GeekDad: A year after release, Gran Turismo 5 continues to do well, Spec 2 has just been released
are you happy with how things are evolving with this version of the game?
Kazunori Yamauchi: Of course, were never completely satisfied, but weve done the best we can in the time that we have, so we have to be satisfied with that.
GD: We are also about a year past the widespread release of motion controls, but they still seem to be most appropriately used in casual games or with minimal use in more serious games. Can you envision how motion controls might be used in a more serious game like Gran Turismo?
KY: Technically, we can make the game compatible with Move but once you try it out being able to do it and it actually being fun is two different things its kind of hard.
GD: I imagine a lot of GeekDad readers could benefit (and breathe easier) from their children learning to drive in a digital environment. Have you ever considered adapting Gran Turismo to educate kids, much in the way that the licenses work in the game?
KY:Kids that grew up with Gran Turismo already have very high driving skills. So if you want to make your kids a racing driver, thats the way to go!
GD: You had the chance to work with Adrian Newey in developing the X2010 that must have been an interesting experience. What else can motorsport learn from a simulation like Gran Turismo?
KY: Ive actually visited a lot of Formula One teams including McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes GP, and, of course, Red Bull. They all base the development of their cars on simulation first. Its reached the point where theres really no difference between simulation and the real life of a car. Something thats really interesting, regarding the cars and the actual driving simulation, is the A-Spec part of the game.
Something thats really important to Formula One racing now is the racing strategy where you decide when youre going to pit the car and how you distribute time and everything. And they already use a simulator thats similar to the B-Spec simulator in the game to get the team organized in those race-type situations. So it really surprised me that, after seeing the teams, that theyre doing the same thing as we are.
GD: If the difference between current simulations and real life is thin, wheres the room for improvement in the next iteration of the game?
KY: Theres still a very long list of to-dos, a lot of things we havent done yet and were going to start doing them one by one.
GD: Each year we see dramatic improvements in automobile technology. When you walk around a show like SEMA, do you see a lot you want to incorporate into the game or is it more about your list of to-dos?
KY: At Gran Turismo, we are really focused on monitoring the all of the new technology that comes out for automobiles and weve gone to great lengths to include that in the game in every iteration. Thats something we never neglect.
GD: Gran Turismo has sold more than 60 million copies, youve personally had great success on the track. What would you say your most memorable accomplishment?
KY: I think the day we launched the first Gran Turismo is a day Ill never forget, because I really saw a huge movement start then and there. Of course, winning the class in the 24 hours of Nubrugring is something thats obviously a deep experience for me. Having been involved in working on a sports driving formula for this long, and to be actually able to leave visible results from that is something major in my life.
GD: When you work on a game for so long, there are certainly things, as we talked about before, that dont get finished or you just cant do. Can you talk about how downloadable content has affected the process of game creation?
KY: What we do during development, we do our best in developing every day and we do what we can do. The difference between having a package only release like we did in the past and how we have downloadable content now is that before, it used to be you would have to set an objective five years ahead and work toward that goal. But now, theres this time in between where you can keep releasing new content and implement new ideas. Its great that we can do that because it keeps the content fresh and gives us structure and objectives that we can work towards instead of of having this big objective far out there in the future. It helps to keep our motivation up, as well.
GD: What games do you see today that impress you as innovative or exciting?
KY: All the games that Will Wright makes, like Spore and the various Sims games. His games are really, really innovative. And I always have an interest for games that have that type of fresh innovation.
