Gran Turismo is a racing game developed by Polys Entertainment, an internal Sony Computer Entertainment group that became Polyphony Digital in April 1998. It was released for the PlayStation in Japan on 23 December 1997, and in Europe and North America in May 1998. Shuhei Yoshida, then head of Japan Studio, produced it.
Director Kazunori Yamauchi worked on the game for five years, starting in the second half of 1992, with a reported budget of US$5 million. Much of the team came from Motor Toon Grand Prix and reused parts of its engine, including the physics model. Hardware limits kept them from reaching their goal of 12 cars per race.
In Japan the game sold over a million copies in its first month and was the best-selling title of the 1997 holiday season. By February 2000 Guinness recognized it as the best-selling driving simulator, with 7 million units.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Gran Turismo | PlayStation | May 12, 1998 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| JP | グランツーリスモ | PlayStation | Dec 23, 1997 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| EU | Gran Turismo | PlayStation | May 8, 1998 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
Also known as: グランツーリスモ JP2GT JP2GT1 JP2グランツ JP2
Box art by region
NA Gran Turismo 
EU Gran Turismo 
JP グランツーリスモ
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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AudioPS1 (NA)PS1 (EU)
The Western versions replace all of the Japanese background music with licensed songs by artists such as Garbage, Manic Street Preachers, Ash and Cubanate; Feeder appears only in the PAL version and TMF only in NTSC.1
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ContentPS1 (NA)PS1 (EU)
Two 1992 Honda NSX cars from the Japanese version were removed, the NSX GT1 Turbo became the NSX LM GT2, and Chrysler cars were relabeled as Dodge; in North America the NSX and Integra carry the Acura badge.2
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TextPS1 (EU)PS1 (JP)
Simulation Mode is called "Gran Turismo Mode" in the PAL and Japanese versions.1
Reception
Gran Turismo scored 96 on Metacritic and sold 10.85 million copies by April 2008 (2.55 million in Japan, 4.3 million in Europe and 3.99 million in North America), making it the best-selling PlayStation game.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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