Gran Turismo Sport on Track for a 2016 Release After All?

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To say things have been a little wild as of late would be to sell the entire scenario short by a considerable margin. Not only are things beginning to heat up with the heavily rumored and all-but-confirmed PlayStation 4K (or is it Neo?), now it may very well appear that Gran Turismo Sport is still on track for a 2016 release window, if a recent revelation is to be believed.

The upcoming entry in the most successful racing game franchise was first revealed late last year, but since then Polyphony Digital has remained tight-lipped on the first Gran Turismo title set to hit the PS4. A public beta intending to preface the full-featured release was earmarked for an early/spring 2016 time table, but with the summer solstice quickly approaching many have been left with the assumption that the beta period, and by extension Gran Turismo Sport, would no longer meet the intended release window.

This theory gained steam when French journalist Cyril Drevet recounted his visit to Polyphony’s studios in Japan in early 2016. When asked about the status of the game’s release, Drevet would only comment that the current status was “complicated,” ultimately alluding that GT Sport may slip into releasing in 2017.

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With all of that in mind, this is where things get a little interesting. If the words of Phillipe Cardon, Vice President of Sony Europe are to be believed, Gran Turismo Sport may still release before year’s end. In an interview with French website Challenges, Cardon name-drops GT Sport while referring to the year as another opportunity for software and hardware growth.

“This will be a better year for the software and a very big year for the hardware. We expect to sell many consoles yet. And then there Uncharted 4: a Thief’s End, the Sony event for this year. This is our biggest release of the year with Gran Turismo and the return of The Last Guardian. And of course, the PlayStation VR arrives.”

The alternative to this could quite possibly be that while the full release title has slipped into a 2017 release, the beta period was postponed to possibly coincide with the release of the PlayStation 4K. That is, of course, assuming that the refreshed machine touches down later this year. Either way, you can bet all eyes will be on Sony in seven weeks, when E3 opens in Los Angeles – and GTPlanet will be there!

Comments (56)

  1. JackC8

    I just bought a Thrustmaster TMX wheel for my PC. It doesn’t work with the PS4 but…there’s not really any reason I should care about that any more.

  2. ZEROTHEKNIGHT

    It seems people forgot about the latest earthwake which hit japan … That is one of the things which can lead to a major delay in products.

    1. Johnnypenso

      Yes, I’ve heard that Twitter and Facebook don’t work in Japan either…before or after earthquakes…lol.

  3. Lambob

    Woot! Forza 6 coming to PC! I will donate $100 extra to Humble Charity. Too bad Sony doesn’t take donations in their store, oh well,

    what is this PD game people are talking about?

  4. Foxiol

    I’m a little bit tired of the “vague” (to non) news by Sony or/and Polyphony itself.

    At this point Gran Turismo is not the game that will sell me a Play Station 4 sadly.

    This “generation” I moved completely to PC (have in mind that I always had a console with my PC) and I’m racing in rFactor 2 (and Automobilista) competing in paid leagues/championships…Then you know where the real racing is and what an actual simulator is, with its rules, the way you prepare a race, the way you feel the car and the track, etc.
    A Gran Turismo game can’t give you that at least in the same level. (not even close)

    I still like what Gran Turismo is as a game on its own but as a proper simulator things change. Just the lack of having actual realistic modes for races says it all for me (no proper practice/qualifying modes before a race for example and lack of proper flag regulations on track, etc).
    The online “P2P” network system in a competitive game…no dedicated servers in a racing game feels so wrong.

    After the flaws (minor to some) from GT5 (I own Signature Edition) and GT6 (Anniversary Edition), at this point in time I just don’t know what to expect from them.

    Too many years to develop a game which is basically the same thing that they and others have been making for decades.

    Make tracks, make cars, make proper physics and wheel support, real flag regulations, proper practice/qualifying/race modes and done. There you have a simulator.

    Credits? Colours/paint chips? Play Station Trophy’s? Having to play 400 hours to own all the cars or 20 to buy just one?

    I mean, really?

    1. Johnnypenso

      “Make tracks, make cars, make proper physics and wheel support, real flag regulations, proper practice/qualifying/race modes and done. There you have a simulator.” You hit the nail on the head. It’s pretty simple really but for some reason PD wants to dance all around simulation without actually committing to it.

  5. B.K

    This is some good news. If they take a bit more time they can release it for PS5.

    Seriously what are these guys doing? They cant even bring a Demo on time. And if GTS is delayed to late 2016 you can expect GT7 not before late 2017 or maybe later.

    Kaz needs to go. His time is over.

  6. Keithdoom

    Backfire flames in GT4 kick ass compared to GT6. I just noticed that. And also the vibration and movement of windshield wipers, antennas, and mudflaps at high speed was paid more attention to in GT4. I just noticed that. And also, in GT4, the steering wheel went in a full 360degree rotation on convertibles. Although besides that, the driver modeling and movements look natural and awesome in GT6. Just though I’d mention this Kaz.

  7. ColouredBadger

    Am I the only one who thinks that the GT Sport Beta is being delayed to coincide with 2016 GT Academy? Much like how they released a demo of GT6 especially for the GT Academy of 2012 (I think it was). Especially as GT Sport is entirely focused on e-sports and the whole competition of GT Academy is e-sports, even before e-sports was an actual recognised ‘thing’. Makes sense to me… I still think full release will be delayed until Easter 2017. It is Polyphony Digital after-all.

    1. TomBrady

      Dude, I’m right there with you. It’s something they’ve done in the past, and it would make perfect sense for them to use GT Sport for GT Academy this year. The timing seems about right too.

      We’ll see. We’ll know at e3. I’m sure we’ll have a much better idea of what’s going on with GT Sport at e3.

  8. TJC_69

    Interview at E3, (if PD are indeed present), will go probably go something like this –

    Interviewer ;”Any news on GT Sports progress?”

    PD representative ;”Soon. It just takes longer than we expected”

    Nothing to be seen here I think. People keep speculating that there will be news at this show, that show, this event etc. Those dates come and go with no PD presence or reveals.

    A case of same thing different year. Always the same. Either way, the beta is late, GT academy is being run on the obsolete PS3. So no PS4 game is incoming any time soon in my opinion.

    The PS4K GTP news items will be nice to read though.

  9. TRLWNC7396

    I will say that I love the prospect, but I’m feeling jaded on PD right now, so I will wait and see.

    Here’s hoping it’s truly amazing! That’s what it will take to bring the interest back.

    1. Keithdoom

      I would compare it to GT Concept, but with the theme on e-sports rather then concept cars. Off titles are a regular thing for PD.

    2. TeamCZRRacing

      Keith, I wouldn’t compare it to either. If you recall, Concepts are WAY more limited than Prologues. My intuition as a GT veteran makes me believe that this will likely be somewhere between a Prologue and a full release.

    3. Keithdoom

      TeamCZRRacing, I hope that’s the case. But I hope it releases soon because I’m having my first child soon and I know that’s gonna be a life changer. Way less personal time for GT.

    4. Keithdoom

      You know, I just got a wheel two weeks ago because PS4 controllers aren’t pressure sensitive. Now I suck at GT6. I’ve used dual shock since GT in ’98.

    5. Johnnypenso

      You’ll get used to it soon enough. Just try to throw out all the bad habits learned on the controller. The wheel is all about subtlety and knowing what the car is going to do before it does it. Most new wheel users do too much sawing back and forth and overcorrecting.

  10. Mr Latte

    Surely him commenting “it is a big year for Playstation” is referring to the business finicial year and not perhaps a reference to 2016?

    It would sell a lot of VR headsets but we know what Polphony are like in not sticking to dates so not having one announced is perhaps no bad thing neither.

  11. zzz_pt

    I can’t wait for E3. My decision on buying a PS4/PS4 NEO is on hold atm. If GTS comes this year, better yet.

  12. Akiras Mantis

    If Dragon Quest 11 comes to the States before GT Sport is released, I’ll laugh. Like this: haha

  13. mickoafna

    Oh, PD, please don’t.
    You’ll make a half @ßß game again and players will suffer for it – as usual.

    Wait 2 more years and release a brand new game with more EU sports cars (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche cars, etc., tracks from previous GT games (especially 4, 3, 2 and 1). Graphics has to be 4K, there is no way around that. Make the cars sound as they actually sound or very close to it (margin of error can be up to 5%). Make the physics as closely matched as possible to the real thing. We need more content. We don’t need 50 Skylines or Honda Civics – less is more, PD.
    I actually stopped playing GT6 over a year ago and I don’t intend to play it again. It became so boring and predictable.

    Focus ALL your energy in making Gran Turismo Sport the best game of the year just not 2016 – take your time and release it in 2018. We can wait. Waiting sometimes pays off. Fingers crossed it will be worth to wait until 2018.

    1. ironman44321

      There’s no way around 4K, a margin of error on how the car sounds of 5% (whatever that means), and you want them to wait till 2018 to release a game that they started working on before GT6 came out?

      I think you have very unrealistic expectations of how game development works.

    2. mickoafna

      ironman44321 – should’ve wrote at least 95% accurate sounds the car makes – including tire sounds, engine sound, when you’re on gravel or driving on curbs, not just the exhaust.
      I would much rather wait until 2020 to get a complete game, rather than a half kaka game.

      Samus – they had 3 years to work on it but the game will still be half developed.

    3. RoyalKINGz

      well heres the thing regarding ur expectations for pd nd gt sport, u essentially wnt them to practically combine all aspects of past gt titles, some pcars, assetto, iracing, and forza even into one title which we all know is impossible with its own reasons, nd sometimes a longer delay to develop doesnt always mean a bettr game (aka ubisoft for example), nd yet gran turismo still outsells the competition despite how much better other sims may b in comparison, why is that tho

    4. mickoafna

      Samus – Yes, it’s normal. It took almost 6 years to develop GT5 after GT4.

      RoyalKINGz – Why does GT outsell its competition? Maybe because it exists from 1997 when there was no competition? Forza was released in 2005, PCars in 2015, Assetto Corsa in 2013/14, iRacing in 2008 / stable version in 2016. They had a huge head start.

      PD, take time and release a game that will be at least half as good as GT4 was.

  14. Cobra2245

    This isn’t a surprise. There hasn’t been much progress in GTSport since it was announced sometime last year, and, if you take a closer look, when was the last time there was an update for GT6? It hasn’t been updated for a long time now. Same with the STILL ongoing online server issues, when players disconnect from other players leading to constant rejoining.

    I’ve officially just lost hopes for PD and the GT Franchise. I really doubt that they’ll ever make progress soon on GT6 or GTS. They’ve floundered with time for too long – and promises.

    1. Cobra2245

      I understand making a game takes a lot of work, but there hasn’t even been any progress reports or updates on how GTS is coming along!

    2. TomBrady

      You don’t know there hasn’t been much progress

      They announced it at paris games week. When else could they have shown their progress? Are you forgetting there’s basically no trade shows for the first 7 month of each year. The time for them to show progress is usually E3, Gamescom, TGS, PGW, and PSX. All of those are in the last 7 months of the year.

      It’s fine to speculate, but you’re speculation doesn’t even make sense.

  15. MrWaflz55

    I think the VP expressing his desire for a 2016 release window will unfortunately have no effect on a developers ability to deliver a product in time.

  16. McClarenDesign

    Okay, you’ve got my attention.

    GTPlanet staff, at least to my knowledge, don’t attend E3 every year. I don’t believe any gaming conference of note every year.

    So if they’re going this year, that probably means a NDA has been signed, which means there will be GT news.

    So go ahead, GTP… I don’t mind waiting because this is absolutely worth waiting for. And thank you, btw!

    1. McClarenDesign

      Edit: “I don’t believe they attend any gaming conference of note every year. ”

      Sorry about that.

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