— Ch. 1 · Origins And Development History —
Gran Turismo (series).
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In 1992, Kazunori Yamauchi began work on a racing game while employed at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. His initial team consisted of five people who eventually grew to seventeen members during the project's development. The original Gran Turismo took five years to complete before its release in Japan in 1997. Sony initially rejected Yamauchi's pitch for a realistic simulator but allowed his team to continue as a side project. After their arcade games Motor Toon Grand Prix and Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 succeeded, Sony accepted the new proposal. The first game launched with 150 licensed vehicles, far more than any other simulation available at that time. By mid-1998, Gran Turismo had sold two million copies within Japan alone. Polyphony Digital was established shortly after the game's release to manage future projects. Gran Turismo 2 arrived in North America and Japan in 1999, expanding the roster to 650 cars across seven tracks. The PlayStation 2 era brought Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec in 2001, which introduced endurance events and pit stop mechanics. Development challenges plagued subsequent titles, particularly Gran Turismo 5, which faced multiple delays before finally launching in 2010. Yamauchi described working on the PlayStation 3 version as a nightmare due to technical limitations. Gran Turismo Sport released in 2017 focused exclusively on online racing without a traditional career mode. The most recent installment, Gran Turismo 7, appeared in 2022 for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 systems.
Simulation Physics And Gameplay Mechanics
Gran Turismo emulates real-world vehicle dynamics including weight transfer, suspension response, and understeer characteristics. Players begin with entry-level cars worth approximately 10,000 credits to purchase vehicles from manufacturer shops or used dealerships. The series pioneered modern sim racing by promoting wheel controllers instead of standard gamepads. Early games featured vehicles constructed from only 300 polygons, while later iterations reached 500,000 polygons for premium models. Polyphony Digital developed specialized driving simulator kits in partnership with Logitech and Sparco manufacturers. The franchise includes laser-scanned replicas of actual race tracks alongside fictional circuits like Trial Mountain. License testing guides players through skill development before they can enter more difficult races. Gran Turismo 4 introduced photography modes and B-spec AI drivers that compete on behalf of human owners. Tourist Trophy utilized the same physics engine as Gran Turismo 4 but removed certain features like B-spec mode. Online services for earlier titles were terminated between 2006 and 2024, leaving only Gran Turismo 7 operational today. The game's visual fidelity has consistently demonstrated each PlayStation console's graphical capabilities since its inception.