Delivering the best with the return of classic cars, iconic tracks, and fan-favourite modes like GT Simulation.
I still clearly remember the inexplicable eagerness and excitement of that day when we introduced the first Gran Turismo game to the world for the first time on the original PS1 console.
With that same inexplicable sense of excitement, I’m happy to report that Gran Turismo 7 will be available on March 4, 2022, simultaneously on both the PS5 and the PS4 consoles.
The cultural environment surrounding cars has changed greatly in the past 25 years. Those of us who were born in the rich car culture of the times created the first Gran Turismo game, so it may be difficult for the current generation of automotive purists to be in the same type of cultural environment as ourselves back then.
The objective for GT7 in current culture today, is to design a game to convey everything from the last 150 years of car and racing culture, whether you are a lifelong fan or discovering cars for the first time.
GT7 is both the culmination of the series which answers the expectations of GT fans throughout the years, and at the same time it is a title that marks a beginning of a difficult mission to contain the full breadth of car culture from the past into a single video game.
Best of Gran Turismo Experiences
The name “Gran Turismo” means “Grand Touring” in Italian. Back to the 17th Century, people would go on long trips across the European continent, learning and growing at their travel destinations. The name is derived from these journeys.
In the same spirit, the GT Campaign mode is also a place where individual players will take their own unique journeys and gain life learning experiences.
We’re aware that long-time fans of the Gran Turismo series strongly desired the return of the GT Campaign mode*, and now, having seen the trailer, hopefully everyone will be able to get a feel for the atmosphere of the newly designed Campaign mode. Returning to the very roots of the GT Campaign mode experience, players will be starting from the GT World Map.
Livery Editor
Since the introduction of the Livery Editor* in GT Sport, we’ve seen millions of complex and creative designs. We were amazed with the quality of the liveries made by our fans in the Livery Editor, and their sheer quantity. Knowing this to be an important feature for our fans, our main goal for the Livery Editor in GT7 was to improve the user interface and improve utility and accessibility.
Scapes
When you own a car that you love, it’s only natural to want to take photos of it in different locations around the world in trying to capture that perfect shot. Scapes* allows you to have complete control of photorealistic shots using HDR technology (when you have a HDR capable display), expert level effects, and even panning shots. You will be able to photograph your car freely in photo spots across 43 countries and over 2,500 locations, and every moment captured can be shared with others that has same love and passion as you.
Legendary Circuits
In addition to the return of the GT Campaign mode, our historic circuits like Trial Mountain* and High-Speed Ring* will be making a comeback. You may have noticed in the trailer that these tracks are higher in detail to match the PS5 console’s power of expression, with additional work done to parts of the layout. Bringing back these circuits with a level of detail and richness that matches the PS5 consoles’ power of expression was a new challenge for the team.
Car Collection
The first step in truly connecting with car culture is to learn and remember the shapes and names of the cars. This is where love and passion in cars begin – FF, FR, 911, 356, transmission… interest in typical terms like these appearing in car culture only comes from first knowing and recognizing the shapes and names of the cars. Because of this, GT7 is clearly designed as a “Car Collecting Game”, even more so than the GT series of the past.
The main feature of the GT Café* in the game is to navigate the player’s adventures in the world of GT, presenting a specific collection of cars that have a cultural meaning from the past, present, and future. Players will progress and complete missions in the GT Café by acquiring prize cars from various races within the world, as well as from the Brand Central and the Used Car Dealership.
Tuning
One of the greatest rewards in owning a car is to modify and customize it to suit your personal taste, and the smallest of changes will have different effects on the behavior of the vehicle. In GT7, players can once again start with a stock vehicle and build their car up gradually to fit their preference, through adjustments made on engine performance, suspension, transmission gearing, brakes, tires, etc.
GT Auto* also makes a comeback with wheel changes, wide body modifications, addition of roll cages as well as other aerodynamic parts. And not to mention engine oil changes and car wash.
Time/Weather Change Simulations
The time/weather change simulation brought to life in GT7 is unique to Polyphony Digital, who researched the complexities of nature and tailored it into a video game. Referencing a massive amount of meteorological observation data, we have recreated spatial / time of day conditions for particle size distribution and concentration distribution of aerosol particles in the atmosphere on a global environmental scale, in a procedure that is unique to the Gran Turismo series.
The validity of the simulation was checked using Scapes HDR images, for which we have accumulated data for several thousand spots all around the world. As a result, we have succeeded in expressing real and complex skyscapes and changes in light for different times of day and weather.
We could not be more excited to deliver Gran Turismo 7 to everyone on March 4, 2022.
Stay tuned as we have lots of more exciting news and information to share with in the coming weeks.
* These features require internet connection.
A fan of PlayStation, racing games and Gran Turismo for years, I am deeply disappointed. The game has seduced me since its announcement and the simple fact of imagining finding the sensations that the saga offered me during the PS2 era greatly delighted me… but a mandatory connection to access the single-player mode ? Truly ?
After the absence of a physical version in the collector’s of Horizon: Forbidden West, it is a new blow that Sony inflicts on a whole part of its community which dedicates an interest in the preservation of the contents resulting from the world of video game.
Until then, the brand has always known how to differentiate itself from its main competitors on this kind of subject and this is what made one of its strengths. That definitely doesn’t seem to be the case today… and it’s really disappointing.
Cultivate your difference and the diversity of commercial proposals. Don’t become Microsoft. We need to see multiple offers in this industry.
Please no drm for gt7.
Required Internet connection for single player?
I was on board till I read that. What’s Forza up to these days? Are they making ethically questionable single player options like they are EA’s Simcity early 2010s?
Might be time to go xbox with all these goofs Sony is making lately. Lying, bait and switching, taking on always online versions of single player modes.
Seriously what kind of ship is Jim Ryan and Herman Hulst running here. Clearly appreciating the fans is second fiddle to profit and golden parachutes. I miss Shuhei Yoshida and Jack Tretton. At least then we were respected and not treated as a statistic. Maybe its time I start writing some share holders and start investing in Sony. I like money as much as the next guy, but when you start treating your customer base like trivial garbage, it ceases to be a company to be concerned with and more of a machine to be loathed.
Xbox is way worse, you can´t even use the console if you don´t authenticate it online.
+ Physical format incomplete for some games.
+ Online authentications
+ Some backward compatible games can´t run if you are not online.