Gran Turismo Sport

Gran Turismo Sport is a racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced during the 2015 Paris Games Week and is the thirteenth game overall in the Gran Turismo series and the first game to be released for the PlayStation 4. It was launched worldwide on October 17th, 2017.
A notable aspect being that it was supported by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). As such, they sanctioned the multiplayer events in-game.
It can also be played on the PlayStation 5 by way of backwards compatibility.Gran Turismo Sport Confirmed as PlayStation 5 Compatible Title GTPlanet.net. Published 2020-10-19. Accessed 2020-10-19.
Its online services ended on January 31, 2024, with all DLCs delisted on December 1, 2023.Gran Turismo Sport End of Online Services - gran-turismo.com
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==Gameplay==
Gran Turismo Sport includes three prominent game modes: "Sport Mode" , "Arcade Mode" ,and "Campaign Mode". Online racing was heavily featured in the game. It has been described as being different from the "Prologue" titles released in the past and features more content. Unlike Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6, the game does not feature a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle. However, players still have the option to modify the race's time of day before entering a race. For the first time in the series, the game featured Porsche vehicles, after Electronic Arts had lost their exclusive licensing rights to the Porsche brand (previous Gran Turismo games included RUF as a substitute).
===PlayStation VR Support===
Gran Turismo Sport was originally announced to be fully compatible with Sony's virtual reality headset, PlayStation VR. The experience while playing was described by series creator Kazunori Yamauchi as "very good and very natural". However, it was announced later that VR support would be limited to special VR Tour, VR One-on-One, and VR Time Attack modes.
===TAG Heuer Partnership===
Polyphony Digital and TAG Heuer had announced a partnership for the game. TAG Heuer serves as the timekeeper and watch brand for Gran Turismo Sport, where its "Live Timing Technology" is utilized to measure all in-game time. Additionally, TAG Heuer is integrated into the "museum" section of Gran Turismo Sport, showcasing the history of the Swiss watch maker.
The partnership expired in early 2020, with TAG Heuer branding and the museum being removed from most areas of the game, except for Livery Editor decals and trackside sponsorships.TAG Heuer Branding Disappears From Gran Turismo Sport - GTPlanet
==FIA and Gran Turismo Involvement==
With support and certification of the FIA, the central aspect of the game was the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships (later becoming the Gran Turismo World Series), consisting of two championships held simultaneously throughout the year: the Nations Cup, where players represent their country, and the Manufacturers Series, where players represent their favorite car manufacturer. The FIA managed the series directly as they would with any of their other race series. The winners of the championships were honored at the FIA's annual prize-giving ceremony in Paris, France.
Both championships featured "live" components similar to the regional finals held in GT Academy. Dubbed as the Gran Turismo World Tour, they were streamed in-game on the Gran Turismo LIVE feature as well on Gran Turismo's YouTube channel and PlayStation's Twitch channel. Organized online events were held on a regular basis within the game's Sport Mode, which also featured daily online races that were not part of any official FIA championships, as well as third-party championships such as the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup (formerly the GR Supra GT Cup).
In 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the live World Tour events were replaced with online special events; these races are played in advance with competitors being forbidden from disclosing the outcome of the race until it has been aired, and then aired on a tape delay basis. The championship events were held from 2018 to 2021, with a transitional "Road to GT7 Series" online championship held in February 2022 serving as a farewell event before the release of the sequel.
==Campaign Mode==
Campaign Mode is the main single player mode, replacing Simulation Mode. It is divided into four categories, with a fifth being a paid DLC:
*GT League
*Driving School
*Mission Challenge
*Circuit Experience
*Lewis Hamilton Time Trial Challenge (paid DLC)
==Arcade Mode==
Arcade Mode is the second single player mode available. It is divided into six categories:
*Single Race
*Time Trial
*Drift Trial
*Custom Race
*2 Player Battle
*VR Tour
==Circuits==
There are currently 82 (as of update v1.56) circuits in Gran Turismo Sport. 27 are real-world circuits, 23 are original courses, 6 are city circuits, set on sections of the Tokyo Expressway, and 3 are rally courses.
==Cars==
Compared to previous titles, Gran Turismo Sport features less vehicles than previous entries. However, unlike in Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 where only select models had detailed interiors, most vehicles are now fully detailed. There are currently 338 (as of update v1.66) cars in GT Sport.
==Development==
Polyphony Digital expected Gran Turismo Sport to have largely improved gameplay elements due to the enhanced processing power of the PlayStation 4. The game is the first in the Gran Turismo series to support the PlayStation VR. A beta was scheduled to take place in the first and second quarter of 2016 before a full release on the 15th of November, but Sony later announced that the beta had been cancelled so as to prevent the game from being delayed to 2017. On the 30th of August, 2016, it was announced that the game will be delayed to 2017 to further polish the game.
Despite the cancellation of the beta in 2016, a closed beta was confirmed for the 17th of March, 2017 for selected users in the United States and Europe to experience the game's features prior to its release.
==Companion App==
The GT Sport Companion App is a smartphone app for the game, where players can link their PSN accounts, providing status updates, and view other posts. Players can also add liveries, replays, and in-game photos to their gallery through the app.
==Updates==
There have been thirty content updates for Gran Turismo Sport, released near-monthly since November 2017. However, the update frequency were reduced from 2020 onwards, culminating with the addition of the GR86 for the final content update. For the full list and details, see the link above.
== End of Service ==
When its online service was still available, the game requires the player to be connected to the PlayStation Network to use most features. (Initially, only Arcade Mode was available without a server connection; an early update allowed access to certain menus, such as Scapes, without an internet connection; however, saving still requires a connection to the server.)
With the game's end of online service on January 31, 2024, the ability to save progress without server connection was added. The following caveats apply:
* On the bottom of the main menu, a notice about the game's end of online services replaces server-dependent updates (news, activity feed, etc). 
* All single player modes (Driving School, Mission Challenges, Circuit Experience, and GT League), Brand Central, and Scapes are available offline, without reliance on online service. (It is unknown if cars purchased from the PlayStation Store can still be redeemed.)
** However, if the player does not download the Scapes Content Pack before the DLC delisting date, access to certain Scapes are permanently lost.
** Museum content is also no longer available from the main menu or Brand Central. Official website links are still functional, however.
* All multiplayer (Open Lobby and Sport Mode) and social (Discover) features are no longer available. As such, trophies relating to these modes can no longer be obtained, and Manufacturers Series contracts can no longer be signed.
* Achievements that reward the player Mileage Points are no longer available.
* Daily Workout is no longer available. Prize Cars from Driving School, Mission Challenge, and Circuit Experience are still available, however.
* Birthday Cars are still available,GTPlanet post proving it is still possible to receive birthday cars in GT Sport provided the player does not delete their save data.
* Mileage Points can still be earned and spent on tuning cars; however Mileage Exchange is no longer available. As a result, the Safety Cars (except the Nissan GT-R Safety Car, as it is obtained from Driving School) and Gr.3/Gr.B Road Cars are no longer available for purchase.
* The Livery Editor is no longer available, as livery and decal data is stored on the server. All cars that have custom liveries, including in replays (except GT League opponent replays) are reverted to their default state. For cars that have custom tire stickers, racing numbers and/or windshield banners, they are left unchanged.
** This may relate to the fact that if the game fails to load a livery in Scapes as a result of a failure to server connection, the game would load the car's default visual state.
** Any liveries that were not publicly published before the server's shutdown (including for cars that were not carried over to GT7) are considered lost, as liveries must be publicly shared for it to be imported to GT7.
==Trivia==
*This is the second mainline title in the series to use a subtitle in its name. The first being Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, although said game features a numbered entry besides the subtitle.
**The difference being that GT Sport lacked a numbered entry in its place, making it the only mainline title in the series to purely have a subtitle with no numbered entry.
*Racing driver Kamui Kobayashi was part of the team that provides technical assistance during development.
*The inclusion of Porsche was announced on the 11th of April, 2017. Following the expiration of Electronic Arts' exclusive licensing, Sport marked the first official appearance of Porsche in a Gran Turismo title.
**Noticeably however, RUF, the brand's stand-in in previous games during the exclusivity period, was absent until the CTR3 was added in version 1.50.
*Lotus was planned to appear, with the Lotus Evora '09 being made playable during the Closed Beta, and the Lotus Elise '11 being playable on certain showcase builds. However, the brand was removed from the final game owing to licensing disagreements.
*Internally, the game is referred to as "GT7SP"; the string can be found in URLs pertaining to the game's social functions and within internal game data, suggesting that GT Sport was developed as a precursor to the eventual Gran Turismo 7.
*This is the first game since Gran Turismo 4 to not include rally tracks on snowy surfaces.
**Despite this, Snow Tires are still included in the game.
*This is the third game in the series to not feature a Used Car Dealership, following Gran Turismo 3: A-spec and Gran Turismo 6.
*Motorcycle racing commentator Tom Brooks (who also commentates on the Gran Turismo World Tour events) provides narration for the in-game videos.
**In the Japanese version, narrations are provided by Houko KuwashimaHouko Kuwashima announcement tweet: Narrating Gran Turismo Sport (Japanese) (also took part in Gran Turismo PSP and Gran Turismo 5) and Rie TakahashiRie Takahashi announcement tweet: Narrating Gran Turismo Sport (Japanese).
*The game has a menu option in the settings to hide the PS Store icon and only present the in-game credits when purchasing cars in Brand Central. Due to update 1.69, the PS Store icon is no longer needed so only the in-game currency option is visible.
*In addition to the typical standard and deluxe edition pre-orders, PlayStation Taiwan offered one of the most unique bundles in gaming (if not the series') history called the Super Bundle, which includes a copy of the game along with a PlayStation 4 Pro console, a PlayStation VR set, a twelve-month PlayStation Plus subscription, a 65-inch Sony Bravia television, a Thrustmaster T-GT steering wheel and APIGA AP1 chair, and an actual Mazda MX-5 in a special Gran Turismo-themed paint scheme.Got a Spare $46,300 Lying Around? The GT Sport Super Bundle Could Be Yours - GTPlanet Only one unit of the bundle was provided, reportedly purchased by a local car collector.£35,000 Gran Turismo Sport Bundle Includes Real Miata, 4K TV - Motor1.com
**A replica of the livery given in the bundle was shown in the news item announcing the 1.18 update.
==Videos==
File:Gran Turismo Sport - Opening Trailer
==Notes==
==External links==
* ONLINE MANUAL - GRAN TURISMO SPORT - gran-turismo.com
es:Gran Turismo Sport
Category:PlayStation 4 games
Category:2010s games
Category:Games
Category:Gran Turismo Sport