The last time I met Kazunori Yamauchi was in Dubai, where GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez made the jump from virtual to real life racing. He told me then that he had always believed that a driver trained in Gran Turismo could drive as fast as a real racing driver, so when I interviewed him again last week at E3, I was interested to hear if the same applies to Gran Turismo PSP.
Kazunori Yamauchi the father of Gran Turismo
“I think that GT PSP is an entry point into the series,” he said. “It can introduce people to Gran Turismo 5 where they can learn the skills needed to be a racing driver. It’s a similar flow to what you would see if you played the original Gran Turismo on PSone and worked your way up to GT5.”
Gran Turismo PSP was first announced at E3 in 2005, and Kazunori was happy to explain why there has been so long a wait.
“We’ve talked to lots of journalists on this subject,” he told me, “and the truth is that we announced GT PSP too early. Since then we’ve released Gran Turismo 4,Tourist Trophy, HD Concept and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. We can only apologise for keeping people waiting.”
Having played GT PSP, I’m impressed by how Polyphony Digital has managed to condense the Gran Turismo experience onto a handheld without compromise; I asked whether any of the game’s modes had been designed with portable play in mind.
“The entire game is designed for a portable device,” he replied. “But to go into more detail, goals will be completed in 15 and 30 minute increments, so you won’t be endurance racing like in previous games.”
I then asked what the name of the song is in the trailer, after Silent_Gig enquired in a previous post; he said he couldn’t remember but emailed me shortly after, telling me that the song in question is Fist of God by MSTRKRFT.
Moving on, I wanted to know how he managed to maintain his enthusiasm for increasing the level of realism of the Gran Turismo series. He told me that the expectations of his fans kept him going, as well as the visions that he wanted to present to them.
Our short interview ended there, and after a gruelling day of interviews, the father of Gran Turismo headed back to his hotel, as I did to mine. I wonder what he was driving…
33 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:05 pm by Psicojacorral
First!! The game rocks in PSP!
2
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:06 pm by BackedOut_
Can’t wait to get my mitts on this!
Just bought Gran Turismo 5 Prologue the other day and it’s amazing.
Great job James.
3
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:27 pm by asop89
Can’t wait for both GT PSP & GT5, the Gran Turismo series is a fantastic & elegant racing experience.
4
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:32 pm by DeathroW22
Really cannot wait for this… even though i already own the original, fully functioning PSP and i know you’ll be able to get that game along with all the rest on UMD too.. i’ll be getting a PSP Go and GT PSP on launch day..
Also, lets hope we hear more about GT5 soon too!
5
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:36 pm by E-ROLE
I hope the Top gear content will be in Gran turismo 5 along with the Top gear test track. Would be cool to see it in the PSP version also.
6
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:50 pm by Munkeh111
Yeah, the Top Gear test track is one of the main reasons for me getting 5, so hopefully this game has that and the Suzuki liana, and Stig’s times for us to beat!
7
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:54 pm by Gamester101
Awesome! I need GT5 + GTPSP now though :[
8
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:59 pm by Deviil-Boy
Demos will be available in the PlayStation Store ?
9
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:02 pm by Kenshin71
You should have asked him if GT5 has confirmed crash damage for all cars (not just racing cars) and if the game will be out this century.
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:53 pm by James Gallagher
He didn’t want to talk about GT5 at E3, although I have heard him say in other interviews that they still have 2009 in their sights.
10
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:04 pm by Killa_Cobra_ST
GT5 and GT PSP are gonna be brilliant… cant wait!
The Top Gear race track will be so awesome in GT5 cant wait to challenge the STIG
11
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:04 pm by Ikkarus
I was blown away with the amount of detail shown on the PSP version of GT, how they could cram so much racing goodness for the PSP is beyond me.
Not to mention 800 cars!
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:55 pm by James Gallagher
Yes, I was quite amazed at the range of cars and tracks available too. And you always know that a collection put together by Kazunori is that of a true motoring enthusiast.
12
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:17 pm by dyslekt
this will own my psp…
13
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:19 pm by Razgriz375
Looks awesome….I’d rather own it as a psn download than a UMD, even if my psp is the 2000.
14
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:38 pm by adj82
have a look at this facebook page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18940608305
15
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:45 pm by RagingWhisky
@E-Role
[JohnSketch]
Whenever I’ve played Gran Turismo (from 3 onwards) i’ve always liked to pretend that the driver inside the vehicle is The Stig =)
16
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 3:47 pm by Janto
I can’t wait for this game to be running on my PSP. It just looks amazing, as does GT5.
17
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 4:00 pm by majesticbeastt
I have to ask did he still have the ghetto translator who didnt give a damn?
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 4:03 pm by James Gallagher
Ha! I did see that meme on various sites – it made me laugh (I still refuse to lol!). Actually I know that guy quite well now and he is more than Kazunori’s translator; he is a member of the Polyphony Digital team who also speaks very good English.
18
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 4:48 pm by mlataupe
He owns (or at least used to) a Ford GT.
According to his Wikipedia page a even owns 2 as well as a Honda S2000, a Nismo 350Z a Porsche GT3 and an Benz SL55. Which probably accounts for more than half a million € I think… o_O
19
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 5:32 pm by D1mas_
thanks for interview!
i wait this game… Hope the game will be perfectly!
20
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 6:11 pm by majesticbeastt
Ok thx James for answering that looking good your lucky you got a hands on i was really surprised that its coming 1 october. Other question though seeing as sony is releasing the psp go is there any indication we will get a other payment option instead of cc.
21
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 8:52 pm by Icarus_Immortal
Sorry for the off topic now, but I still have problem with the Cuboid DLC, even though I downloaded the newly released patch.
I still can’t download or upload any levels, so I just wanted to highlight this problem here.
On topic: still can’t wait for all the upcoming PSP games coming, and I’m seriously considering buying a PSP Go to replace my old, fat PSP-1000!
Greatly appreciate all the updates on this blog, and keep giving us PlayStation love!
22
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 10:06 pm by kimstips
No problem with the sound… I think i get the world´s biggest shock! Hehe
23
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 11:01 pm by adz2k7
This will be the first game I download onto my PSP Go
-Ad-
24
Posted on 10 June, 2009 at 11:14 pm by paintballjoe
Thanks for the interview, I’m really looking forward too this. The previous instalments are the only games I could ever call flawless- Developers should look to them for inspiration. Make a game to the best of the consoles ability and only release it when it is perfect
(only if they all did that 
)
25
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 9:47 am by Takehaniyasubiko
Yamauchi-san, you rock! Don’t ever listen to those Forza team [DELETED]
26
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 10:35 am by WarlordKratos
On Qnet was a poll wich game is the better one, GT 5 or Forza3
On the off.
Forzamotorsportsite they wrote;
“Vote for Forza Motorsport3 Now to Receive a Free Unicorn!
Hey all. Apparently, CNET.com is having a face-off between Forza and GT.
We all know which game is we’d like to see win, so go here:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10256571-48.html
And vote for Forza Motorsport 3! Afterwards, come to this thread and post a message letting us know you’ve done it.
We’ll gift you a random unicorn! It’s that easy. Do it now! Cheers..”
That is LAME and this action from the Forza team show how
they really are. If you cant beat GT then buy your votes.
GT is and GT 5 will be the ultimate driving simulation game on consols, and Forza? Forza will never beat GT…..never.
Kazunori Yamauchi,I salute you, you and Hideo Kojima are Godlike gamedevelopers, no Forza no Sam Fisher cant beat both of you,
I mean this.
GT 5 will be the best of the GT games and will be better than the best GT game yes even better than GT3.
27
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 10:56 am by whoismilan
October can’t come soon enough!
28
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 11:07 am by Ragnarok-NZ
I was wondering, the US will get this game on October 1st along with the launch of the PSP Go via PSN, Will Europe be getting this game at the launch of the PSP go as well? Thanks
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 11:22 am by James Gallagher
Yes, GT PSP will be available in Europe from October 1 and you will be able to enjoy it on PSPgo from launch.
29
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 12:02 pm by TimoTheThug
I think he drives the new Nissan GT-R he fell in love with that car so :p
30
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 12:34 pm by vonhammer
“I think he drives the new Nissan GT-R he fell in love with that car so”
Little more than drives it as PD designed the computer interface and menus.
His GT-R is getting updated from the 07 version to 09 according with another interview,lucky git
31
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 2:46 pm by Xenoxerxes
@26 WarlordKratos.
That poll was shut down by Cnet because of all the improper things the Forza Team were doing. Even so I think Gt won the poll anyway
32
Posted on 11 June, 2009 at 4:34 pm by MobileTone
please can you allow control with a real joypad too as in Resistance, for the love of grud don’t make me have to use that horrible nubby thing to drive. that would be a game breaker as far as i’m concerned.
33
Posted on 17 June, 2009 at 12:33 am by TASTYRYAN
Craving for some GT!
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