Shane
In 1997 a racing simulation game released that changed the path of what we gamers expect our tarmac ripping gameplay to be.
Gran Turismo.
The physics accurate simulator also cemented the original PlayStation as a serious gaming console that showcased it’s actual capabilities.
It was a game that no one thought possible to run on a 32BIT console and no other games at the time could compare.
Fast forward to now and we have had many iterations of Gran Turismo over the evolution of PlayStation consoles.
Gran Turismo also set in place competitive gaming, before the likes of eSports. Gaining the fastest lap times, coming first on the hardest of hard real world courses.
But what if the game, simulator was to become real world?
Well, it actually did.
Nissan was trying to find a way to get people to buy cars. Their PR guy, Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) pitched the idea of pitting the best Gran Turismo players against each other on a real world track.
Initially a PR stunt, one simulator racer whose compulsion for Gran Turismo proved he was as good as in a digital world as he can be in the real world.
After a gruelling training camp where members of the chosen Gran Turismo players were weeded out one by one, Jan Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) gets himself to the top, by milliseconds and goes on to compete in the real world of motor racing at tracks such as Le Mans and more.
As Gran Turismo, the game, features the tracks meticulously and accurately detailed, he already knew the roads before him.
Trained by a former racer, Jack Salter (David Harbour) who is initially skeptical, Jack soon becomes his only ally in the real world of motor sports.
Gran Turismo the film is well paced and loaded with petrol fuelled adrenaline moments as Jan’s transition from playing Gran Turismo in his rig at home transcends on to the real tarmac against seasoned and dirty playing real world drivers.
Gran Turismo was created by Kazunori Yamauchi who wanted to build an exact like for like simulation game featuring real-world tracks and real world sports cars.
He achieved exactly that, the simulation game of Gran Turismo is so accurate that it was able to train Jan to the point where he could step out of his racing rig and in to the drivers seat of Nissan Nismo Racing.
An excellent film and even more, an excellent story – that did actually happen.
Year: 2023
Rating: M Offensive Language
Running Time: 134 MIN
Genre: Action
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, Djimon Hounsou
Production Studio: Columbia Pictures, PlayStation Productions, 2.0 Entertainment, Trigger Street Productions
Distributor: Columbia Pictures