Gran Turismo Sport Preview - E3 2016

When it comes to franchises that stand the test of time, few have been as successful as Gran Turismo. Almost synonymous with the PlayStation brand, this series of racing games created by Polyphony Digital have been enjoyed by PS owners for generations now. The last game, Gran Turismo 6, was released just on the tail end of the PlayStation 3 lifecycle, as the shiny new PS4 arrived in stores just a month prior. Since then, fans have been waiting anxiously to see what the series will have to offer on Sony's newest console. The answer to that question remains somewhat unclear, but we did get a chance to check out Gran Turismo Sport at this year's E3.

According to the developers, GT Sport is the world’s first racing experience that offers global online championships sanctioned by the highest governing body of international motorsports, the FIA (Federation International Automobile). There will be two certified Championships offered, Nations Cup & Manufacturer Fan Cup. Players can race for their country or favorite automobile maker, respectively. Multiple car classes will be in the game, including GT3, Prototype, and Rally.

There will be multiple player class divisions across age, region, and driving behavior, so participants of all skill levels should be able to race. For the racing itself, there will be around 140 cars, including Vision Gran Turismo concept vehicles and Gran Turismo Sport prototypes. For the first time, every single car has been rebuilt from scratch, so players won't find any of those low-resolution car versions from the past games. The audio has been reportedly overhauled as well, offering more true to life engine sounds.

You'll be racing those cars through 27 different tracks across 19 locations from around the world, including the Nürburgring, Tokyo Expressway, and the recently-added half mile oval track Northern Isle Speedway. Players will be able to personalize their vehicles thanks to a livery editor, with brand stickers and logos. To showcase your creations, there's the new photo mode called Scapes. It contains real world images from across the globe, and players will be able to position their cars and the camera for that perfect shot.

At E3 we had a very brief moment to race through the Tokyo Expressway. The setup was using a Thrustmaster seat peripheral, complete with pedals and wheel, looking very realistic and probably expensive. After getting used to this input method, we were off on the race against about 14 other players. By luck of the draw we were second on the starting grid, and despite a couple of collisions and mishaps, managed to come in 5th in the end. The experience was brief and it was difficult to gauge on what the GT Sport gameplay may feel like at release. The track and the cars did look quite sharp.

GT Sport seems to find itself in an odd grid position. The game is coming out this November, but players have yet to get a complete information breakdown of what is in the game. Even the online player count isn't finalized as of E3. Some are comparing it to the release of GT5's Prologue, while others believe this will be the new and evolving GT model going forward, with a focus on online racing and adding content overtime. We'll hopefully learn more about the game as it nears release. Gran Turismo Sport will debut this November exclusively for PlayStation 4.