The overly long wait for Gran Turismo 5 hasn't stopped developer Polyphony Digital from working on the next title.

Speaking to Autoweek, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed development of a sixth title in the racing franchise is underway. When asked about a release window for the game, Kazunori was reluctant to give any further details.

"It's not something that we can talk that lightly on," he said. "It took 2,000 days to get all the ideas that went into GT5. It's just too early to be talking about GT6."

As for the latest on Gran Turismo 5, Kazunori recently told autoblog Jalopnik that game discs are currently being pressed, suggesting a release of the game is coming before the end of this year. Sony wouldn't confirmed details to us when asked, however. but said we'll get launch details soon.

On Sony's official online store, a release date of November 30 for GT5 was posted, but Sony says the date is simply a placeholder.

2/24/2013 @ 12:43PM

Sony Exec Confirms Gran Turismo 6 Coming To PlayStation 3

One reason Sony didn’t showcase a new GT6 at PlayStation Meeting 2013 is because it’s racing to PS3. When it comes to driving games, Sony’s biggest franchise is Gran Turismo. The franchise has sold over 65 million copies worldwide of Gran Turismo games on PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PSP over the years. The most recent game, GT5, was a huge hit with sales of over 7.5 million copies.

Polyphony Digital is currently working on GT6. But it might not be driving to PlayStation 4. Michael Denny, senior vice-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s Worldwide Studios, told Silicon Republic at PlayStation Meeting 2013 the following:

“Look at the games coming out on the PlayStation 3 like The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, GT6, and then on the third-party side of things another fantastic Assassin’s Creed, GTA. It’s important for our content to have that kind of longevity because, as I was saying [about the PS Vita], the games that come through are going to get better and better over time.”

Now there’s no ruling out that GT6, which Kazunori Yamauchi, president of developer Polyphony Digital, has confirmed is in development, won’t also be released for GT4. But Sony instead focused on a new game from Evolution Studios, DriveClub, to put front and center for its big PS4 reveal in New York City. You can see the full presentation in the video below.

“There are more and more opportunities for gaming because people are spending more times on games now than in the past and I believe that people will spend more time on playing games in the future than they are today and it will not only be in the living room but in various places and I believe that that trend will continue,” said Yamauchi at the 10th Annual GT Awards in Las Vegas this past fall. You can see the full interview in the video below.

Racing games have been an integral part of any next gen launch. Nothing showcases the capabilities of a next gen system like a game that can replicate the sense of speed that precision vehicles traveling at over 100 miles per hour through gorgeous landscapes. At this point, I expect DriveClub to be ready for the launch window for PS4 this holiday.

As for GT6, which is such a big franchise that it can launch any time of the year — including outside the lucrative Christmas window. It makes more sense for Sony to sell that franchise to the tens of millions of PS3 owners worldwide and then offer that game, or another version, to PS4 owners once that installed base grows.

Gran Turismo 6 Rumored to Include Large Number of Tracks

July 25th, 2012 by Jordan

While helping out with the Polish GT Academy 2012 finals, Lucas Ordoñez made an interesting comment about Gran Turismo 6‘s development, which he’s reportedly involved in.

According to a reporter on hand at the event, Lucas suggested the series’ next flagship title would include a very large number of tracks. Though the Polish source article is not clearly translated by Google, but we now have a full translation kindly provided by native Polish speaker and GTPlanet reader, Alex (Vatrox):

“We are not sure whether to consider it a rumor or a verified information, but you can be sure we are the first in the world to report it. What’s the matter? The day before yesterday (that would be 23 of July – Vatrox), “our” guy Jacob took part in the GT Academy finals held in Warsaw. Beside competitors, there was also well-known Nissan’s driver – Lucas Ordones. So what?

Well, Jacob managed to chat with him for a bit asking about Gran Turismo series and it’s future. And the information he managed to get is very interesting. Lucas gave away that Gran Turismo 6 production is in progress and we will be very surprised how accurate and well-reproduced are all the tracks. Also, the amount of them will be simply jawdropping.

Asked what platform it is being delevoped for, he replied enigmatically: ”Now, that’s a very good question…” How much truth is in that? As a Nissan’s driver and the face of GT Academy he obviously knows more than an ordinary mortal. And GT6 is certain for some platform.”

Representatives from Polyphony Digital have, of course, already been spotted at the Bathurst circuit, scanning and photographing it for Gran Turismo 6.

Over 25 different circuit logos also remain on GT5‘s “Remote B-Spec Racing” website, though they are not currently available in the game.

Polyphony Digital Focusing Development on Gran Turismo 6

August 2nd, 2012 by Jordan

After more than a year and a half of regular software updates to Gran Turismo 5, they have become increasingly infrequent since 2.05 was launched back in February.

Today, Kazunori Yamauchi acknowledged and explained the slowdown with a post on Twitter, confirming Polyphony Digital is focusing development efforts on Gran Turismo 6. As translated by our own Shirakawa Akira:

@Newsportsx: that recent updates have become small or that there aren’t cars on DLCs, is this because you’re putting hard efforts on [GT] 6?
@Kaz_Yamauchi: Yep. (This can also be translated as “Well…”, thanks to Dai_watt for the additional clarification!)

Of course, this certainly does not signal the end of the road for Gran Turismo 5; the new GT5 Academy Edition is scheduled for release in Europe next month, and is suspected to contain a few surprises according to the wording of its press release.

Kazunori Yamauchi also specifically confirmed that more new downloadable content is planned for GT5 during an interview at the Spanish GT Academy finals. Until then, stop by our now Gran Turismo 6 forum to discuss the future of the franchise.

Kazunori Yamauchi Cautious on Gran Turismo 6 Release Date

August 13th, 2012 by Jordan

As more Japanese speakers have had the opportunity to review the stream from the GT Asian Championship 2012, Kazunori Yamauchi’s comments on Gran Turismo 6 have been clarified.

When asked when the next game will be released, he offered this frank response, as translated by AndriaSang:

If I carelessly say when it will be released, you’ll end up with people saying things like ‘it’s been delayed again!?’ so I will no longer say at this type of event.”

Kazunori-san is, of course, nearly always asked about upcoming release dates during media interviews, and generally offers ambiguous answers that are open to interpretation.

Kazunori Yamauchi Hopes to Achieve “Human Drama” in Next Gran Turismo

August 27th, 2012 by Jordan

Last week, Kazunori Yamauchi joined the European GT Academy finalists at Race Camp and spoke with them, answering some of their questions.

A video of his session with the UK and Ireland finalists has hit the web, which you can see above.

The question that prompted the most interesting response was asked by GTPlanet user and finalist Des Foley (Dessy182), who wanted to know what the next “big step” would be for the Gran Turismo series:

“The next step is exactly what you are experiencing here at GT Academy. Racing is a human drama and I would like to achieve that in the next game.”

Although his answer is classically ambiguous, it likely hints at an evolution of the online and social aspects that were first introduced in the series with Gran Turismo 5. How that will translate into specific features, of course, remains to be seen.