Gran Turismo Creator Kazunori Yamauchi Takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

As you probably know, the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” has taken the world (and social media) by storm over the past few weeks. It’s resulted in a lot of fun videos of people getting cold water poured over their head, and it’s raised more than $88.5 million dollars to help victims of ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and help fund a global team of researchers looking for a cure.

Just yesterday, Forza Motorsport director Dan Greenawalt accepted the challenge and, in his video, challenged Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi.

Less than 24 hours later, Kazunori Yamauchi has responded to the challenge with the video above, and kept the chain going, challenging PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi and original GT Academy champion, Lucas Ordoñez. Well done, Kazunori!

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Comments (103)

    1. Boxout

      Is that honestly good?

      If he is aware of what is going on around the world and still doesn’t do anything about it, is something bad in my eyes.
      We’re asking for several features, and he never delivers, I know is his game, but still months of waiting for features that should be there since release is not acceptable, and meanhile Kaz is playing ice bucket challenge with another game dev.

      I don’t wanna sound too edgy, I love Kaz work, but at the same time I’m disappointed that he is aware of what we want and simply ignores it and keep GT as a broken game.

    2. TokoTurismo

      ^ +1 @Boxout Even Johnny, me and possibly many others knows this. It’s very sad that Kaz is only aware of non gaming stuff, but isn’t with other games wiping the floor with his game’s face.

  1. sergio_z4gt3

    I Find this interesting, it shows that both Kaz and Dan care about their rivalry whilst contributing to nice causes, this is nice

  2. pakicote

    god dammit, stop wasting water people! Just donate to whatever you feel like, no need to tell everyone about it.

  3. Inconspicuous

    Are you hip now, Kaz?

    Stop wasting water and get back to this game you so readily procrastinate on updating…

  4. sayba2th

    Kaz’s ice bucket lap time should be black flagged due to not him not weaving through the cones on his exit ;-)

  5. Kovu

    Maybe this simply is because I’m one of those Social-Media-o-phobes… but… honestly… I’m really tired of this Ice Bucket Challenge…

    Maybe it’s for a good cause, I don’t deny that, but – honestly – this thing is actually a pyramid scheme, something that’s illegal in most countries.

  6. ToyGTone

    No hate on this but i’ll rather help some people who had much worse problems in their lives than just throw some cold water at myself that i’ve already did because of having a cold (not very cold) shower in very hot weather.

    But it’s great for what they did and love how Dan from Forza challenged Kaz from GT.
    I wounder why They choose Kaz by Froza?

  7. warpkez

    A more useful thing would have been to just donate the money to the ALS foundation, and the cost of the ice and water to some Water for Africa fund.

  8. chevyisawesome

    Nice to see Kaz and Dan getting along with this fun challenge. Hate to see jerks in this post bitch about the challenge and Kaz even doing it. Kudos to you Kaz!

  9. TomBrady

    This is actually the only one I’ve seen that actually had a lot of ice in it. Everyone elses had barely any ice if any

  10. Jawehawk

    I can’t F’ing go anywhere without hearing/reading about this braindead stupid PoS “challenge”.
    Give it a bloody rest.

    1. JimBowL_

      Your fudged up man.. People died cause of this issue, and your going to make fun of It..

      I just wanna fudge you up kid.. I’ll smack cam yo a**!

      If you don’t got nothing reasonable to say, don’t comment.

    2. GTP_CargoRatt

      Don’t be a moron, its for a great cause. The challenge itself raises awareness and brings attention to the cause, which is what’s needed. Show some compassion instead of spouting off idiotic responses like you have.

    3. PNuTButR

      You are a complete idiot, Jawehawk.

      “You don’t have to do stupid **** to raise awareness.” . . . Correct, but it has massively raised awareness. So who’s the stupid one(s)? You, or the millions of people who have raised an unbelievable amount of money for the cause?

    4. ttfn

      Well Jawehawk, do us all a favour and stay the *uck of social media, this a bloody worthy cause and if you don’t like it, keep your gob shut about it and pray you don’t come down with it you poc

    5. DigitalBaka

      I agree with Jawehawk’s sentiment if not the attitude. Is this actually raising awareness? Or is it just some social media gimmick wherein people find stupid things to do like light themselves on fire before taking the ice bath and then screaming like idiots when it doesn’t go out? Do people even care about the root issue or just the stupid videos?

      For clarity, I’ve donated annually to this cause before anyone thought to dump a bucket of water on their head.

  11. JKgo

    Surprised that Mr. Kaz found time to do this (let alone check his inbox for challenge message) but whenever something’s about a worthy cause kudos for those involved. It’s late summer in Japan so this should cool him down for a bit.

    1. Primus Ortus

      Moreover, the bucket he used is the same ol’ bucket we’ve seen a million times. He could have at least used the Vision GTBucket. And what’s up with that ice Creator we’ve been waiting for? :)

  12. wudy201

    is it really that hard tk see this ice bucket challange a a good thing and not dedicate your time trying to find something negative about it or some how relate it to gt. Just horrible some are.

  13. TokoTurismo

    As I said in the fourm.

    “That’s what I thought Kazu. Now do the same for your fans by listening to them and fulfilling their wishes.”

  14. HKS racer

    I think 10 or 100 dollars donated each by all those “VIP” is disgusting.

    And I’m not talking about Kaz. I’m talking about all of them. 10 dollars? Are you freaking serious? You all should give 100.000 dollars each bunch of slimy selfish social media marketing chickens!

    And you should post your check as a proof of your generosity toghether with this ice troll challange.

    1. Convergent

      It’s their choice…
      I hate it when people think all rich people should donate to charities… It’s their money, their choice. Personally, if I was rich I would donate, but i’m not lol.

    2. Isho

      Quite ignorant since you barely know how much people actually donate. This 10-100 dollar rule was first just created for regular people, not wealthy ones. I cant stop but simply ask why its so hard for people like you to think properly lol..

    3. HuskyGT

      Well, that’s the trick. To be rich you have to be greedy, selfish and heartless. You don’t get all that money by being charitable or thinking on others needs. It’s the sad truth.

    4. David Smith

      “And you should post your check as a proof of your generosity toghether with this ice troll challange” why? So you can can say they are telling us how much they are donating to make themselves look good, I don’t think so. $85m isnt just from $10 dollar donations is it?

    5. HuskyGT

      That is a great point, @David Smith. I don’t how it works all around the world, but where I come from it is considered extremely rude, of bad taste and also arrogant to show off that you’ve been charitable. That’s why I feel this challenge (that I decided to research today), has something fishy and wrong about it. It’s just the way it’s being done.

      In some way it’s just a way for “famous” people to inflate their ego.

    6. HKS racer

      It might sound rude arrogant how much you paid but I think most of the VIP trolls used this ice marketing challenge only to advertise themselves. And that, in my book is no less rude than boasting a number on a check.

  15. digitalwolf

    Ha ha he’s so busy he couldn’t even stand for a moment to shoot the video.

    Like “Good that’s done, back to work”

  16. sirjim73

    While it’s a worthy cause and I am happy that it is getting some attention as a result, half the people don’t know now why they’re even doing it.

    Unfortunately, when things go viral the reason sometimes gets lost.

    Not in this case and kudos to Kaz and Dan for doing it properly.

    I’ve been challenged but won’t be doing it, but if you are challenged to do so by someone and accept, please be sensible.

    Remember cold water shocks your body and causes strain on the heart. Sadly an 18 year old in Scotland and a 40 year old in New Zealand have apparently died as a result of ice bucket challenges.

    I don’t wish to be a killjoy I just ask that you plan it properly if you do it please.

    1. andrew84555

      At least its a stupid viral thing that results in support for a good cause, if people understand it or not – better than most fads.

    2. andrew84555

      Does it really matter what people ‘know it as’, or their (lack of) understanding of ALS if they are raising money for charity?

    1. TokoTurismo

      Yeah. An “ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE”, not “making game to be better than others games” challenge…

    2. TeamCZRRacing

      @Toko How about YOU take the “stop infiltrating every single comment/forum thread with negativity” challenge?

    3. TokoTurismo

      @TeamCZRRacing make me. As long as I follow the AUP, I can post any thoughts that comes to my mind. So deal with it.

    4. TokoTurismo

      @MeanElf Are you planning to remove me off your friends list for being negative? That’s going too far due to not being 100% positive 24/7…

    5. TeamCZRRacing

      Toko, sometimes, people just don’t want negativity in the threads they create. It would be respectful of you to realize when negativity is warranted and avoid such places unless you have something positive to say.

    6. sayba2th

      @ Toko, I gotta agree with the other guys here on this, I have watched you go from being a big supporter of GT to virtually the opposite over the last few months. I understand that you have frustrations with the game but posting virtually the same comments over and again is redundant. Also what you have responded to about not going away is no different to when you used to tell the “haters” where to go and they respond with similar response about being within the AUP guidelines makes you no different to them. I am not trying to have a go at you but more so put it in perspective.

    7. MeanElf

      No Toko, that’s not what I was saying. I was pointing out that I agreed with TeamCZR’s comment, not from a standpoint of someone who couldn’t give a damn about you, but from someone who has you on his FL on here as well as PSN.

      In other words, anyone can tell you that you’re being an ass – though when a friend tells you the same thing, it’s probably time to listen.

    8. sayba2th

      Great point Elf as Toko is on my FL also. As Chef from South Park says there is a time and place for everything.

    9. TokoTurismo

      @TeamCZRRacing That’ll be sort of hard to do, especially for the fact that my number feature is still missing from a game I liked so much, to a so so game.

      @sayba2th Ahhh, why did you have to remind me from the past. xD Anyways, I agreed every word you said. I only post those things because I know Kaz and PD are better than they are nowadays. They’ve really dropped the ball on this one.

      @MeanElf Respect man. However PD is not on my liked list though. :P

    10. sayba2th

      Sorry Toko hahahaha didn’t mean to bring out the big guns ;-p glad that you took what CZR, Elf and myself have said the right way. I know deep down that you felt that way and I knew how much you looked forward to GT but becoming one of the “those” guys is not the solution. Subjectivity is the key to improvement of the series. Out of 15 years how many of those can we say have been wasted. I bet it’s less than than more. Peace!

    11. MeanElf

      Good words sayba.

      No worries Toko – I know they aren’t. Here’s hoping the course creator turns up for you soon.

    12. TeamCZRRacing

      Toko, it’s hard for me sometimes to stay away from negative places. Yet I do it.
      Happy place =/= a good place to post negative comments. It’s that simple.

    13. sayba2th

      Likewise Elf, heres hoping for all of us with the course maker. Toko all good cuz we all get a lil frustrated and have ruts at times. I have had an mainly on occasionally of a fair with Gran Turismo but i have found ways to make the game more interesting for me and re kindle my very strong love of the game. CZR I hear you on that negativity breeds negativity hence my absence on GTP for some time.

  17. drag lab 101

    Cool to see he answered Dan…
    I was pretty surprised to hear him being challenged by Dan watching that video yesterday on the Forza FB page.

    1. dddsprayshop

      Supporting the A.L.S. desease. I gues for every view, there is money donated at the ALS foundation.
      Short version, Power/energy loss in your body and paralizing of your body.
      Look it up on interweb, it is a mean desease.

    2. Swagger897

      Actually…

      When you are challenged, you have 24 hrs to do the bucket dump, and donate $10… Otherwise, if you dont do the challenge, its $100 to donate.

    3. HuskyGT

      Yeah, I get it now. Thanks. And it’s cool and all since it’s for a good cause, but I can’t help to feel this is just another stupid internet trend like vines, memes and all that bandwagon attention-getter stuff…

    4. HuskyGT

      It’s for a good cause at least, and apparently it’s working. But for the rest of it, I don’t know… maybe I’m getting old. The current internet generation kind of annoys me a bit.

    1. SZRT Ice

      No apologies necessary. It’s cool if you didn’t know. Or if it was a typo.

      I was just informing you man! : )

  18. SZRT Ice

    Commendable. I’m surprised the challenge was sent via the director of GT’s main rival. That makes it that much cooler.

    1. dragos

      Yeah well, it’s about 90 in Cleveland. I’m about to pour a bucket of ice water over my head without the challenge… Kudos to kaz.

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