Yamauchi on Turismo's Future - IGN (original) (raw)

One of the most assured pieces of gaming vaporware may see release after all. Famitsu.com, reporting from the Tokyo Game Show, received confirmation from Gran Turismo series producer Kazunori Yamauchi that development on Gran Turismo for Boys is still underway. We haven't heard anything about this PS2-based kids oriented GT title since Yamauchi announced it over a year ago at a Gran Turismo 4 party, causing concern that Yamauchi had been drunk at the time.
Now on to another vaporware candidate: Gran Turismo 4 Mobile. Development on the PSP entry in the Gran Turismo series still seems to be under way. Said Yamauchi, "We're of course considering PlayStation 3 and PSP connectivity, similar to how a PC connects with a cell phone. I still can't comment though." So in addition to Gran Turismo HD (Japanese PS3 release in December) and Gran Turismo 5 (planned for PS3 release in 2008), Gran Turismo for Boys and Gran Turismo 4 Mobile are definitely coming too.

Famitsu also scored commentary from Yamauchi on a variety of other Gran Turismo topics. The producer joked that the upcoming GTHD download service would be like iTunes, referring to it as a GT Tunes. He also provided some relief for those worried about the expense of downloading cars and tracks. Polyphony hopes to make content that has been downloaded for GTHD available for use in the Gran Turismo that follows it (Gran Turismo 5).

Yamauchi also explained some of the reasoning behind making car damage and advanced opponent AI available as downloads rather than a built-in feature. According to the creator, with online games it's difficult to follow the current development practice of adding more and more features to a title prior to its release. Instead, and although as a developer it's difficult and feels a little strange, it's best to start service on something, no matter how small, and build it up with players.

If it means getting the next Gran Turismo title in a little over two months, you won't find us complaining.