When Gran Turismo was first released in 1997 in Japan and in North America and Europe the following year, it touted itself as The Real Driving Simulator. That manifesto separated itself from other racing titles at the time, featuring hundreds of cars from manufacturers all over the world. The amount of control the player had over how each car behaved, complete with a campaign in Simulator Mode, was enough to turn Gran Turismo into a flagship series for the PlayStation.
Gran Turismo 3 and Gran Turismo 4 were the second and third best selling games on the PlayStation 2 and Gran Turismo 5 sold over 6 million units in its first year. Needless to say, the anticipation for a 7th game reached extraordinary levels, yet Polyphony Digital deviated from the main series with Sport. Gran Turismo 7 aims to be a return to the "classic formula."
Gran Turismo Sport was Polyphony Digital's way of blurring the lines between video games and real-life competitive driving. Track drivers faced off against fans of the series in several championships sponsored by the FIA. While successful, fans of the original games who wanted the full "Driving Simulator" experience over the e-sports approach that Sport offered were left wondering if Gran Turismo 7 would do just that. In an interview with Octane Japan, series producer Kazunori Yamauchi assured fans that "Gran Turismo 7 would return to the 'royal purpose' of full volumes like 1-4."
It's safe to assume that Gran Turismo 7 would return to its original mantra of being The Real Driving Simulator, offering a vast array of cars, fan-favorite courses, and a robust Simulator mode. This would also include the success of Gran Turismo Sport by adding a feature similar to Sport. Yamauchi and the rest of Polyphony Digital aim to retain its core audience while also inheriting what made its previous experiment a success.
Gran Turismo 7 releases on the PS5 in 2021.
Source: GTPlanet