Will Gran Turismo 6 Be Announced On May 15th?

Gran Turismo, one of the greatest racing game series ever, turns 15 this year. There is an event May 15th at the Silverstone Circuit where Polyphony Digital will celebrate that anniversary and make "exciting announcements about its future." Gran Turismo 6, anyone?

There has recently been a lot of speculation about when GT6 will come out, with some pegging it for a holiday release later this year. While those were proven to be just rumors (and the box art was totally stolen), it does sound like Polyphony is ready to make some major announcements about the future of the franchise.

The video they released shows the Silverstone Circuit, a track that hasn't been in any of the Gran Turismo games, and mixes live action with game action. Perhaps there will also be some GT Academy announcements that day? Rumors also peg GT6 to be on the PS3, not Sony's upcoming PS4. Perhaps there will be an announcement in that regard as well.

The end of the video leads me to believe it's a game announcement, and I sure hope it is. While GT5 is good fun, it hasn't lived up that full potential. Here's to hoping GT6 is better. We'll find out for sure when Polyphony makes its announcement on May 15th.

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Sony Confirms Gran Turismo 6 Reveal for Wednesday, PS3 Release Further Hinted

Jonathan "JohnnyBigBoss" Leack 10:00 am EDT @ May 12th, 2013



The tarp is almost ready to be lifted.

During the celebration of Gran Turismo's 15th anniversary on Wednesday, it's been confirmed that Yamauchi will reveal what's ahead for the series. The Gran Turismo site describes the upcoming event at Silverstone Circuit in UK as monumental for what has become the "biggest-selling PlayStation title ever".

PlayStation France's website has a photo of a tarp with nothing under it shown next to words which translate to: "A major event will take place at Silverstone May 15, 2013." A PlayStation 3 logo is disappointingly displayed at the top-right adding to the validity of early rumors that Gran Turismo 6 will be a current-gen title.

Yamauchi shared during the late months of Gran Turismo 5's development that the game wasn't able to use all the horsepower of the PS3. He cited the game's incredibly long journey of almost six years in development as reason for the lack of optimization.

Gran Turismo 6 coming this holiday season for PlayStation 3

May 15, 2013 8:42AM PDT

By Martin Gaston, News Editor

The Gran Turismo series has now sold over 70 million units, says Sony.

Gran Turismo mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi has officially announced Gran Turismo 6 for the PlayStation 3 at the UK's Silverstone circuit.

The game is due to be released later this year for the PlayStation 3, putting it in the same release window as Sony's next-generation PlayStation 4.

Yamauchi says Gran Turismo 6 will feature a new, flexible rendering engine that features adaptive tessellation. A new physics and suspension engine is also being developed in partnership with Yokohama and KW Automotive.

"GT5 became a very complex game in the end," said Yamauchi, and in making Gran Turismo 6, the team at Polyphony Digital are attempting to "allow expandability of the system, and at the same time improve the response times of the actual operations of the game and just make the whole game smoother."

Silverstone itself is one of the new tracks in the game, with the Northampton-based circuit being joined by six new and currently unannounced tracks. In total there will be 71 layouts across 33 locations, says Yamauchi.

Polyphony Digital intends to bump up the total number of cars available in Gran Turismo 6 to around 1,200, which is approximately 100 more than the final garage available in Gran Turismo 5.

Gran Turismo 6 will focus on more customisable vehicles than in previous games, and Polyphony Digital is aiming at an extensive post-launch DLC plan to extend the life of the game.

Social features are also being integrated, and a website and mobile application will be made available. A new course maker will be included, and players can compete online with their own customised championships.

Additionally, Yamauchi says that Gran Turismo 6 will feature a redesigned user interface that is focused entirely around short load times and simplicity.

During the announcement, Sony said that global sales of Gran Turismo now stand at 70 million units and that almost half of the series' total sales have been in Europe. The last instalment in the series, Gran Turismo 5, has shifted over 10 million copies by itself.

Sony also said that its 2013 GT Academy season, which gives top-tier Gran Turismo players the chance to drive real racecars, will begin in July and award its winners with a full season of racing in the Nissan GTR GT3.

Additional reporting by Mark Walton.

Gran Turismo 6 For PlayStation 4 Could Be A Possibility: Kazunori Yamauchi

May 16, 2013 09:01 AM EDT | By Prarthito Maity

While Sony officially announced Gran Turismo 6 will come to the PlayStation 3 this holiday season, the company has yet to shed any light on whether the game will be be available for Sony’s next generation PlayStation 4 console, which is launching around the same time. However, creator Kazunori Yamauchi is offering hints on the issue.

Yamauchi, in an interview with IGN at the Gran Tursimo 6 event at the Silverstone race track in the U.K. on Wednesday, revealed that the newest GT title could eventually end up arriving on the PS4.

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“We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now,” Yamauchi says.

“I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, then to have new scenarios, new DLC and other updates. Once the players have thoroughly played out the system, if the PlayStation 4 version came out naturally, as part of that process, I think that would be the best scenario.”

On asked whether players will be able to transfer their in-game progress from PS3 to future PS4 versions of the game, Yamauchi says that the option will “probably” be there.

The upcoming Gran Turismo 6, according to its official page, promises to “bring new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’ as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface.”

“A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.”

The site also states that any further information about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom.

“A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.”

Gran Turismo®6 is coming!

Last Updated : May 15, 2013

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. today announced Gran Turismo®6 (GT6™), the latest version of PlayStation®’s best-selling franchise, will be released in Holiday, 2013. The news was revealed today by legendary Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi at an event held to celebrate 15 years of the 70-million-selling series.

GT6 for PlayStation®3 will bring new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’ as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface. A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo®5, which has sold over 10m copies since launching in 2010, will be retained in GT6. But notable new additions to the already impressive line-up of historic cars, road cars and the latest race cars, brings the total car list to 1200 at launch, with new cars set to be continually added online. Several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars, and players can personalize their own custom cars in game to the greatest ever level possible.

The UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be just one of seven new locations in Gran Turismo 6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of them brand new. There will also be regular additions of new tracks set to be made available online. The improved course maker function will provide gorgeous scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers including the magnificent backdrop of Andalucía.

The theme of Gran Turismo’s innovative collaborations with partner companies will increase with the inception of GT6. A number of exciting new projects that blur the line between the virtual and real will be announced in the run up to the game’s launch. Not least of these is GT Academy, a collaboration with Nissan to unearth real racing driver talent that first ran in 2008. It was announced during the event that the competition returns for its biggest ever year in 2013, with the entry mechanic set to take place on an exclusive GT6 demo in July.

Other notable partnerships in the development of GT6 have been with tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber and suspension company KW Automotive. Both companies are active in the commercial car industry and in racing, and they have acted as technical development partners for the game’s new physics engine, for its tire and suspension kinematic modeling, creating an even more realistic experience for GT fans.

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” explained Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit. “Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver GT6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments. I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will be only the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

The celebration of 15 years of Gran Turismo event at Silverstone included a demo of GT6 featuring the famous circuit. Guests were able to play the game in the familiar circular Gran Turismo race pods before having a chance to take to the real track in cars provided by Audi, Ford, Jaguar, KTM, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota.

Further news about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom events.


Cars featured on the GT6 Silverstone demo (* denotes new to Gran Turismo):
Acura NSX ’91
*Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale ’11
*Alpine A110 1600S ’68
*Audi Sport quattro S1 Rally Car ’86
Ferrari 458 Italia ’09
*Ferrari Dino 246 GT ’71
Ford GT ’06
*KTM X-BOW R ’12
Lamborghini Countach LP400 ’74
*Light Car Company Rocket ’07
McLaren MP4-12C ’10
*Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 ’11
Nissan 370Z (Z34) (GT Academy Version) ’08
Nissan 370Z Tuned Car (GT Academy Version) ’08
Nissan GT-R Black edition (GT Academy Version) ’12
*Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport
Nissan Leaf G (GT Academy Version)
*Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance ’12
Toyota 86 GT ‘12

Summary of new Gran Turismo 6 features announced by Kazunori Yamauchi:
New Game Engine
• Refactoring
• Compact, nimble operation
• Flexible expandability
• A new rendering engine that pushes the limits of the PS3

New Physics Engine
• New suspension and kinematics model
• New tire model
• New aerodynamics model
• Technical partnership with Yokohama Rubber and KW Automotive

1200 Cars, abundant custom parts, and on-going DLC
• From historic cars to the latest racing cars, the game contains a total of 1200 cars.
• Multiple aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars.
• Players can create their own personalized custom car in the game.
• Cars will be continually added online

33 locations, 71 layouts
• 33 Locations and 71 layouts will be provided from day1 (7 more locations and 19 more layouts than GT5)
• More new tracks will continue to be provided online

New Course Maker
• Massive scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers
• A new course generation algorithm

Community/Club/Race Organizer
• Players can form their own communities
• Various community levels from local and domestic to global
• Players themselves can create and manage their own online events

New User Interface
• Balancing directional key operation and touch operation
• Quick response
• Shortening of loading times

Multi Device Compatibility
• PlayStation®
• Smart Phone
• Tablet
• PC

At the same time as the PS3 version of GT6 the “Real Driving Simulator” launches, a mobile version and web application version of GT6, will be created to enjoy Gran Turismo’s massive community space.

Real/Virtual "Edge Effect" Activity
A variety of "Edge Effects", the chemical reactions between the real world and the virtual world for which the Gran Turismo series is famous, are also planned for GT6. Exciting collaborations between various automotive manufacturers and collaborations with brands crossing different industries will be revealed gradually across the next six months.

Sony PlayStation 4 Titles: Gran Turismo Creator Hints at Possible GT6 Version for PS4


By Mark Deering | 05/17/2013

Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the popular Gran Turismo series of racing games, told IGN at the announcement event for Gran Turismo 6, that a version for the Sony PlayStation 4 is currently under consideration. Gran Turismo 6 was launched on Wednesday, and is confirmed to be compatible with the PlayStation 3, a console that has been out in the market for almost seven years.

According to Yamauchi, a PlayStation 4 version is currently being mooted by developer Polyphony Digital, but for the upcoming holiday shopping season, the company “thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now.” The PS4 version may be a while away from seeing the light of day, as later on admitted by Yamauchi. “I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, then to have new scenarios, new (downloadable content) and other updates,” said the Gran Turismo creator.

Once the players have thoroughly played out the system, if the PlayStation 4 version came out naturally, as part of that process, I think that would be the best scenario.”

Also hinted by Yamauchi at Gran Turismo 6’s launch event was the possibility of players being able to transfer their saved progress on the PS3 to the PS4. The Gran Turismo 6 reveal was done in the form of official screenshots and a game trailer, and the title itself should be out in the market in time for Christmas 2013.

the title itself should be out in the market in time for Christmas 2013.