Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, has shared a fascinating story offering a rare glimpse into the early development challenges of the very first Gran Turismo title.
It’s well-known among fans that series creator Kazunori Yamauchi famously always wanted to create a realistic driving simulator for the PlayStation. However, before Yamauchi-san and his small team at what would become Polyphony Digital could fully realize that dream, they first had to prove their capabilities by creating the distinctive cartoon racer, Motor Toon Grand Prix.
Once they finally got the green light to develop Gran Turismo, it seems Kazunori Yamauchi’s desire for simulation might have initially resulted in a game that was potentially too realistic for its own good. According to Yoshida, who was involved as a producer in those early PlayStation days, Yamauchi perhaps got a little carried away with the realism in the initial prototypes.
In a recent interview with the French gaming website “PSI” (PlayStation Inside), Yoshida explained:
“It was the early days of the first PlayStation, and Kazunori Yamauchi was working on the very first Gran Turismo. You’ll remember that on the cover it said that the game was the “real driving simulator”. And you know, I’m not a game designer, I’m a producer first and foremost. During development, Kazunori Yamauchi showed me a prototype of Gran Turismo, and I was among the first to play it. And to tell you the truth, he was really serious when he talked about simulation (laughs)!
It was extremely advanced, perhaps too much so. But at first Kazunori Yamauchi didn’t take my feedback at face value, so he gathered around thirty consumers to test the game.
And just as I expected, they all crashed without exception at the first turn, because the gameplay was so difficult. I was at the back of the room with Kazunori Yamauchi, at which point he turned to me and told me I was right, and that’s when he rounded things off and toned down the pure simulation aspect a little to put out the Gran Turismo you know today on PS1.
In a way, I like to think that I partly saved Gran Turismo’s fate, and that I played a small part in its success (laughs)!
Yoshida’s perspective provides an interesting piece of Gran Turismo lore.
It would be interesting to get Kazunori Yamauchi’s side of the story on this specific development phase of Gran Turismo, adding more context to the challenges of bringing his vision to life for the first time.
It’s also important to keep in mind just how different the gaming landscape was when the original Gran Turismo launched in late 1997 in Japan. Console racing games were overwhelmingly arcade-focused; a true-to-life driving experience on a home machine was revolutionary.
What constituted as “extremely advanced” or “too difficult” physics back then might feel quite different compared to modern games. Getting a chance to actually play those early, unreleased builds of Gran Turismo would be quite a treat to see how they truly stack up.
Ultimately, whatever internal adjustments and tuning occurred, the final product speaks for itself. The first Gran Turismo was a monumental success, captivating millions, dramatically shifting expectations for racing games, and launching one of PlayStation’s most enduring and beloved franchises.
Thanks to GTPlanet member peniu for the tip!
