Xbox One has its own exclusive next-gen racer with Forza Motorsport 5, but Sony isn't eating Microsoft's dust just yet. Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed that the PlayStation 4 will be getting the seventh game in the GT series sometime next year.
Yamauchi was on hand at this year's Los Angeles Motor Show (doing research no doubt), where he spoke with Top Gear and announced the news. Thankfully, with the PlayStation 4 out now in North America, and set to hit the rest of the world in a week's time, player's won't have to wait too long for the new chapter.
"We don't want to take too long on Gran Turismo 7," said Yamauchi. "Best-case scenario? Next year. In GT6 we really had to tune the software 100 per cent to maximise the PS3's architecture, but of course the PS4's hardware is much better, so I think the overall quality of the game across the board will be boosted when you come to play it."
Unfortunately, that was about all Yamauchi had to share on the seventh game. But he did dish on the competition from Microsoft's own racer. In light of Forza 5's outstanding scores, Top Gear asked Yamauchi if he was at all concerned. "We always respect our competition," he says. "The racing genre isn't really that big in its entirety, so I'm glad that everyone works hard to boost the genre as a whole."
Yamauchi also talked about the soon-to-be released GT 6, where fans should be especially nervous about the game's Ring track. "It's such a dangerous track, I get scared every time I race around it. Cars crash and burst into flames, launch into the air, it happens all the time. It's more of an adventure than a race sometimes."
The good news - We recently learned that Gran Turismo 6 has over a thousand vehicles to choose from. The bad news - You'll likely have to pay a pretty penny to get access to most of them, as microtransactions for the game were recently confirmed.
Sony revealed details on the pricing with the European PS Blog. According to an excerpt, "From launch at retail you'll find a new option for building your ultimate fantasy car collection. In-game credits will be purchasable through PS Store or your friendly local retailer at the following denominations: 500K, 1 million, 2.5 million or 7 million credits which you'll be able to apply in-game for cars and parts."
Thankfully, for those of you looking to avoid the stores around the holidays, GT 6 will be available as a digital download, with gamers able to pre-order the special and standard editions of the game. The Special Edition includes the full game, 20 extra cars (Torque, Performance, Adrenaline and Velocity packs), custom PSN avatars, paint chips, race suits and race helmets. For those who pre-order, they'll get the Precision Pack cars for free, which are:
- GT-R NISMO GT3 15th Anniversary Edition
- R8 LMS ultra 15th Anniversary Edition
- Corvette Stingray (C7) 15th Anniversary Edition
- Model S Signature Performance 15th Anniversary Edition
- Viper GTS 15th Anniversary Edition
Gran Turismo 6 launches exclusively on the PlayStation 3 this December.