Looking for: The history of Gran Turismo 1

  • Thread starter drivatar
  • 13 comments
  • 3,890 views
1,055
Back in 1997 when GT1 was released in Japan the Internet was far away from what it is today and many old sites have long gone.

I'm looking for information, media or news that were available before the release of GT.

When was the first information available about the game that we all know as Gran Turismo?
 
Official Playstation Magazine had a [size=+1]GT1[/size] demo on their CD for a couple of issues, and probably previewed and reviewed the game.
 
It's too bad www.granturismoforums.com is not around any more. It had some forums that captured the excitement of the original Gran Turismo/GT2 era. But the guy sold it or something. I used to sit around for hours reading that site.
 
That sucks. GTF was a very vibrant set of forums. Imagine the traffic and activity going on in the GT5 and GT5P sections here at GTPlanet, and then double it!
 
Newsgroups would still have been reasonably active in early and pre [size=+1]GT1[/size] days.
 
There is some stuff that's still around from the early days...I just can't think of what they are. What about Mustang Man? Didn't he have a site?
 
Last edited:
From around the time [size=+1]GT2[/size] was supposed to be coming out....
(from my personal archives; turns out this is the oldest posting I have...)

From davejr@thomas-superwheel.com Tue Jun 22 00:02:28 EDT 1999
Article: 472775 of rec.games.video.sony
Path: watserv3.uwaterloo.ca!kwon!torn!howland.erols.net!news.idt.net!news-spur1.
maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.cwix.com!199.120.107.102!composer.
inav.net!not-for-mail
From: "David Thomas Jr." <davejr@thomas-superwheel.com>
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sony
Subject: Gran Turismo, where do they go from here?
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 14:02:18 -0500
Organization: Thomas Enterprises
Lines: 72
Message-ID: <7k67s3$4bu$1@composer.inav.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: dip480.inav.net
X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.1
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3
Xref: watserv3.uwaterloo.ca rec.games.video.sony:472775
X-Cache: nntpcache 1.0.7.1 (see ftp://suburbia.net/pub/nntpcache)

OK, so I am eagerly awaiting the release of GT2, and last night I decide to
pop in GT1 again just for kicks, and to tide me over. Once again I'm
reminded of just how good a game Gran Turismo is. But, I've read a few
previews of GT2 lately, and some of them have been less than stellar, saying
that there isn't enough new stuff to make it feel like a different game.
This got me thinking about things they might have added to GT2 to make it
stand out more, and the direction they should go for GT3.

Here is what I think GT has going for it, and this is the basic formula that
should not be changed.

-Hundreds of liscenced cars
-Both a sim mode and arcade mode
-Good physics engine
-"Career" mode (meaning you use money to upgrade your car)
-Lots of car tune-ups
-Car setup options

That's the bread and butter that makes GT1 such an outstanding game. Now
I've not seen the complete list of features to be included in GT2, but here
is what I know will be included:

-Hundreds more liscenced cars
-Rally mode
-More tracks
-Improved physics
-Better sound
-New events in simulation mode

I'm sure there's stuff I'm leaving out, but that's what I've been able to
gather from various previews I've seen. Now, here is my list of features
that I feel could have been put into GT2, and hopefully we'll see them in
GT3. These are features which could add a ton of depth and re-playability
to a game series which is already noted for having a lot of both.

-Liscenced world famous race courses
-Open tracks with multiple routes in arcade mode
-Car damage, and failures
-More tune-up options, with money being harder to come by
-Expenses for car maintainance (tires, fuel, engines, etc..)
-Expenses for repairs (assuming car damage is featured)
-Greater depth of car setup
-Customizable race events/seasons (select cars you race against, # of laps,
tracks, etc.) This could be an option that is opened up after completing
all the featured events
-Lots of different race series' with full seasons (limits to hp and engine
types/placement for each series)
-More endurance races
-Customizable car paint schemes for racing versions or more car liveries to
choose from
-Sponsorship mode (seek sponsors to fund your season, performance determines
how good of sponsors you can get)
-Improved, competative, challenging ai

Of this list, I think the option for customizeable race events/seasons is
most important for adding depth and replayability. There are hundreds of
liscenced cars, but there is little incentive to use any but the most
powerful, since you race against cars of varying performance. You are
rewarded for using the fastest cars. One of the things I enjoy doing with
GT1 is tuning up the various sedans like the Nissan Primera, or the Honda
Accord, since I'm a big fan of Touring Cars. However, you can only race
these in certain race events, and usually the opponents are either too
powerful, or too weak. It would be nice to be able to customize your
opponents so they are all racing cars of a similar perfromance range, or at
least have enough options for events that all types of cars can be raced
competatively.

-David Thomas Jr.

(Actually I found a large file of [size=+1]GT1[/size] related posts which goes back to March 1999. I'll perhaps select some stuff to post later).
 
Last edited:
Have the Prima Official Game guide for GT4. It has a history of the GT series. But I think coping it up might violate some copyright stuff. I'd copy and post it but I like not being in jail.
 
Good info 👍

What I'm most interested is the 400m 1000m and top speed records.

Has anybody info about any sutchs a things for GT and GT2?

:cheers:


MadMax
 
Have the Prima Official Game guide for GT4. It has a history of the GT series. But I think coping it up might violate some copyright stuff. I'd copy and post it but I like not being in jail.

You could post a link to an electronic version instead.


Good info 👍

What I'm most interested is the 400m 1000m and top speed records.

Has anybody info about any sutchs a things for GT and GT2?

:cheers:


MadMax

No info I got, except for GT2's Grand Theft Auto bug (Thankfully, I never got hit with that bug).
 
Back