Wikipedia

Gran Turismo 6

"GT6" redirects here. For the car, see Triumph GT6.

Gran Turismo 6 is a 2013 racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth main installment and the eleventh overall in the Gran Turismo series. The game was released worldwide on December 6, 2013.[1] Gran Turismo 6 received a positive reception and was a financial success. New features included the addition of more cars and tracks, improvements to the car customization options, and partnerships with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Ayrton Senna Institute, the FIA, and NASCAR. Gran Turismo 6 is the first game to feature officially FIA-certified content.[2]

Gran Turismo 6
PAL version cover art
Developer(s)Polyphony Digital
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)Kazunori Yamauchi
Producer(s)Kazunori Yamauchi
SeriesGran Turismo
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
Release
  • WW: December 6, 2013
Genre(s)Racing simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Development

edit

In November 2011, the Gran Turismo series creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, announced that he and his team at Polyphony Digital were working on Gran Turismo 6.[3] In March 2012, employees were observed on-site at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, photographing and scanning the track. They revealed that Mount Panorama would be included in Gran Turismo 6, making it the first Australian race track featured in the series.[4]

In February 2013, Michael Denny, senior vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, claimed that Gran Turismo 6 would remain a PlayStation 3 title, despite the unveiling of the PlayStation 4.[5][6]

Gran Turismo 6 was announced on May 15, 2013, during a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo hosted by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom.[7][8] At the official announcement, Kazunori Yamauchi stated that Gran Turismo 6 would feature 71 layouts across 33 tracks, 1,200 cars, a more flexible rendering engine that incorporates adaptive tessellation, and a simplified user interface with faster loading times.[9] An early build of Gran Turismo 6's updated physics was demonstrated to the public when GT Academy 2013 was released on the PlayStation Store on July 2 of the same year.[10]

 
The Monster Tajima E-Runner Pikes Peak Special is one of the new electric cars in the game.

The developers announced that the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb course would be included in the game. The 1.16-mile strip of road that runs through the grounds of the Earl of March's family home hosts the annual Festival of Speed, where a variety of cars from throughout motorsport and the automobile industry attempt to set their best times along the narrow course. This inspired the game developers to base a track there due to the wide variety of vehicles that use the hill climb in front of 185,000 spectators. Yamauchi stated, "I have always been a huge admirer of the Festival of Speed and what Lord March has achieved. I love the incredible range of cars on display – from the priceless, rare, and exotic to the latest family hatchbacks and full-on racing cars. I love the challenge of the Hill Climb and the rally stage. Goodwood represents every type of motoring and motorsport, which very much mirrors what we aim to achieve with Gran Turismo, so it is very special that we have forged this partnership. There will be no better feedback than that provided by the Goodwood fans to tell me if we are heading in the right direction with Gran Turismo 6!"[11] A demo of GT6 was made available at the Festival, which gave spectators a chance to challenge Nick Heidfeld's 41.6-second course record set in 1999 in a Formula 1 car.[12]

At the 2013 Gamescom in August, it was revealed that Brands Hatch would be coming to Gran Turismo, alongside the return of Apricot Hill Raceway, a fan-favorite fictional track that was absent in Gran Turismo 5. Cars such as the Pagani Huayra, Fisker Karma, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7, and BMW Z8 were announced, as well as the Aston Martin One-77, Audi R18, KTM X-Bow, and the 1971 Lunar Roving Vehicle (from the Apollo 15 mission).[13] Nissan's DeltaWing was originally announced for the game but was briefly removed due to potential licensing issues.[14] This decision was reversed on December 2, with the car returning in its 2012 and 2013 guises, alongside the last-minute additions of the Honda NSX Concept (which was available as both an Acura and a Honda) and the 2008 World Rally Championship cars from Gran Turismo 5.[15]

The worldwide launch event was held in Spain at Ronda and the nearby Circuito Ascari in December 2013;[16] the city named a street after series creator Yamauchi during the event in gratitude for the public exposure.[17]

 
The Lamborghini Reventón was introduced in this game.

Polyphony helped design Toyota's FT-1 concept car by first modeling the car in Gran Turismo 5 and later in Gran Turismo 6. This approach allowed the car designers to visualize the vehicle in motion and effectively sell the concept to Toyota's management. The car was released as a free download for Gran Turismo 6 alongside other Vision Gran Turismo cars on January 14.[18]

F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Bruno Senna served as test drivers for the game.[19]

The online servers for Gran Turismo 6 were shut down on March 28, 2018.[20][21] All downloadable content and digital versions of the game could no longer be purchased directly from Sony's PlayStation Store after this date.[22]

Features

edit

The game developers announced a long-term partnership with the Ayrton Senna Institute in October 2013, wherein a percentage of profits from the sale of the game would be donated to the organization, which promotes and provides education to impoverished communities in Brazil.[23][24] A free update in May 2014 introduced a new feature called "Ayrton Senna Tribute," which followed the motor racing career of Ayrton Senna. The update also included the iconic Lotus 97T, which Senna drove during the 1985 Formula One season.[25]

The game features 30 tracks and 1,200 cars to choose from. Among the new circuits in the series are Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, Ascari Race Resort, and several tracks based in a sports stadium, in addition to multiple tracks located in the Matterhorn, including one near Riffelsee.

In addition to some tracks featuring variable weather and time of day, there is also a dynamic celestial sphere, ensuring that stars in the night sky are positioned accurately. Players can even drive at Hadley Rille on the moon using the Lunar Rover.

The Top Gear test track, which appeared in Gran Turismo 5, does not return in the game due to the show's partnership with the Forza Motorsport franchise for Xbox consoles.

Vision Gran Turismo

edit
Main article: Vision Gran Turismo

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the series, Gran Turismo 6 features "Vision Gran Turismo" (a name reused from an early GT5 trailer), a special project showcasing concept cars designed for the game by leading automobile companies, as well as sportswear brands Air Jordan and Nike, and automobile design firms such as Zagato.[26]

Downloadable content

edit

Though no downloadable content (DLC) packs have been released for sale, several free cars have been made available after the launch of Gran Turismo 6 through updates. These include the BMW M4, the Toyota FT-1 concept, and Mario Andretti's 1948 Hudson stock car.[27][28][29]

Course maker

edit

On September 30, 2015, a level editor app titled **Track Path Editor** was released on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play. This app allowed players to design tracks and upload them to play on the PlayStation 3.[30] A new location called **Death Valley** was introduced in the game. The app supported KML and GPX files, photo/bitmap image importing, and GPS tracing of real-life driving routes. Players could use imported tracks in arcade mode races, time trials, and share them online. The app received positive reviews from journalists and had over 5,000 downloads within the first 24 hours on the Android store, earning a 4/5 rating. A week later, the downloads reached 10,000.[31] However, the editor was removed from the App Store at the same time the online servers were shut down.[21]

Multiple screens

edit

Gran Turismo 6 supports up to six different camera views that can be displayed across multiple PlayStation 3 consoles. Players can utilize two left views, two right views, a server view (which provides a front view with dials), and a front view without dials. If connected to the same Local Area Network (LAN), these views can be duplicated on an additional PS3 console, enhancing the multiplayer experience and allowing for a more immersive gameplay environment. This feature exemplifies the game's emphasis on social play and competition, catering to both casual and competitive racing fans.

Reception

edit

Critical

edit

Gran Turismo 6 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[32] It was mainly praised for its more open focus on realism and an even bigger collection of cars, but criticism emphasized a lack of more improvement, bugs and glitches at launch, and a bigger focus on online play and microtransactions. Eurogamer praised the "vast, sprawling compendium of cars" and the "staggering tracklist," with GamesRadar praising the graphics and realism. Polygon liked the variety of gameplay, while IGN said it was "a marked improvement on GT5." Hardcore Gamer commented that it was "surprisingly addictive" with "huge lasting appeal," and "arguably remains the gold standard of the genre." When Destructoid made a head-to-head comparison with the next-generation title Forza 5, Gran Turismo came out on top by a wide margin.[49] When USGamer carried out a similar 3-way test, they concluded that "I’ve had both these games for weeks, but it’s Gran Turismo 6 that’s keeping me up late at night. Much as I like Forza 5, Gran Turismo just has more going for it... The way Gran Turismo articulates different car types and handling characteristics is phenomenal, and its sheer variety of cars, tracks, racing formats and minigame challenges makes it hugely entertaining to play."[50]

During the 17th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Gran Turismo 6 for "Racing Game of the Year."[51]

Commercial

edit

For the week of launch in Japan, after two days of sales, Gran Turismo 6 had 204,784 physical sales - the game in second place had 117,432 sales for the whole week.[52] These sales helped almost to double the sales of the PS3 console compared to the previous week.[53] Among the Famitsu 2013 Top 100, a listing of the top 100 Japanese retail software sales for the year of 2013 from data collected by Famitsu's parent company Enterbrain, the game ranked number 24, with 282,686 physical retail sales within Japan.[54] The game was the bestseller in France, Germany, Norway,[55] Finland[56] and New Zealand,[57] number 2 in Australia and Italy,[58] number 3 in the UK,[59] Sweden,[60] Denmark[61] and Greece,[62] and number 4 in Spain[63] and South Africa.[64] It was the 42nd highest selling game of 2013 across all formats in the UK, with it also being the biggest selling single-format racing title of the year.[65] The game initially fared less well in North America, just making the top ten.[66] The game was still in the top ten of the European PSN download sales chart at the end of June 2015.[67] The game remained in the European[68] and North American[69] charts top ten at the end of January 2015. On July 25, 2015, some 19 months after release, the game was still at 12 in the UK full-price sales chart,[70] from August 2015 the game was instead eligible for the UK budget sales chart, where it remained in the top 20,[71] and continued to sell well until mid-January 2016.[72] Gran Turismo 6 was the 7th best selling game of 2015 on the PlayStation Store.[73] In December 2014, the game won the gold award for sales of half a million in Japan.[74][75][76]

Celebrity endorsements

edit

Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel appears in the game, as well as Mario Andretti's 1948 Hudson Hornet. NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth drives one of the new cars in the game. The game also features replica helmets and coveralls worn by drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Jimmie Johnson, Petter Solberg, and Mikko Hirvonen. Jay Leno helped the producers to include his 1000-horsepower Oldsmobile Toronado in the game.[77]

References

edit
  1. ^ ""Vision Gran Turismo" Announced - NEWS". gran-turismo.com. August 20, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  2. ^ "Gran Turismo 6 Tracks Receive Certification from FIA in New Partnership with Polyphony Digital". June 24, 2014.
  3. ^ "Gran Turismo 6". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "Bathurst to be included in Gran Turismo 6, marking the first time an Australian track had been featured in the Gran Turismo series". AUSmotive. March 12, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  5. ^ "News: Gran Turismo 6 'is a PlayStation 3 title', Sony exec claims". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. February 28, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  6. ^ Yin, Wesley (February 28, 2013). "Sony exec says Gran Turismo 6 is a PS3 game • News • PlayStation 3 •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  7. ^ "Gran Turismo Series' Future to be Revealed at Special Media Event on May 15th". Gtplanet.net. May 8, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  8. ^ "Sony Computer Entertainment Celebrates 15 Years of Gran Turismo® - NEWS". gran-turismo.com. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  9. ^ "Gran Turismo 6 coming this holiday season for PlayStation 3". GameSpot.com. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  10. ^ "GT6 Demo Today, Download and Qualify for Nissan GT Academy 2013 – PlayStation.Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. July 2, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  11. ^ "GRAN TURISMO®6". Goodwood.co.uk. July 11, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  12. ^ "Goodwood Hill Climb to Feature in Gran Turismo®6 - NEWS". gran-turismo.com. August 27, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  13. ^ "Grand Turismo 6 - List of featured cars". gran-turismo.com. Sony Computer Entertainment. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  14. ^ "Nissan DeltaWing Removed from GT6 Website & Car List". gtplanet.net. November 5, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  15. ^ "Cars Added to GT6 Car List, DeltaWing Returns with NSX Concept". gtplanet.net. December 4, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  16. ^ Melgar, Vanessa (December 10, 2013). "Ronda hosts the global launch of Gran Turismo 6". Sur in English. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Greer, Jordan (December 9, 2013). "Gran Turismo 6 Comes to Life". GT Planet. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  18. ^ Webster, Andrew (January 13, 2014). "Street legal: how 'Gran Turismo' helped Toyota design its new concept car". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  19. ^ Game end credits sequence
  20. ^ "Gran Turismo 6 Online End of Service - Gran Turismo®6 - gran-turismo.com". gran-turismo.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  21. ^ a b "Gran Turismo 6 Online Services Shutting Down on March 28". VGChartz. December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  22. ^ "Gran Turismo 6". March 16, 2018.
  23. ^ Greer, Jordan (October 24, 2013). "Gran Turismo 6 to Feature F1 Champion Ayrton Senna". GTPlanet.net.
  24. ^ "Announcing the Partnership Between Gran Turismo®6 and the Ayrton Senna Institute". gran-turismo.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  25. ^ "Ayrton Senna's Memory Honored with New Gran Turismo 6 Content, Documentary Film". gtplanet.net. May 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  26. ^ "Vision Gran Turismo - PRODUCTS - gran-turismo.com". gran-turismo.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  27. ^ "BMW M4 Coupé Now Available in Gran Turismo 6; Featured in Newest Seasonal Event". GT Planet. December 11, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  28. ^ "Mario Andretti's 1948 Hudson Now Available in Gran Turismo 6; Featured in Special Seasonal Event Challenge". GT Planet. December 19, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  29. ^ "Gran Turismo 6 Update 1.03 Now Available, Brings Toyota FT-1 Concept, BMW M4 Interior, and New Seasonal Events". GT Planet. January 14, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
  30. ^ Robinson, Martin (September 30, 2015). "Nearly two years after release, Gran Turismo 6 is getting its course creator". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  31. ^ Evans, Andrew. "5 Reasons Why The GT6 Course Maker Is The Best Racing Game Feature Ever". Car Throttle. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  32. ^ a b "Gran Turismo 6 for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  33. ^ North, Dale (December 6, 2013). "Review: Grand Turismo 6". Destructoid. ModernMethod. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  34. ^ Robinson, Martin (December 6, 2013). "Gran Turismo 6 review". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  35. ^ Romano, Sal (December 17, 2013). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1307". Gematsu. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  36. ^ Towell, Justin (December 6, 2013). "Gran Turismo 6 review". GamesRadar. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  37. ^ Reilly, Luke (December 6, 2013). "Grand Turismo 6 Review". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  38. ^ Kollar, Philip (December 6, 2013). "Grand Turismo 6 review: checkered flag". Polygon. Vox Media Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  39. ^ Hannley, Steve (December 6, 2013). "Review: Gran Turismo 6". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  40. ^ "Video: Gran Turismo 6 review". Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  41. ^ "Eurogamer Readers' Top 50 Games of 2013". Eurogamer.net. December 31, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  42. ^ "Best Racing Game of 2013 Award". PlayStation LifeStyle. December 20, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  43. ^ "Best PS3 Racing Game". IGN. December 15, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  44. ^ "Best Racing Game". GameTrailers. January 3, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  45. ^ "G4 - Tech News on G4 - Games, Gear, Gadgets & Gigabytes". g4tv.ca. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  46. ^ "2013 Game of the Year Awards - 3GEM". 3GEM. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  47. ^ "PSXE Game Of The Year Awards 2013". psxextreme.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  48. ^ Channell, Mike (December 27, 2013). "Games of 2013: Gran Turismo 6". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  49. ^ Forza won 2 out of 10 aspects http://www.destructoid.com/gran-turismo-6-vs-forza-motorsport-5-266972.phtml
  50. ^ "Gran Turismo 6 vs Forza 5: Comparison Test". USgamer.net. December 13, 2013. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  51. ^ "2014 Awards Category Details Racing Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  52. ^ "Japanese Sales Charts: Gran Turismo 6 Moves Over 200,000 Copies, PS Vita TV Drops Once Again". PlayStation LifeStyle. December 12, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  53. ^ Dumitrescu, Andrei (December 12, 2013). "Gran Turismo 6 Tops Japanese Chart, Boosts PlayStation 3 Sales". softpedia. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  54. ^ 2013-01-29, Famitsu: Top 100 best-selling games of 2013, Nintendo Everything
  55. ^ Norwegian charts, Week 5, 2014 - Individual Formats
  56. ^ Finnish charts, Week 50, 2013 - Individual Formats
  57. ^ "The IGEA Top Ten Charts powered by NPD - New Zealand: Dec 2 - 8". MCV Pacific. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  58. ^ "Settimana dal 13/01/2014 al 19/01/2014 - Www.aesvi.it". aesvi.it. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  59. ^ "Call Of Duty: Ghosts back as UK number one – Games charts 7 December". Metro. December 9, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  60. ^ "Swedish Sales Charts – Week 4". northlandsquare.com. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  61. ^ Danish charts, Week 5, 2014 - Individual Formats
  62. ^ "Καλό ντεμπούτο για το Gran Turismo 6 στη Βρετανία". byteme.gr. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  63. ^ "AEVI". adese.es. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  64. ^ "SA's Top Selling Games by Platform for December 2013 (GFK)". Gamezone. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  65. ^ "The 100 best-selling boxed games of 2013". MCV UK. January 16, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  66. ^ "December 2013 PSN Sales Charts in North America Have Minecraft: PS3 Edition, Call of Duty: Ghosts at #1". PlayStation LifeStyle. January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  67. ^ "June 2015 PSN Sales Charts in Europe". PlayStation LifeStyle. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  68. ^ "January 2015 PlayStation Store Charts in Europe: Dying Light Was #2 on PS4". PlayStation LifeStyle. February 9, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  69. ^ "December 2014 PlayStation Store Sales Chart in North America - Suikoden II Tops Classics". PlayStation LifeStyle. January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  70. ^ "GFK Chart-Track". chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  71. ^ "GFK". Chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  72. ^ "GFK". Chart-track.co.uk. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  73. ^ "PlayStation Store charts for December, and full year 2015". Blog.eu.playstation.com. January 20, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  74. ^ 投稿数：1 (October 24, 2013). "「PlayStation Awards 2014」が開催。50万本超の「Gold Prize」に7タイトルが輝く". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved September 21, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  75. ^ "Here's the PlayStation Awards 2014 Winners". Playstationlifestyle.net. December 3, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  76. ^ Patrick, Jason (December 4, 2014). "Is Gran Turismo 7 debuting at PlayStation Experience?". Middle Of Nowhere Gaming. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  77. ^ "Jay Leno Tests His 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado in GT6". gtplanet.net. December 10, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gran_Turismo_6&oldid=1249801612"