Your first/earliest experience of the Gran Turismo series..

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weavty1

weavty1

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tylorweaver
As the title states, gentlemen... :)

Allow me to start with sharing my first experience/memory of Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator.


Well, first off, I'm in the states, so the release date here in North America was mid-May of 1998. I first spotted a demo being played at a big-box electronics store out in Northern California (where I was born and raised.. Now residing in Atlanta, GA), called 'Incredible Universe', which is very similar to what we now have and call, "Fry's Electronics". Any who, I was let loose in the video game department, while my father went to look at new TV's - Lo and behold, a shiny Playstation was on display, playing over a huge@ss (or at least, I thought it was at the time, hehe) Mitsubishi projection TV.

The demo game of choice, Gran Turismo..... :dopey:

Now, this was riiiight after the holidays, so obviously this was a pre-release demo, and was very limited. All I know, is that I was 'blown away' by the graphics and game play... And it was just Arcade Mode!!!!? So after fiddling around with the game for more than 30 minutes, I almost lost ALL interest in going back home and playing my highly coveted (at the time) 'Need For Speed' and 'Need For Speed II'. THIS new game, err simulator, had completely washed away any thought of what I had come to know of driving/racing games, at the time.

I was set to get this new game, when it came out... And that, I sure did! :sly: a few months later, I remember going to the local 'KB Toys' at the nearby mall, to buy, what would become a 13+ year long obsession/passion for driving simulators. The REAL Driving Simulator, the Gran Turismo franchise.


Polyphony Digital... Sony..... 👍👍👍 Thank you for YEAAAAARS of fun, excitement, thrill, sweaty hands, curse words, broken controllers, and more. Despite every the sprinkled-in complaints here and there, this TRULY is what a game series is ALL ABOUT. 👍
 
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GT was the reason i purchased a playstation and could not believe my eyes. it was fantastic after having played pole position on the commodore 64!hav enot looked back since!!
 
I used to buy the Official Playstation Magazine (UK) and the cover disc had a rolling demo of it and there was a preview feature inside. The graphics were so beyond anything on the PS at the time it left my jaw on the floor and I remember how in the preview feature they were talking about using the new SDK which allowed them to monitor how much of the playstations resources they were using so they could squeeze every last drop out.

I never owned it but spent the weekend when one of my mates got it going through the licenses and some of the early events. I knew nothing about cars and to be honest found the driving frustrating having come from Rage Racer.
 
First GT game was GT4. Completed that then went on to play GT3 and Tokyo-Geneva concept.
Was great, then I bought a PS3 just for GT5, I also got GT5P.
 
BigYoSpeck
I used to buy the Official Playstation Magazine (UK) and the cover disc had a rolling demo of it and there was a preview feature inside. The graphics were so beyond anything on the PS at the time it left my jaw on the floor and I remember how in the preview feature they were talking about using the new SDK which allowed them to monitor how much of the playstations resources they were using so they could squeeze every last drop out.

I never owned it but spent the weekend when one of my mates got it going through the licenses and some of the early events. I knew nothing about cars and to be honest found the driving frustrating having come from Rage Racer.
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Oh lordy, Ridge Racer!!! Hahaha :lol: I completely forgot about that! Lol :D
 
wevty1, feeling a little nostalgic eh ? Pretty catchy stuff man :lol: you see one old vid and 💡

I played GT1 at a cousin's house for the first time. He was a total car nut when he was a kid, and still is. Ever since then I was hooked.
 
I remember spending hours at my friends house playing GT1 and tuning his Mitsubishi 3000GT for top speed.
 
Str|ke
wevty1, feeling a little nostalgic eh ? Pretty catchy stuff man :lol: you see one old vid and 💡

I played GT1 at a cousin's house for the first time. He was a total car nut when he was a kid, and still is. Ever since then I was hooked.
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Hahaha, well I was already in the middle of typing this one out, when i saw your post, and felt even more emotion, to put into it!! Haha, seriously! But, yours waaaaas first after all, good sir! ;) 👍

:lol:
 
Rented GT5P for a couple of days when I worked at the local Hollywood Entertainment (please let that horrible company stay dead forever). I think I completed 4 races total? Wasn't all that impressed by it to be honest. Ended up destroying every race in GRID, Manhandling every event in NFS: Shift, and am still slowly working on F1 2010 (extremely hard game if you set everything to realistic mode). Got GT5 for Christmas, and I like playing it. I'm not very good because the physics don't agree with what my brain is used to, but it's still fun to collect all the cars and even sit down and watch Bob race when real racing isn't on TV.
 
Mynock005
F1 2010 (extremely hard game if you set everything to realistic mode).
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Not hard, it's just that the AI run as if they have no fuel and no tyre wear.
Believe me, I've won it on Expert.
With the AI pitting 3/4 of the way through a race at Spa, they had Softs!
 
I was walking through a Toys R Us back when the first demo of GT1 was out. They had a Playstation unit set up and the game was showing a replay of a race. I was enthralled! Of course looking back on it now it's hard to imagine the graphics ever being "good" w/ the blocky textures and jaggies and all of that stuff but if you can put yourself into that time it really was pretty amazing! I couldn't take my eyes off the replay.

The whole concept of driving and racing "normal" cars seemed strange at the time. I had to find out more about the game and I found out the name "Gran Turismo" (which I thought was a strange game for a racing game) and dug up as much info on the game as I could. When it finally released I was so excited. I played the game for months & I've been forever hooked on the series since. 👍

Oh I forgot one thing, I also remember being super excited that GT came in a double size CD case. I really thought I was getting two CDs full of cars and tracks! Turns out it was just one CD w/ the manual in the other side. Had to wait for GT2 to get the two CD treatment! :)
 
My first "contact" lol was middle 1999 at my pal's house, when he had a demo of GT1 on the famous "demo one" disc, although I didn't really have a lot to do with racing games, I was BLOWN AWAY by the graphics, it looked like real life-back then lol.
After that it was obvious for me, which game would be the next I buy and I baught them all.
 
dabest2500
Not hard, it's just that the AI run as if they have no fuel and no tyre wear.
Believe me, I've won it on Expert.
With the AI pitting 3/4 of the way through a race at Spa, they had Softs!
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Very hard. I do career mode only, full race weekends, set every single thing to hard and the AI on the highest setting, and race for Virgin Cosworth. I struggle to place in the top 15 on a regular basis, just like the real drivers in the bottom 3 teams. Perhapse if I had your driving skill I'd be better, but I'd rather just play for fun and enjoy the challenge knowing I suck at all video games, especially racing games.
 
Mynock005
Very hard. I do career mode only, full race weekends, set every single thing to hard and the AI on the highest setting, and race for Virgin Cosworth. I struggle to place in the top 15 on a regular basis, just like the real drivers in the bottom 3 teams. Perhapse if I had your driving skill I'd be better, but I'd rather just play for fun and enjoy the challenge knowing I suck at all video games, especially racing games.
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I put it on Expert and started with HRT to make it realistic.
I played with a story in my head, that I was a rookie that constantly struggled in GP2, got an offer from HRT and had to show off my talent or risk losing my place to Sakon Yamamoto :D
I do wish the AI was harder so I would fight at the back and work my way up in Career.
 
For me it was christmas in '98 with GT1. I was 8 and got a PS1 and GT1, my first computer game.
Taught me nearly everything I know about driving fast from reading the second half of the manual.
FTO LM edition was awesome. After a few tweaks, heaps of bodyroll, but glued to the track:tup:
:bowdown:GT1
 
Will27
For me it was christmas in '98 with GT1. I was 8 and got a PS1 and GT1, my first computer game.
Taught me nearly everything I know about driving fast from reading the second half of the manual.
FTO LM edition was awesome. After a few tweaks, heaps of bodyroll, but glued to the track:tup:
:bowdown:GT1
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But now game manuals are filled with health and safety :(
 
I have been with the series since GT1. I remember taking a chance on it back when I had warhawk and intelligent qube as some of my first PS1 games. It was descent enough that I got GT2. GT2 was so kick a$$ that I have gotten every title after it. I got a PS2 sooner because of madden and GT. The PS is the only console I will ever buy. So no matter if GT will be on it or not, I will have a newer PS eventually. However I only get a PS when madden has been out for at least 1-2 year on the new system.
 
My first experience was after following the original Gran Turismo's development in the magazines my dad took me to Game in town on release day, I played a demo in the store and then bought the game with pocket money I'd been saving. I got home and had a few races in arcade mode and then started the simulation mode. I bought a Mitsubishi FTO as my first car and didn't win the Sunday cup on my first attempt.
 
My first taste of GT was in a demo disk that Pizza Hut used to give out when you order some of their specials.

I forever loved Pizza Hut after I popped in that demo disk and played GT1.
 
I was 19 and it was a Demo disk i got from my at the time girlfriends step brother. He was a cop and never home so i bought his PS from him. I played "Road and Track Presents The Need for Speed" was my game of choice till GT came out.
 
I'm too to lazy to retype this so I quoted myself from the other thread about how old you were and how long youve been playing GT:

zk523
wow...we're exactly in the same position/age. i had a US PS3 chipped and played the Japanese version before anyone i knew even had an idea of what GT was. my roommate's fraternity bro was the US head of A'PEXi and he had the Japanese version. i remember seeing the game at his house in Irvine one day and was blown away. he was nice enough to chip my PS and gave me a copy of the game. surprisingly enough, even with not being able to read any Japanese at all, there wasnt a problem playing the game. i used to play Tokyo Highway Battle before that and GT was a whole other level. still remember how crazy my Civic hatchback used to flip up (but never flip over) in the corners sometimes. the only GT i never bought was (aside from the Jp GT1 game) was GT5 Prologue.

on a side note, i just looked the dude up on google to see what he was up to now and it turns out he was the technical director for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and is an announcer for the D1 Grand Prix drift series. always good to see people working in something related to their passion in life...a rare feat, nowadays.
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I played the first Gran Turismo in Japanese.

Acceptably, I didn't understood a word. But thas was awesome. Played in a friend's PS1.
 
Dimitrov
I played the first Gran Turismo in Japanese.

Acceptably, I didn't understood a word. But thas was awesome. Played in a friend's PS1.
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I did the same, except it was on my PS. Not being able to read Japanese didn't even matter. I have a friend that lives in Florianopolis...you know anyone named Gui?
 
I got a PS1 the day it came out, It came3 with the demo that had GT1, Spyro, Tombraider, Had no clue what Granturismo was at the tell. I started playing it that night, and from that moment on have been a fan ever since.
 
My first experience of GT1 was with a friend of mine. We were going to his mates flat and when we got there his mate had GT1 on. Ended up staying there till about 5 in the morning having a drink and such and playing winner stays on in 2 player mode. Bought the game, played it solidly for months and bought the gold Mitsubishi GTO Race car which to this day is my favourite car in all of the games
 
My first experience w/ GT1 happened not too long after it came out. My roommate in college had a Playstation, which I think over spring break he got chipped. Someone was sharing an ISO of GT1 on the network, so we tried it out, and I got hooked. Played as much as I could in the month or two before the year ended (no, never bought the first one, but I've bought the rest of the mainline games so I don't feel too bad about it).

I distinctly remember a big demo event for GT2 they had on our campus (anyone else remember the POS Mustang in the playable demo?), and how excited I was when that was coming out.
 
1st GT experience was in my grandads holiday home! He had GT3 & I tried it out & loved it! I used to think the handbrake was the actual brake & that you had to get gold to go on to the next test, which is why I spent ages doing the 0-400 Beetle run! Bought GT4 on the way down to a mobile home i stayed in Wexford, nearly 4 years ago now! €20 in Tesco wasn't too bad & it was all I did down there!

I brought down NFS Carbon & some FIFA game but were never used! I then started getting into Le Mans & sportscar racing after seeing all the LMP & Group C cars!
 
I had a PS and got GT thought it was fantastic and the licences were cool but I never could get those golds. It was always about what car can you tune to 1000+ bhp,

Cars that stand out on GT1 was always the skyline, Supra's GTO's. All out power once tuned, stick some standards on them and spin them up to 6th gear!

bit more refined nowadays though.. :)
 
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