Gaming vs Reality

Today GTPlanet is launching a new video series where we take a look at some of the cars in Gran Turismo 7 and compare them to the real thing in the real world — using the game’s virtual reality capabilities.

Earlier this month we drove one of the most anticipated new cars of the year, the 2020 Toyota GR Supra. But if you’ve been playing Gran Turismo Sport at all this year, you’ve had months to drive the reborn Supra already.

One topic sim racers often discuss is how a game compares to real life. Unfortunately for most of us, taking a real car to the track to compare it to the digital counterpart is difficult. But when you’re the “Drift King” Keiichi Tsuchiya, it’s a cinch.

Last week, I drove the 2019 Veloster Turbo around the hills outside Austin. It was the first opportunity for the media to drive the real thing — but gamers have had access to it for months now.

It’s a question almost as old as racing games themselves: which is faster, virtual or real? Honda’s the latest to offer its take, using the latest Civic Type R and Forza Motorsport 7.

What does a croissant have in common with Brands Hatch Indy, the clipped version of the historic circuit? Well, they both share the same, gentle crescent-shaped figure and digestibility. As far as video games are concerned, digestible content equals popular content, with a number of users continuously returning for another tasty snack. I’m quite positive anyone could confirm that the track in question fits that description.

Including the famous German track Nürburgring Nordschleife in modern video games isn’t the rarity it once was. Console players were technically first introduced to the Green Hell back in 2003 with Project Gotham Racing 2, though that version was scaled up by roughly 10% to increase passing opportunities online. A more accurately-sized model arrived a year later with Gran Turismo 4, and has since spread to numerous other titles in the decade following.