I’m a 90s kid, so when I think of Gran Turismo there are certain qualities and descriptors that immediately come to mind. I look forward to Gran Turismo as the flagship racer for Sony’s consoles. It’s the answer to rival exclusives like Forza , and the plumb line to which newcomers to the genre are held to see how they measure up. Gran Turismo is usually one of the best looking games of a given generation, and every iteration has brought fans closer to realizing their fantasy of taking control of the most exotic automobiles in the world in a riveting, groundbreaking video game with visuals ever-approaching an ideal photo-realism.
Gran Turismo Sport was supposed to represent all of those ideals and more on the PS4. It was supposed to push things to the next level. The PS4 has been out for almost three years now. We’ve seen Project CARS , we’ve seen Uncharted 4 , and we’ve seen DOOM ; we know what this hardware is capable of. When Gran Turismo Sport was first announced our imaginations went to work. This was Polyphony’s chance to make the ultimate racing game and fix everything that has ever been wrong with Gran Turismo (which, really, was only ever the anemic sound effects and lack of car damage effects).
After last week’s Gran Turismo Sport reveal event in London, it’s clear that the majority of fans are extremely disappointed in what Polyphony had to showcase. After seeing the new trailer, watching the presentation, and gleaning what details they were able from those who were lucky enough to spend a little time with the game, Gran Turismo junkies have seemingly written off the game off entirely. The general consensus seems to be as follows: The cars all sound like vacuums, the visual upgrade is negligible coming from Gran Turismo 6 , cars are still pretty much indestructible, and screen tearing was apparently a consistent issue. The cherry on top? The open beta that we were promised this year has been canceled.
So there you have it. Gran Turismo is doomed, they say, for this reason or that. I suppose it’s up to me to trace the silver lining for you guys and gals, and explain why we all need to take a deep breath and hold on to hope. There are a few key details that everyone seems to be overlooking that actually merit our consideration of Gran Turismo Sport as an evolutionary leap forward for the series, and even for the genre.
For starters, we need to keep in mind that this game is practically in alpha right now. You can’t expect it to look as good as it’s going to look when it goes gold. A lot of the specific things the haters are pointing out are exactly what I expect the team to be overlooking right now as they’re hard at work developing the actual gameplay. The foliage and backgrounds are going to be rough, and dynamic weather effects probably aren’t a priority right now. Hell, the dude holding the flag at the beginning of the race wasn’t even moving the flag. This is the rough draft, people, and Polyphony has six months to add polish and shine.
Something else we need to be focusing on, and this is huge, is that Gran Turismo Sport will be compatible with PlayStation VR in all modes. Hello?! This is going to change everything, and the fact that this game will be running on PSVR means that it will absolutely stay locked at 60 fps. There are a few bells and whistles that have to be forfeited for this to happen, but I for one am so happy that Polyphony has decided to brave this innovation – it’s going to change everything.
That’s especially true online. Gran Turismo Sport is being sold as a competitive experience. Polyphony wants you to get online and make a name for yourself; it wants players from all over the world competing with one another more aggressively, and more fairly, than ever before. That’s why Polyphony has secured a partnership with the FIA. If you’re a racing game fanatic, it doesn’t get any better than this. You could be sitting in your special racing chair with your fancy racing wheel and pedals, playing GT Sport in freaking virtual reality; and if you’re a badass, Polyphony and the FIA might just take note of your skill and etiquette on the road and decide that you’re worthy of driving a world-class automobile in real life. No other game will offer that opportunity to make a name for yourself.
So what do you think? Am I being overly optimistic? I really don’t think so. GT Sport is a little rough around the edges right now, and I suppose it would have been nice for them to record new samples for at least some select cars, but I honestly think that this is going to be the game that changes the genre forever. Don’t compare this to the last Gran Turismo and expect it to fit that mold. That’s boring. This is going to be a highly competitive, professionally monitored racing simulator that you can play with other people in real time in virtual reality. This is going to break the mold, and that’s exactly what I’d expect out of a Gran Turismo game.