Gran Turismo Developer Polyphony Digital Releases 25th Anniversary Tribute Video
A new tribute video honouring the impact that the series has had on CEO Kazunori Yamauchi and his team as a whole has been released by franchise developer Polyphony Digital through the official Gran Turismo TV YouTube account in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Japanese release of the influential and seminal racing game Gran Turismo. A thank-you letter from the head of Polyphony Digital was also made available with the video. Below are both embedded:
Message from Kazunori Yamauchi, CEO of Polyphony Digital:
I’m thrilled that we are commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Gran Turismo series’ first release.
It means a lot to me since when I first began my career in this field in 1992, Gran Turismo was the first project concept I came up with out of close to 100 others.
I began creating video games as a pastime when I was ten years old, but I had never considered turning it into a job. I originally joined Sony with the hopes of generating picture goods since I founded a movie production group when I was 14 and had been making movies since then.
However, the department to which they assigned me was not what I had anticipated.
It was a division where the PlayStation console was just being started and where Kutaragi-san was frantically trying to make the PlayStation idea a reality.
Although the location did not meet my expectations, it can now be said that I was quite fortunate.
I developed and presented concepts for a variety of video games, including RPGs, adventure games, action games, puzzle games, and more because I was attracted by the real-time 3D visuals that so many people had been waiting for.
As a consequence, Gran Turismo adopted a more fantastical race game model in “Motor Toon Grand Prix,” becoming one of the first first-party PlayStation games. However, if a different concept had been accepted, there is a strong probability that I may not be working on Gran Turismo right now.
After then, the Gran Turismo project began by assembling a team of three engineers and two part-time artists.
From then, the group of friends grew steadily for more than 25 years, eventually evolving into Polyphony Digital, a business with more than 200 employees, as it is today.
There aren’t many video game series that have lasted 25 years with the same title and the same crew, in my opinion.
The company’s original founders are still on the front lines, and I am grateful and happy that all 200 of our employees work together as a team with the same drive and passion that the business began with.
As of November 16, 2022, the series’ combined sales had exceeded 90 million copies during the previous 25 years.
Furthermore, we could not have achieved this outcome on our own.
Behind that 90 million number are all the media professionals who persuaded their readers of Gran Turismo’s appeal.
There are the PlayStation employees that passionately promoted GT for us over the globe, and there is the amazing amount of support from the merchants who dealt with our customers.
All of them have my sincere gratitude for their assistance.
Above all, I want to express my gratitude to the GT community and users for playing our new games, some of which might be described as being quite experimental.
Because of everyone who helped us, we are here today. The Gran Turismo series, in my opinion, has always sought “Beauty.”
the aesthetic appeal of the vehicles, the surroundings, the lighting, the experience of driving, the sounds and music, and the visuals.
Gran Turismo was made with the “pursuit of beauty” in mind. With renewed vigour and a clear sense of direction, we are determined to advance moving forward. Over the last 25 years, your support has been invaluable to us.
I’m grateful.
Gran Turismo Developer Polyphony Digital Releases 25th Anniversary Tribute Video
Reference Sites:
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