Gran Turismo 5

The Gran Turismo series has a reputation for delivering high-end, sim-style racing to PlayStation owners since its debut in 1997. It’s also known for being a little tough for novices to crack and for giving players stop-gap releases between major versions. That last bit hasn’t changed – PlayStation 3 owners already have played around with the Gran Turismo HD demo and Gran Turismo 5: Prologue before the 2010 release of the latest full version. When it comes to accessibility, however, Gran Turismo 5 looks like it could be the entry point casual players have been waiting for.

According to series producer Kazunori Yamauchi, the way that people play games has shifted in the past decade. Rather than devote a dozen undivided hours to a game in one sitting, he says players today now have text messaging and e-mail to distract them. With Gran Turismo 5, Yamauchi says he and his team are setting out to create a game that players can enjoy even if they have a limited amount of time to do so.

Cars have always been a huge part of the game, obviously, and Gran Turismo 5 has one of the most impressive garages we’ve seen. There are 950 cars in the game, covering everything from classics to cutting-edge race cars, with plenty of entries in the middle. Perhaps one of the most interesting additions comes in the form of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), including the Tesla Roadster. “It’s an eco friendly game,” Yamauchi joked when we interviewed him in Polyphony Digital’s Tokyo offices.

Polyphony’s painstaking attention to detail is demonstrated by how much work his team has spent making sure EVs were accurately translated to the gaming world – from the way they sound to the way they handle. “You just hear road noise and the sound of the wind, really,” starts Yamauchi. “One thing about it is that Sony is one of the major producers of lithium ion batteries. We were in close contact with a team that develops those batteries, and we’ve taken in their knowledge and information, and that’s how we went forward with development. One of the most difficult things about the EV cars is the battery. Regarding the Toyota’s hybrid system, we’ve been in contact with them regarding their system for over five years now, so we have accumulated a good amount of knowledge from their side as well.”

Acquiring new vehicles has always been a huge part of Gran Turismo’s career mode, and we don’t expect to see many changes with that structure. What’s certain is that players who also play the PlayStation Portable version of the game will be able to fill their garages faster – up to 10 times faster, according to Yamauchi (those players won’t be able to access quite everything, however; 150 cars are exclusive to the PS3 version).