Gran Turismo (video game)

Gran Turismo (commonly abbreviated to GT or GT1) is a racing game designed by Kazunori Yamauchi. Gran Turismo was developed by Polyphony Digital and first published by Sony Computer Entertainment in 1997 for the PlayStation video game console. It was well-received publicly and critically, shipping a total of 10.85 million copies worldwide as of April 30 2008, and scoring an average of 95% in GameRankings' aggregate. The game has started a series, and to date has spawned over 10 spinoffs and sequels.

Gameplay
Gran Turismo is fundamentally based on the racing game genre. The player must maneuver an automobile to compete against artificially intelligent drivers on various race tracks. The game uses two different modes: arcade and simulation. In the arcade mode, the player can freely choose the courses and vehicles they wish to use. Winning races unlocks additional cars and courses.

However, simulation mode requires the player to earn different levels of driver's licenses in order to qualify for events, and earn credits(money), trophies and prize cars by winning race championships. Winning one particular championship also unlocks a video and a few additional demonstration tracks. Money earned by winning championships can be used to purchase additional vehicles, and for parts and tuning of all vehicles.

Gran Turismo features 178 cars and 11 race tracks.

Audio
The opening song for the US and European versions is a Chemical Brothers remix of the Manic Street Preachers song "Everything Must Go".

The game itself had a somewhat limited selection of songs. These include 'Lose Control' by Ash From the album 1977, 4 songs from the Swim era of Feeder (Chicken On A Bone Reworked instrumental, Shade Instrumental, Tangerine Instrumental, Sweet 16), 'As Heaven is Wide' by Garbage, 'Oxyacetalene', 'Skeletal', 'Autonomy', and 'Industry' by Cubanate. The Opening Song for The Japanese Version is Moon Over The Castle; this song was in all of the Japanese versions of Gran Turismo.

Reception
The game was praised by critics, including IGN (9.5/10), GameSpot (8.6/10) and the Official Playstation Magazine (5/5). As of April 30 2008, the game has shipped 2.55 million copies in Japan, 10,000 in Southeast Asia, 4.3 million in Europe, and 3.99 million in North America for a total of 10.85 million copies. Gran Turismo currently holds the record for the number one best selling game for the Playstation 1 console, followed closely behind by Final Fantasy 7 with roughly 9.8 million copies sold.