summary
-
Yoshida sought less “simulation” in his debut Gran Turismo game due to his extreme difficulties.
-
Yoshida’s feedback tightened the pure simulation and ensured the game’s success and accessibility.
-
Yoshida’s advice saved Gran Turismo’s fate and prevented the gamer from alienating with excessive realism.
The Gran Turismo franchise is one of the longest-running franchises in all of the games and one of the most respected ones, but rarely took off from the ground.
Not because of technical limitations, but thanks to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, fortunately unusual gameplay design.
Yoshida pushed to “simulate” less Gran Turismo’s debut game
In an interview, Yoshida explained that he spoke to Yamouchi, the digital boss of Polyphony, considering he was one of the first to play the game. Yoshida said that Yamauchi appears to have taken the game’s “real driving simulator” to heart, but has gone overboard about how difficult it is.
Yoshida said, “It was the early days of the first PlayStation, and Yamouchi was working on the first Gran Turismo. On the cover, I remember saying that the game was a “real driving simulator.” To play it and tell you the truth, he was really serious when he talked about the simulation! ”
Yoshida’s premonition was correct after 30 people had him play the game. “It was going very far, but perhaps too far. But at first Yamouchi didn’t take my feedback at face value, so he brought in about 30 consumers to test the game. At that time, he concluded things, pulling down the pure simulation side a bit, and to get the Gran Turismo, which we know today on PS1,” Yoshida added.
The former PlayStation boss said, “In a way, I like to think that he partially saved Gran Turismo’s fate and played a small role in his success (lol)!”
PlayStation Gamers and Racing Fans around the world should be grateful for his advice at the time. Otherwise, the franchise may not be as far apart as it is now. Franchises are known for their realism when it comes to driving, remodeling and tweaking, but there are things that exist Too much It was realistic and based on Yoshida’s statement, Yamauchi designed the game that way.
Yoshida left PlayStation in January 2025 and has given countless interviews since then. Some of what he revealed included that he is not a fan of Sony’s live service push and does not believe in Kenkutaragi’s vision for the original PlayStation.
