When game designer Kazunori Yamauchi was a 15-year-old, he came up with an idea for a game he'd love to make: a racing game with with real cars and real physics.
In 1997, he finally released that game, Gran Turismo, on the PlayStation.
"I've always liked racing games," Yamauchi tells Top Gear. "When I was around 15 years old it just came to me as an idea of a race game I wanted to play. A game in which there would be an accurate physics simulation and, of course, real-world cars."
Gran Turismo became one of the PlayStation's most successful franchises. Gran Tursimo 5 is currently hitting retailers worldwide.
Whether it be GT or the cartoony Motor Toon Gran Prix, Yamauchi has made racing games for the vast majority of his career. He tells NowGamer (via Develop that while he has "no plans" to make something other than driving games, he adds, "I certainly have ideas for new games all the time." He adds, "Every day. I really, really would love to try making some other type of game."
Yamauchi's studio Polyphony Digital worked on one non-racing game, Omega Boost. Released in 1999, the game is a rail shooter that features mecha. Is there any way Yamauchi could be convinced to make a rail shooter with mechas, real cars and accurate physics?
Our Gran Turismo 5 review? It's coming, but a game this deep needs time to play and fully understand. A rushed review helps no one.
Top Gear talks to Kazunori Yamauchi [Top Gear]