline R32/R33 which enjoyed great exposure and immense popularity thanks to the franchise.

But Gran Turismo got better with time, after the first opus, Gran Turismo 2 was available on two discs (one CD Arcade, the other Simulation, one you can rub to feel the bitumen!), a third work called A-Spec (the B-Spec version was a mode Investigation… built into the game). The franchise has also created “Prologue”, intermediate games to keep players waiting, and in 2006 it was Gran Turismo HD that sold the benefits of HD while waiting for the GT 5 Prologue!

Beyond the pharaonic garages, the driver’s licenses, the challenges imposed, the amazing improvements to be made to the vehicles, the ever-evolving number of circuits on Opus… The first atmosphere created through the intros and soundtracks contributed greatly to the success and today to the nostalgia of the first titles. Who hasn’t gotten excited with the soundtrack to the Cardigans’ “My Favorite Toys” and the trashy “I Think I’m Paranoid”?

And outside the living room, Gran Turismo has also invited itself into the real world with the Nissan GT Academy! GT Academy NISMO PlayStation is a competition organized by Nissan, PlayStation and Polyphony Digital since 2008 that moves the best Gran Turismo players from the virtual world to the real world by giving them a unique opportunity to compete in a bid to become a true professional racing driver.