Summary
- Shuhei Yoshida pushed for less “simulation” in the debut Gran Turismo game due to its extreme difficulty.
- Yoshida’s feedback led to toning down the pure simulation, ensuring the game’s success and accessibility.
- Yoshida’s advice saved Gran Turismo’s fate, preventing it from alienating gamers with excessive realism.
Despite being one of gaming’s longest-standing and highly esteemed franchises, Gran Turismo nearly failed to gain traction at all.
The change in the gameplay design wasn’t due to technical constraints, rather it was gratefully altered by Shuhei Yoshida, a previous PlayStation head honcho.
Yoshida Pushed For Less “Simulation” For Gran Turismo’s Debut Game
During an interview, Yoshida shared that he had a conversation with Kazunori Yamauchi, the head of Polyphony Digital, since he was among the initial players of the game. Yoshida noted that Yamauchi appeared deeply passionate about the “Real Driving Simulator,” but perhaps went too far in making it excessively challenging.
Yoshida shared that it was during the initial phase of the original PlayStation where Kazunori Yamauchi was developing the inaugural Gran Turismo game. As you may recall, the game’s cover boasted it as a “real driving simulator.” Not being a game designer by trade, Yoshida is primarily a producer. During the development process, Yamauchi presented Yoshida with an early prototype of Gran Turismo, making him one of the first to experience it. To be honest, Yamauchi was quite earnest when discussing simulation (with a chuckle).
Following a group of thirty individuals playing the game, Yoshida’s intuition proved accurate. He explained, “The game was incredibly sophisticated, maybe even too much so initially. At first, Kazunori Yamauchi didn’t fully trust my feedback, so he assembled thirty consumers to try the game, some of whom were developers! And as I had anticipated, none of them could get past the first turn due to the extreme difficulty of the gameplay. Yoshida and Yamauchi were in the back of the room when suddenly Yamauchi turned to him, acknowledged my feedback was correct, and then adjusted the pure simulation aspect slightly to create the Gran Turismo we recognize today on PS1.
Previously at PlayStation, the head shared, “To some extent, it feels rewarding to believe I may have contributed to Gran Turismo’s salvation, and perhaps even had a minor role in its triumph (smiles)!
It’s likely that global PlayStation gamers and racing enthusiasts owe a debt of gratitude to Yoshida for his advice in the past, as the success of the franchise might not have been as substantial without it. Although the series is celebrated for its realistic approach to driving, customizing, and enhancing car performance, there can be too much realism, according to Yoshida’s remarks. It appears that Yamauchi designed the game based on these comments, which could have driven away many gamers.
Since his departure from PlayStation in January 2025, Shuhei Yoshida has been open about his views in numerous interviews. Among the things he shared were his dislike of Sony’s emphasis on live services and his skepticism towards Ken Kutaragi’s original vision for the PlayStation.
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2025-05-05 23:38