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Sony Computer Entertainment has announced the cumulative worldwide shipment of 50 million Gran Turismo games worldwide.  This milestone was achieved thanks to the international release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, after selling 2.2 million copies after just a few weeks on store shelves in Europe, North America, and Asia.  Here’s what series creator Kazunori Yamauchi had to say about the event:

“Initially, Gran Turismo was an ‘alternative’ racing game, kind of an outsider in the genre,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, Producer of Gran Turismo. “And we made it thinking that it would be okay as long as it reached out to ‘the select few who would agree with us.’ So this figure — 50 million units — is simply astounding.  [ … ]  I would really like to thank all the fans who have supported the Gran Turismo series over the years, for all their passion and love of the game. We’d like to continue making every effort to create cutting edge, high quality games, so that we don’t disappoint anyone’s expectations.”

Now, let’s break down the raw data and see how each game actually contributed to this total.  I think you’ll find the results very interesting.

First of all, you may be surprised to see that Gran Turismo 4 actually sold fewer copies than any of the previous games, despite drastically improved visuals and unprecedented depth and variety of game play.  However, it was the second game on the PlayStation 2, and the “wow-factor” of Gran Turismo 3′s visuals back in 2001 were not so unique to casual gamers four years later. If you look closely at the chart, that’s a trend that was also repeated with the first two games in the series on the original PlayStation.  When the series hits a new console for the first time, it’s almost guaranteed to sell more than its predecessor, as Polyphony Digital flexes their creative muscles on new hardware.  By the time the second game arrives, we see more new features and cars introduced, but the general populace is not visually stimulated enough to run to the store.

Of course, that’s not the case in Europe, where the numbers show an increasing demand for each game in the series.  Unlike North America, nearly every European who bought  Gran Turismo 3 also picked up Gran Turismo 4, and continue to lead the sales of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.  The series’ rising popularity in Europe also seems to be driving Sony’s marketing and promotional decisions.  Europeans enjoyed a whirlwind tour with series creator Kazunori Yamauchi attending lavish launch parties in London, Madrid, and Germany, while the United States has yet to see even a television commercial.  It will be interesting to see how Sony Computer Entertainment continues to promote the games as we slowly move towards the monumental release of Gran Turismo 5 in Europe and abroad - it could be the beginning of a strong focus on the Old World as the Gran Turismo franchise moves away from its homeland…

Business Week recently posted an article discussing the influence that the Gran Turismo series had on the development and eventual release of the Nissan GT-R in the United States.  While most of us are aware of the intimate relationship between the series and the GT-R, it’s both interesting and good news to see the major business media outlets take notice and recognize the influence of this little thing we call Gran Turismo.  To quote a senior Nissan executive:

“It blew us away, really it did. But one of the chief responses in our consumer surveys about the car – one of the chief places people had heard about the car was this game, this video game called Gran Turismo.”

Of course, many other cars have also been made very popular because of the series, such as Mitsubishi’s Lancer, which have always been renowned for their versatility in the games.  Hopefully, more automakers will take note of the power of the GT series, promoting an active interest in the development and implementation of their vehicles in Gran Turismo 5.  Read the full BusinessWeek article here.

Coming out of nowhere, Sony has announced “GT Academy” - a program for Europeans that translates their on-track performance in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue into a real racing career. Starting at the end of May, a series of online races will be held to determine the two most competitive players. The two winners will receive four months of real-world racing school instruction, and a racing seat with the Nissan team in the 24 Hours of Dubai later this year! This is a very surprising and unusual program for Nissan and Sony to embark upon, and there are still many details which are unclear. For example, how will the online competitions be regulated to prevent unfair driving and bumping? How will the races themselves be determine, tracked, and monitored with the current online system? Stay tuned for more details as we get them - meanwhile, hit the track and sharpen your driving skills! See the full press release after the jump…

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Since Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has been released in Europe, we’re finally beginning to get a trickle of information about the full Gran Turismo 5 as it lingers upon the horizon. One of the first tidbits to come down the pipeline is the confirmation of a new “city circuit” located in Madrid, Spain. While this is certainly very interesting, it does make you wonder why Polyphony would create a new circuit where one does not exist, while the infamous (and very popular) Circuit de Catalyuna is only a few hundred miles away. Obviously, some licensing issues (and costs) for the circuit must be factored in, but there is no question it would be a great selling point to an even wider range of racing enthusiasts.

In an interview with Kikizo, GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has once again confirmed that the PSP game Gran Turismo Mobile is still in active development.  Despite having been overwhelmingly written off by the the popular press, the gaming press, and even video game retailers, it remains something that Yamauchi repeatedly confirms.

Kikizo: And what’s happening with GT Mobile?

Yamauchi: Probably next year.

Kikizo: Probably next year? So it’s still in active development?

Yamauchi: Yes.

Yamauchi’s responses are intentionally vague, but there has obviously been some work on the title and it would be a significant write-off of the developer’s time if they did not plan to release it eventually. What do you think?

Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has announced during an interview with CVG that a “major update” is in the works for GT5: Prologue, and is going to include the highly anticipated vehicular damage!  Other updates will include enhanced online functionality and “community building features.”  We have known for some time now that private races and in-game chat have been in the works, with a realistic release date sometime this summer.  However, damage may be a bit further off in the fuall of this, as cited by IGN.  Stay tuned for the full interview, released tomorrow, where Yamauchi is expected to comment on the possibility of developing a complete Formula 1 title in the future.

The latest European sales numbers at VGChartz for “the week ending March 29, 2008″ show that exactly 374,607 Blu-Ray copies of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue have been sold.  Considering that the game was released in Europe on March 28, those sales numbers could only apply to the two single days that it was available on store shelves.  This, of course, is in addition to the one million European pre-orders and does not include the number of times the game has been purchased via PSN.

So, will you be making it 374,608 copies sold, or will you add your tally to the number of downloads?  Vote in our official poll and share which version you intend to purchase.

The much-touted inclusion of the Top Gear television series in Gran Turismo TV has finally come to fruition today for owners of the Japanese edition of Gran Tursimo 5 Prologue!  According to early reports from our forums, the complete first episode of Season 6 is the only one that has been posted, and it’s only going to be available until April 27.  We can expect a total of 60 episodes of the show to appear in the game, but this talk of “expiration” seems to indicate that not all will be available at once.  Still no word on a PAL update for European players, but it is simply a matter of time.  Check out the video trailer after the jump…

As GTPlanet has posted over the past few days, Polyphony has finally released the Spec II update for the Japanese game.  While we’ve been throwing around the highlights in this new update (like the inclusion of High Speed Ring, Ferrari F40, F2007, QTS, etc.), the game’s official Japanese site has carefully outlined all of the new features.  Check out the complete list after the jump…

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GTPlanet user dark_ruffo has created two excellent videos of the F2007 in action on the full Suzuka Circuit.  Both are of the same lap, inside the car and out.  It’s one of the first complete replays that we’ve seen on the full circuit, and it is nothing short of fantastic.  To put things in perspective, I’ve also included an onboard lap of Suzuka with Michael Schumacher in the F2006.  Play both on-board videos at the same time to see how they compare!