Gran Turismo 6 officially announced

Sony Computer Entertainment announced today (15 May 2013) that Gran Turismo 6 (GT6) will be released in “Holiday, 2013” for PS3 – presumably this means just in time for Christmas. There was no mention of a PS4 release, but we’re willing to bet it will hit the new console as well.

The news was revealed by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi at an event held to celebrate 15 years of the 70-million-selling series.

GT6 for PS3 will feature new tracks, new cars, a revised user interface, and new game engine. There will also be a focus on DLC expansions, connectivity with devices such as smart phones and tablets, and increased social and community functions.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo 5 will be retained in GT6. New additions to the line-up brings the total car list to 1,200 at launch, with new cars set to be continually added online. Several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars, and players can personalize their own custom cars in game to the “greatest ever level possible”, says Sony.

The Silverstone Circuit has been confirmed as one of seven new locations in GT6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of them new. There will also be regular additions of new tracks set to be made available online. The improved course maker function will provide scenery spanning several tens of square kilometres including the backdrop of Andalucía.

Gran Turismo’s collaborations with partner companies will increase with GT6, says Sony. New projects are promised, alongside returning initiatives such as the GT Academy collaboration with Nissan, which strives to unearth real racing driver talent. Other notable partnerships in the development of GT6 have been with tyre manufacturer Yokohama Rubber and suspension company KW Automotive. Both companies acted as technical development partners for the game’s new physics engine, and for its tyre and suspension kinematic modeling.

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” explained Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit. “Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver GT6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments. I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will be only the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

Further news about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom events.

Summary of new Gran Turismo 6 features announced by Kazunori Yamauchi:

New Game Engine

Refactoring
Compact, nimble operation
Flexible expandability
A new rendering engine that pushes the limits of the PS3

New Physics Engine

New suspension and kinematics model
New tyre model
New aerodynamics model Technical partnership with Yokohama Rubber and KW Automotive

1200 Cars, abundant custom parts, and on-going DLC

From historic cars to the latest racing cars, the game contains a total of 1200 cars.
Multiple aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars.
Players can create their own personalised custom car in the game.
Cars will be continually added online

33 locations, 71 layouts

33 Locations and 71 layouts will be provided from day1 (7 more locations and 19 more layouts than GT5)
More new tracks will continue to be provided online

New Course Maker

Massive scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers
A new course generation algorithm

Community/Club/Race Organizer

Players can form their own communities
Various community levels from local and domestic to global
Players themselves can create and manage their own online events

New User Interface

Balancing directional key operation and touch operation
Quick response
Shortening of loading times

Multi Device Compatibility

Playstation
Smart Phone
Tablet
PC
At the same time as the PS3 version of GT6 the “Real Driving Simulator” launches, a mobile version and web application version of GT6, will be created to enjoy Gran Turismo’s massive community space.