Gran Turismo Creator Explains PSP Delays, Talks Controls & Online Play

[wraggster]

Prior to E3 2009, Gran Turismo for the PSP was largely considered vaporware, a driving simulation that felt like little more than a five-year-old announcement. But Gran Turismo is real—and it's coming to the PlayStation Portable this October.

Why the long wait? Kazunori Yamauchi, president of developer Polyphony Digital, says it was just a matter of priorities. Following the Spring 2004 announcement of the game once known as Gran Turismo 4 Mobile, Polyphony shipped four titles, Gran Turismo 4, the "real riding simulator" Tourist Trophy, Gran Turismo HD and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Given how long it purportedly takes to render a car model at Polyphony standards—about a month for the PSP version and up to six months for the PlayStation 3 versions—one can see how five years quickly passes.

Yamauchi said that he wasn't interested in outsourcing development on Gran Turismo PSP to another developer. He considered the prospect of handing off the driving sim to someone else "unthinkable."

So Polyphony plowed ahead, creating a fleet of 800 cars for the PSP version, some of which are "reduced and streamlined" from their PS3 versions, with more than 30 real-world tracks on which to race those cars.

According to Yamauchi, the PSP version of Gran Turismo is a "fully specced" entry in the ten-year-old series, telling Kotaku that "no matter who plays it, they'll know immediately that it's a Gran Turismo game."

"I want to stress that it's not a subset to the series," Yamauchi said, despite there being "limitations" to the PSP's hardware specifications. In fact, it one-ups previous Gran Turismo games by letting players trade and share unlocked vehicles with other driving enthusiasts wirelessly over ad hoc mode.

One hurdle that Polyphony Digital is dealing with right now is designing the PSP iteration for two platforms: the original PSP and the recently announced PSPgo. While the internal hardware may be largely identical, the feel of Sony's new, smaller PlayStation Portable is noticeably different. On the PSPgo, the analog nub controller has been relocated and the buttons have been redesigned. The new hardware has a cross-pad controller and face buttons that feel more digital, with a tighter click to them than on the original.

"We're still have some difficulties [with the PSPgo]," Yamauchi said. "It's something we're very focused on, because that's very difficult to get right." The GT creator typically opts for digital, not analog control when playing his own game.

So, why not offer the option to play with a PlayStation 3 controller, I asked, and make use of the "PSP Plus" technology for more accurate control?

"If you want to play on a PS3 controller," Yamauchi responded, "you'll have to play Gran Turismo 5." That also means no support for Logitech's Driving Force GT wheel. It's PSP controls or nothing.

The PSP game will take advantage of the PlayStation 3 in another sense. Gran Turismo PSP one of the titles that will support Ad Hoc Party mode, letting gamers use the PS3 as an ad hoc server, taking the PSP experience online. Ad Hoc Party software is currently only available in Japan, but Sony Computer Entertainment America reps say a domestic release is in the works.

But what Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital focused on was welcoming new players to the series—and sticking to a solid 60 frames-per-second presentation.

"We'd really like people to remember how fun it is to drive cars," he said, hoping that Gran Turismo fans will take advantage of the game's local wireless mode to get players together to talk about cars, to let them play whenever and wherever they can.

http://kotaku.com/5284756/gran-turis...s--online-play

[osgeld]

would have been a major title 4 + years ago

personally ive grown tired of the simulator race game, i hated GT, GT3 was ok in my book but now it just feels like busy work when ever i play a game like this and i very rarely play longer than a race or 2

[Greenymeany]

I was really excited when I saw the Online part in the topic title, I was devastated when I read adhoc in the first post.

To me Ad-Hoc is not online play it is more or less like the wireless gameboy link.


To me infastructure is 99% of the final verdict on whether I buy a game or not, I know a lot of people think that way.

I stoped buying games that lacked online infastructure for the PlayStation Portable after I bought my first game for it.

Infastructure gives almost infinite replayablity provided the online servers don't get shut down.

So, if any developers happen to be reading this, here is what you can easily do to improve income.

Fact:

In a recent study, it has been proven that a game with some form of tru online play will double the total income of worldwide sales.


Comparison of two major racing games.

Mario Kart DS vs. Grand Turismo PSP

Prior knowledge:

I bought Mario Kart DS the first day it came out.
I completly beat singleplayer to the 100 percentile within the first two hours of gameplay.

I then switched to the online mode.

After finding out is was so good, I quickly convinced all of my friends to get the game and soon we were competing against thousands all over the globe.

Alright, so here is my predicted Grand Turismo PSP Scenario.

I am going to once again buy this game on the first day it comes out (October, 20th, 2009) I will spend anywhere between One Hour to 12 hours playing single player until I completly beat it, then I will still be devastated by the non existent Infastructure mode for Grand Turismo PSP and switch back to Mario Kart DS to play online, while Grand Turismo gathers dust in mint condition until I sell it later in life (provided it is a collectible by then).