Kazunori Yamauch interview

[P1]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/891/891903p1.html

Havent seen this posted so:


IGN: So to start off, can you give us an overview of GT TV?

Kazunori Yamauchi: GT TV actually came from a personal wish of mine to have programs that you could watch anywhere, anytime, because when I go home from work, I turn on the TV and look for car programs on cable and satellite, and they're not always easy to find. So that's why I wanted to provide a service where you could have automotive and autosports programs 24 hours a day, anywhere, anytime. We're starting off with Japanese programs and the BBC's Top Gear, and that's where this all started.

IGN: I noticed in some of the shots from the trailer that you're personally featured in some of the spots. How much involvement did you have with the production of some of the specials?

Kazunori Yamauchi: One thing that I want to make clear is that Gran Turismo TV is not a video distribution service - that's not just what it is. We're producing our own programs to spread more information about cars and the automotive world.

So to answer your question, with Gran Turismo TV we're going to be gathering interesting automotive events and news from all over the world, and these are going to be put into our original programs. We have a staff of about 30 people at Polyphony Digital who are dedicated to creating programs for Gran Turismo TV, and I produce all of this, so you could say I'm 100% involved in all of these programs.

IGN: How much of the content is geared towards the hardcore fans versus the more casual racing fan?

Kazunori Yamauchi: For example, we have BBC's Top Gear, which is more of a casual show. It's for anyone from kids to adults. And then we have D1 Grand Prix and the Super GT which are more for core fans of motorsports and cars. There's no real setting of a ratio between the two, we just want to balance it out so that everyone has something to enjoy.

IGN: I'm an especially huge Ferrari fan, and I noticed that you're going to have a behind-the-scenes look at the production of Ferraris. Do you have a segment in there where you actually show off their test track?

Kazunori Yamauchi: We went into the Ferrari factory with high-definition cameras, which is the first time that's ever been done. And that's also true for the Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari's test course. It's the first time in history that anyone has ever brought a high-definition camera to take footage of the track.

IGN: Are there any plans to have this content transferrable to the PSP so that you can watch it on the go?

Kazunori Yamauchi: We definitely want to do that in the future

IGN: Earlier this year, you mentioned that Polyphony was working on a patch for GT5 Prologue that would add damage modeling to the game later this year. Is that still happening?

Kazunori Yamauchi: Our plans haven't changed, and we're working on it. But this is Gran Turismo, so it might be a little bit late. [laughs all around]

IGN: Lastly, what's the status on the full Gran Turismo 5? Where are you at in production?

Kazunori Yamauchi: Of course after this next update, we're going to have another update later on in the year. There's no plans in the works for GT5 yet - that might be 2009, or it might be 2010... But we're totally focused on getting the updates through for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and that's all we're focused on.

 

[Lain]

Nice find! Another Prologue update after the fall one? Awesome. I only wish IGN asked a little bit more about the PPV aspect of GT-TV...

 

[zzAli]

I wonder what the update after the Fall one will have.

There's no plans in the works for GT5 yet - that might be 2009, or it might be 2010...

Does that mean that there going to start planning on GT5 in 2009 or 2010? I thought it would be released then.

 

[P1]

Looks like they havent even started on GT5 yet

 

[Earth]

I dont think them spending so much time with the next GT5P update is a complete loss as it should transfer over into GT5

If the new update that hits before the end of the year includes damage and private rooms those are two things they can use to work with GT5 so they won't really be a waste even if they are made for Prologue

And nice to see he has a sense of humor about the delays

Late 2009 or early 2010 for GT5 isn't so bad if we get highly functional private rooms and damage/fuel/tire wear in GT5P to keep us busy

 

[Mr.Grandorifto]

two word for that "Monkey Balls"

 

[Benannt]

"And that's also true for the Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari's test course. It's the first time in history that anyone has ever brought a high-definition camera to take footage of the track."

I think we can confirm the Fiorano circuit will be included in GT5...

 

[L_Hamilton]

Longer the better...

 

[Kryz11]

But this is Gran Turismo, so it might be a little bit late.

👍

 

[Timppaq]

 

[Lain]

👍

I hope he just said that in jest, opposed to it being literal. But as long as the damage is good, and arrives at least in a moderately timely fasion, I suppose there won't be any reason to complain.

 

[Japspecvr6]

I know 2010 sounds far away but if they keep adding stuff to GTP we should be str8 and it gives us time buy the wheel and cockpit for those who dont have. Just add More Cars, Tracks, Physics, Tuning Details and Vendors.

 

[MrCooper]

Another Prologue update after the fall one?

Not sure... 'this next update' could refer to the one on August 1st (Swiss National Holiday btw ), and 'another update later on in the year' could refer to the infamous 'fall update'.

 

[Lain]

Not sure... 'this next update' could refer to the one on August 1st (Swiss National Holiday btw ), and 'another update later on in the year' could refer to the infamous 'fall update'.

Heh, I forgot about the August 1st update.

 

[RacingFreak2k3]

Yeah I highly doubt PD would send out another update after the fall update for this year, especially if they include everything they say they are going to into the fall update. I would expect the next update after the fall update to be in the spring.....just a guess though, ya never know what PD is going to do.

 

[kikie]

I remember that I read somewhere on this forum a while ago that GT5p will become GT5 through updates and downloads. If this is true then we don't have to worry about GT5 being release in another century.

Kazunori Yamauchi: We went into the Ferrari factory with high-definition cameras, which is the first time that's ever been done. And that's also true for the Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari's test course. It's the first time in history that anyone has ever brought a high-definition camera to take footage of the track.

So no laser scanned tracks?!

 

[EmArA]

So Fiorano would be there in Hd, in Ferrari challenge it wasn't 💡

 

[RUMBLERIDER]

Hoping for more tracks & online diversity,& anything to promote clean racing in GT5P, if GT5 is that far away.

 

[myke6699]

I remember that I read somewhere on this forum a while ago that GT5p will become GT5 through updates and downloads. If this is true then we don't have to worry about GT5 being release in another century.

Critereon, developer of Burnout Paradise has the same idea. Instead of every year coming up with a new Burnout, they're doing free updates, adding new tracks, new gameplays and new concept (bikes, planes). The fact that most consoles are now connected makes sense that instead of constantly churning out new packaging, you release a core game and then you either do constant free updates or DLC (free + $$).

 

[Noremac55]

Is it possible that they may be working on a 2-player online aspect so that 2 people on the same PS3 can be playing online.... because having seen the ferrari video and seeing that mountain road section , if that is included it would be alsome to race against a friend on the same console and to then be racing against people online as well.....


wht u guys think??????

 

[lucanalin]

Kazunori Yamauchi: We went into the Ferrari factory with high-definition cameras, which is the first time that's ever been done. And that's also true for the Fiorano Circuit, Ferrari's test course. It's the first time in history that anyone has ever brought a high-definition camera to take footage of the track.

This isn't correct. Anyway, great interview.

 

[H3rmaN]

I remember that I read somewhere on this forum a while ago that GT5p will become GT5 through updates and downloads. If this is true then we don't have to worry about GT5 being release in another century.

I personally doubt that, purely for the reason that there's still A LOT of people around the world who dont have access to broadband, or dont have unlimited downloads, etc.

 

[Dave A]

Is it possible that they may be working on a 2-player online aspect so that 2 people on the same PS3 can be playing online.... because having seen the ferrari video and seeing that mountain road section , if that is included it would be alsome to race against a friend on the same console and to then be racing against people online as well.....


wht u guys think??????

I think that would be too compromised an experience. I don't know the details of how a netrwork might suffer, but I know one PS3 processing two players is working almost twice as hard as it is when your playing single player, hence the reason 2 player has less detail in the scenery and graphics. I dont know how a netwok of PS2's with serveral playing with 2 players and several playing with 1 would integrate and how effective it would or wouldn't be though.

It'd be a neat idea if it worked though.

 

[kikie]

I personally doubt that, purely for the reason that there's still A LOT of people around the world who dont have access to broadband, or dont have unlimited downloads, etc.

True but it is posible that GT5p can become GT5 for those whom have it ( = prologue) and that GT5 wil be released for others whom don't have prologue or don't have internet.

 

[BrainGow=Bairn]

This is what i get from it:

GT5P = GT5... there is no parallel developing whatsoever.




oh oh.. i feel a long rant coming up... yup, here it comes.

really want them to stop working on GT5P and put all their effort into GT5.. what i make out from this interview is that they are fully concentrating on prologue and just leave GT5's development in the freezer.

I dont like it one bit, and i keep saying what i have been saying for years now, PD needs to stop all the sideprojects and just focus on one thing allready.. or just expand their team and split it up that way.

See, if i were sony, i would be really pissed off with this.. as forza and race pro are lurking around the corner, GT5 needs to push consoles BIG time.
Sony needs to put a lot of resources in this game, give PD money to expand, because if Yamauchi is saying it might come out in 2010, he really means 2011 and 6 months later for the US, and then 3 months later for the EU and the UK.

It's unbelievable.. but just think about this: GT5 was announced in 2005.
And before GT5 will be out, we will have probably seen 2 forza motorsports games before that, in the same development timespan.
Before GT5 comes out, in the same development timespan codemasters will have developed 3 racegames before that (DIRT, GRID, and F1 2009)... including convincing car damage, smooth online and a day and night cycle... im sure we will see perfect dynamic weather effects in F1 2009 as well.. all these things PD are struggling with so much.

I respect the team at PD, i love GT5P for what it's worth, cockpit view, the F1 car, the graphics, and i probably need to stop whining, but come on.. it's mid 2008, and allready PD themselves are announcing this as a possible 2010 title... and all we have now is a very, very stripped racing simulator.

Sure.. they can keep updating prologue, but is that really how you guys want your race games?! by the time the fall update comes out, i am done with the cars and tracks we have now.. hell, i have allready not touched it for months.
By the time the third update comes out, i will probably be done with the new cars and tracks from the fall update...

I just imagined GT5 coming out like they showed it at E3 05... add to that weather effects and a day and night cycle, damage, smooth online, pitstops, fuel loss, tire wear, endurance races.. all these things we still dont have in GT5P.

Man.. i just HATE the "we'll keep updating our game" way of working.. i want the game to be done completely, i hate getting stuff in segments through updates.
They were planning this all along.. first GT:HD would keep seeing updates, then it would be GT vision with cars each month you would have to pay for, and now GT5P basically is GT5, and it will probably just slowly (SLOWLY) transform into a bigger and expanded game.

done.

 

[H3rmaN]

I think your missing something mate. When they say they are working on the next Prologue update it doesn't mean that GT5 development has stopped. All the effort they are putting into making new cars, tracks, damage, etc will go directly into GT5 full.

So instead of working for a couple of years with nothing apart from the odd interview, PD have decided to keep us busy by showing us what they have acheived every few months.

I can 99% guarantee that everything we see in Prologue, and everything that we get in updates for Prologue will be in the full version with either no change at all, or some minor tweaks.

By the way you put it, it seems like you would rather they just give us Prologue then not give us anything between Prologue and GT5. The way I see it is that this doesn't distract them from GT5, but gives them an extra level of testing. We effectivly become BETA testers for them.

If they release an update for Prologue and there is a problem it will get back to them so they can sort it before GT5 goes gold (ie mass production starts). This should in fact make GT5 come out quicker, because the whole world is testing the game for bugs as certain parts of it are finnished, instead of just a handful of people testing it once the game is complete.

 

[BrainGow=Bairn]

I think your missing something mate. When they say they are working on the next Prologue update it doesn't mean that GT5 development has stopped. All the effort they are putting into making new cars, tracks, damage, etc will go directly into GT5 full.

So instead of working for a couple of years with nothing apart from the odd interview, PD have decided to keep us busy by showing us what they have acheived every few months.

I can 99% guarantee that everything we see in Prologue, and everything that we get in updates for Prologue will be in the full version with either no change at all, or some minor tweaks.

By the way you put it, it seems like you would rather they just give us Prologue then not give us anything between Prologue and GT5. The way I see it is that this doesn't distract them from GT5, but gives them an extra level of testing. We effectivly become BETA testers for them.

If they release an update for Prologue and there is a problem it will get back to them so they can sort it before GT5 goes gold (ie mass production starts). This should in fact make GT5 come out quicker, because the whole world is testing the game for bugs as certain parts of it are finnished, instead of just a handful of people testing it once the game is complete.

Thanks for the insightfull reply... that made me think about it and i guess you could see it that way as well.. prologue sort of being a frame, a blueprint of GT5.

But i just find it worrying that the development on GT5 has been put to a hold because they want to update prologue first... i was hoping for parallel developing and i still am.. it might be a translation error as well.

 

[P1]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168895

1UP: One of the other things that you showed off at the press conference was a lot of footage from Gran Turismo TV. What surprised me, though, was that you didn't show any gameplay add-ons for Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Can gamers still expect new gameplay additions for that?

SR: Ron's actually your Gran Turismo man, so I'm going to let him answer that.

RE: Yes, they've got downloadable-content plans beyond GTTV. And of course, we're also in production on the full version of GT5. What GTTV was really about was additional feature sets. We're looking at a gamer's overall experience in GT5: Prologue and building on the infrastructure that's already there. Some of the updates that I know about that we're planning have tweaks to leaderboards and game matching -- some of the stuff that isn't sexy but makes the gameplay experience better. But GTTV is significant in the sense that if you are a big automotive fan, a lot of the content that we're putting in there is very difficult for somebody to get. To find the best motoring DVDs, for example, you have to import them, and they're quite expensive. We're actually allowing you to pick an episode [and] download that content directly into the game. We've already captured that audience. They're automotive fans, and that's why they bought Gran Turismo 5: Prologue to begin with. It makes sense to house that content in there.


That says there still working on GT5.

 

[FoolKiller]

I think that would be too compromised an experience. I don't know the details of how a netrwork might suffer, but I know one PS3 processing two players is working almost twice as hard as it is when your playing single player, hence the reason 2 player has less detail in the scenery and graphics. I dont know how a netwok of PS2's with serveral playing with 2 players and several playing with 1 would integrate and how effective it would or wouldn't be though.

It'd be a neat idea if it worked though.

I will assume that you have not played Warhawk with up to four players on one system, while online in a 32 player game?


Now, whether GT5P could actually pull that off is a different story, but online multiplayer with more than one person on a single system has been done already.

 

[snowboardfan]

Is it possible that they may be working on a 2-player online aspect so that 2 people on the same PS3 can be playing online.... because having seen the ferrari video and seeing that mountain road section , if that is included it would be alsome to race against a friend on the same console and to then be racing against people online as well.....


wht u guys think??????

hey i'd like it if they added some CPU cars to 2 player; at least it would make the 2 player splitscreen experience a bit more interesting. Or even some 2 player 'team challenge' races inside the main GT world. it could happen. Or not..

I'm interested to know what tracks and cars they are going to add; the Ferrari California has got to be a possibility I would've thought, especially if GT5 full is now due in 2010. Might be time to dust off my copy of Prologue soon, I'd gotten a bit bored of it as late!