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SONY Computer Entertainment Inc. have announced today that the
cumulative worldwide shipment of the Gran Turismo franchise,
a genre-defining Racing Simulator available on
PlayStation, PlayStation2, and PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment
systems, has exceeded fifty million units as of April 30th, 2008.
This remarkable sales figure was achieved in just ten years and four
months since the launch of the first title in the franchise -
Gran Turismo, in December 1997.
The Gran Turismo franchise, from the original Gran Turismo
to the latest
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, has continued to evolve alongside
the PlayStation platforms. With its outstanding game play, beautiful
graphics and the true to life driving feel, the franchise is
recognized as the world’s number one automotive game title on the
PlayStation format, receiving high regard not just from game fans,
but also from professional racing drivers and people in the
automobile industry. The seventh instalment of the world’s
best-selling racing franchise,
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
introduces entirely new entertainment modes by taking advantage of
the broadband network, such as online head-to head racing for up to
sixteen-players, “GRAN TURISMO-TV”; a new in-game online channel
that delivers automotive video contents from around the globe, and
downloadable additional contents including new cars and courses.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has recorded strong sales since the
first launch in Japan in December, 2007, followed by North America
and Europe in Spring of 2008, with more than two million units of
cumulative shipment worldwide and contributing to the further
 expansion
of the PLAYSTATION3 platform. “Initially, Gran Turismo was an
“alternative” Racing game, kind of an outsider in the genre.” said
Kazunori Yamauchi, Producer of Gran Turismo. “And we made it
thinking that it would be okay as long as it reached out to the
select few who would agree with us”.
It should be noted that, as with SONY’s original “one-hundred
million PlayStation2’s shipped”, the fifty-million figure does not
count sales, but those units which have been shipped into retail
ready for sale. However, this is still a very good achievement for
any series, and one which one such as Gran Turismo shall take
as a landmark, and not a dead end. |
