is a

sim racing Sim racing is the collective term for racing games that attempt to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a dr ...

video game demo developed by

Polyphony Digital Polyphony Digital Inc. is an internal Japanese first-party video game development studio for PlayStation Studios. Originally a development group within Sony Computer Entertainment's Japan Studio known as Polys Entertainment, after the succes ...

and published by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. It is the first installment of the '' Gran Turismo'' racing

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

series to be released on the console. It was made available as a free download which was released on the

PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...

on December 24, 2006. A

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

version, called "Install Disc", was released in Japan in limited quantities in September 2007. The game was intended to be a sneak preview, in the likes of '' Gran Turismo Concept'', preceding the release of a full version title, but the ''Gran Turismo HD'' project was canceled and replaced by ''

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a 2007 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the eighth overall installment in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. ''Gran Turismo 5 Prologue'' is a precursor ...

''.

Gameplay

''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' includes external view (or rear view) and bumper view, the latter introduces left and right view as seen from the driver's helmet. Left and right views are available with both Sixaxis and steering wheel peripherals although they are not assigned in the wireless controller's default configuration. As a short title, the Concept version only features ten cars ranging from the Suzuki Cappuccino to the Ferrari 599, available in both stock and tuned version, once unlocked. The game's opening movie focuses on

Didier Auriol Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first drive ...

's 1995 Toyota Celica GT-FOUR WRC and the Lotus Elise 111R. The game features only a single track, The Eiger Nordwand (

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

north face) which is a newly created mountain pass track based on the

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg () is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the two arms of the L ...

and featuring the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

' famous

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the ...

and

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

peaks. The track is also available in reverse mode once unlocked. Two play modes are available: Time Trial and Drift Trial. Both modes feature an Internet ranking chart for each continent. ''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' is the first game in the franchise to support online ranking. Japanese area ranking ended on September 30, 2007 with the removal of ''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' from the local PlayStation Store. The Replay mode is also available, each course's best five records per car in both Time and Drift Trial can be downloaded by users under the form of a replay file.

Development

The ''Gran Turismo HD'' project was preceded by the ''Vision Gran Turismo'' trailer at E3 2005 (as well as that year's

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

), in lead-up to the reveal of the PlayStation 3 console. The trailer featured upscaled ''

Gran Turismo 4 ''Gran Turismo 4'' is a 2004 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It is the fourth main installment and the sixth overall in the ''Gran Turismo'' series. It was ...

'' gameplay with more cars (sixteen instead of the usual six) on the grid. At the 2006

's opening,

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

released details and a screenshot about a new Polyphony Digital project, ''Gran Turismo HD'', scheduled from a December release. Two versions would be simultaneously released, the Blu-ray Disc based "''GTHD Premium''" (GTHDプレミアム) and the PlayStation Store downloadable "''GTHD Classic''" (GTHDクラシック). During the show, Polyphony Digital unveiled the first ''Gran Turismo HD'' teaser and featured HD renders of five cars: Nismo GT-R R-Tune R1 '99,

Honda S2000 The Honda S2000 is a Mid-engine design, front-mid engine Roadster (automobile), open top sports car that was manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda, from 1999 until 2009. First shown as a concept car called the SSM at the Tokyo Mo ...

'99, TOM'S Castrol Supra JGTC '99,

Ford GT The Ford GT is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company, Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second gene ...

'05 and the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano '06. The first four cars were available in ''

'' but didn't appear in late GTHD trailers, though the Ferrari was featured in ''Gran Turismo HD Concept''. Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed the full version of ''Gran Turismo HD'' was scheduled for a December 2007 release in Japan. Among the planned contents he introduced an "

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

-like" download service and various download packs including additional cars and tracks, advanced AI or car damage, all of which being compatible with the future ''Gran Turismo 5''. The introduction of

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

models in the ''Gran Turismo'' series was officially announced by the Series producer

Kazunori Yamauchi , nicknamed "Kaz", is a Japanese game designer and racing driver. He is the CEO of Polyphony Digital and producer of the ''Gran Turismo (series), Gran Turismo'' video game series. Polyphony Digital He became the president of Polyphony Digital a ...

and Giulio Zambeletti from Ferrari on September 28, 2006 at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

. It was soon followed by a special trailer "Gran Turismo HD featuring Ferrari GT cars". The first models were supposed to be the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the

Ferrari F430 The Ferrari F430 (Type F131) is a sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari from 2004 until 2009 as a successor to the Ferrari 360. The car is an update to the 360 with exterior and performance changes. It was unveiled a ...

. While the former was available in ''Gran Turismo HD Concept'', the latter was not, but was included in the ''Gran Turismo 5 Prologue'' free playable demo among the non selectable NPC cars. In November 2006, shortly before the release of ''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' v2.0, Polyphony Digital director Kazunori Yamauchi officially announced a "revision" in the "product strategy" where "''Gran Turismo 5'' will be given priority". Polyphony Digital chose to abandon the planned full version named ''Gran Turismo HD'', which was originally scheduled for a 2007 worldwide release to focus on developing ''

Gran Turismo 5 is a 2010 sim racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fifth main installment and the tenth overall in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. It was released on Novemb ...

'' instead. Kazunori Yamauchi stated "''Gran Turismo 5'' will adopt most of the planned features of ''Gran Turismo HD''", which is confirmed by the two "''Gran Turismo'' x Skyline" trailers based on ''Gran Turismo 4'' replay footages and early ''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' artworks or replay footages and including the line "''Passage to Gran Turismo 5''". "We are hoping to present ..several Concept versions, each loaded with various experimental features", Kazunori Yamauchi added.

Reception

''Gran Turismo HD Concept'' received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

Notes

References

External links