Gran Turismo Evolution

By Richard Leadbetter Published 30 November, 2010

A video journey from GT1 to GT5.

In last week's Gran Turismo 5 tech analysis, Digital Foundry delved into its gaming archive and compared the new game to sections of gameplay from GT4. This got us thinking. Could we trace a tech lineage through all major versions of the game released to date, right from the franchise's beginnings in 1997?

The video below is the end product of our experiment. We've got the same five courses and the same five cars, running in GT titles from PlayStation, PSP, PlayStation 2 and PS3, and the comparison is quite extraordinary. It's a bit of a shame that replay angles were not standardised earlier, as the jump from PS1 to the other platforms can be rather jarring, but rest assured, these are the same corners on the same tracks - an evolution of both Polyphony Digital's development prowess and indeed the raw hardware power of the PlayStation consoles.

Five tracks, five cars... This is 13 years of Gran Turismo, spanning four hardware platforms.

Putting the video together was an interesting exercise. First up, having reviewed video samples, we decided to omit footage of Gran Turismo 2 and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. The PS1 title couldn't help us as there was no way to turn off HUD information in the replays - a shame as this potentially could have opened up many more cars and tracks for comparison. GT3 got cut because its content limitations were such that getting a match in cars and tracks across all hardware platforms became effectively impossible, plus there was no progressive scan for a high-quality image (PS3's backwards compatibility runs both GT1 and GT2 non-interlaced). Getting a match car-wise across all games was problematic already as we deliberately limited ourselves only to the premium cars in GT5.

The loss of both games wasn't a major nightmare, because a clear pattern emerges with Polyphony's work. The first game on a new platform establishes the tech and provides a decent amount of content. The sequel then adds masses of new tracks, cars and game modes - but crucially the tech remains much the same. For the purposes of this video, dropping these games still illustrated the technological progression from console to console - and arguably in a more concise manner.

Our first test video was promising, but showed a yawning chasm in the quality between GT1/2 and its PS2 sequels, illustrating just how much of a leap the new hardware was in the hands of Polyphony Digital. As a bridging point between PS1 and PS2, we added in the developer's PSP effort, which worked rather well - while the hugely delayed handheld title launched after GT4, the platform's technological limitations made it a good fit to sit in between our GT1 and GT4 footage.

The original Gran Turismo was a landmark title, but it's clear from replaying the game just how constrained Polyphony Digital must have felt in putting it together. The low-res visuals and 30FPS frame-rate harm the purity of the simulation which springs to life in the jump to 60FPS. You can tell where the developer was heading with the inclusion of the 60FPS HiFi mode within the original game - stripped down to its core, but a clear leap in controller response.

With the PlayStation 2, Polyphony found the computational horsepower to match its vision and the game took on a new dimension in terms of visual fidelity and the pure sense of "feeling" the car through the controls.

Replaying the PSP title (ad nauseum in order to access the correct dealerships and cars to match our existing footage) brings home what a missed opportunity that game was. Cut-down visuals and resolution, sure, but the simulation feels just as good as it did on PS2 - what a shame there was no GT Mode included, making it feel like more of a time trial/car collection mega demo rather than a fully rounded game. It could've been one of the greatest handheld games of all time. As you can see from the video, even the 480x272 native resolution still scales up to HD phenomenally well.

Deciding on the source format of the video project itself was a puzzle. Clearly 1080p was the obvious choice bearing in mind GT5's support for the resolution, and we used the PS3 itself to capture GT1 at this resolution too. The PSP version was captured natively at 480p via component, while GT4's 480p mode was utilised, the video upscaled on the fly during capture by our TrueHD hardware.

As we went into the edit suite, we had 1080p60 assets for all titles. The replay focus of the video ensured we only required a 30FPS at the top-end resolution (disappointingly, GT5's replays run at 30Hz only), but adjusting the project to run on 30FPS assets would have been the wrong move: the GT4 and PSP footage really suffered, bereft of 50 per cent of its temporal resolution. So to see the video at its best, we're preparing a selection of downloads for offline viewing.

Updated: Quality-based high bandwidth encodes are now available for download. Recommended for PC/360 and PS3 is the 720p60 version (209MB), or alternatively this 1080p30 version (280MB). Got a fast PC or PlayStation 3? Get the best of both worlds with this 1080p60 encode (399MB). Overkill? Sure, but it's the best way to ensure that each game's charms are fairly represented.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (46) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • RodHull #1 2 years ago

    Very interesting video, and it works wonders to demonstrate Polyphony's grasp of polygons and graphical wizadry but please let this be the last GT5 article. As good a game it is there's plenty of other material for EG to chomp on (more articles like the musical score one would be most welcome).

  • tossetaz #2 2 years ago

    Nice video! Quite the jump in visual fidelity in this HD generation.

  • PixelPirate #3 2 years ago

    The jump between console versions (especially to the PS3) is quite startling.

    Its easy to forget how much better the PS3 graphics are now compared to the PS2, the mind has a way of making you think it looked better than it actually did.

  • StooMonster #4 2 years ago

    Very well put together video.

    Like this pieces from DF, like the night-day cycles. :)

  • Beano #5 2 years ago

    Great video - I can also recommend playing GT2 on PSP :)

  • Nexus_6 #6 2 years ago

    PS1 original still looks beautiful there.

    Although when I played it recently through scart leads on my PS2 on a 42" LCD, it wasn't quite so nice.

  • menschenfracht #7 2 years ago

    but please let this be the last GT5 article
    I guess what was said in the analysis article earlier this week is true - audience DOES prefer to bury videogames immediately after launch...

  • gnrlstuart #8 2 years ago

    beautiful video guys, you really nailed the sense of progression from console to console.
    while it's sad gt5 and gt psp where so delayed, its amazing to see how far we've come in 13 years, and considering a new genereation is on the horizon, im amazed at what they'll do next, and when ;).

  • Beek4257 #9 2 years ago

    What Nexus 6 said.
    Still an amazing achievement!

  • Kaminari #10 2 years ago

    Isn't it a bit strange that, for a technically oriented website, you entirely missed 480i support in GT1 and 1080i support in GT4?

  • wizlon #11 2 years ago

    Imagine if someone showed you footage of GT5 back when GT1 was released, your head would melt!

    I do kind of wish the environments were a tiny bit more detailed in GT5 though.

  • Classique #12 2 years ago

    "OMG GT5 LOOKS BETTER THAN GT1"

    Great. You've wasted your time, Foundry.

  • Harlequeen #13 2 years ago

    I feel like I'm in a minority here. I'm most impressed by the PS1.

  • DoctorFouad #14 2 years ago

    polyphony digital : a legendary developer !

    Gran Turismo 5 : th best racing game ever created !

  • o_ci2007 #15 2 years ago

    All I want to know is how they ended up deciding that on the "best driving sim" lets have someone play an arcade game for 100hrs first they we introduce proper damage and Ai. Actually I think the damage at level 20+ is an urban myth. Anyone who is higher than level 40 may you please post a video showing proper damage, cause I havent seen any yet. All I hear is people saying and no one actually showing it.

  • Negotiator #16 2 years ago

    Got the game on release, was some what disappointed with it, but it has started to grow on me. It lacks the wow factor of some driving games but the core driving is as good as anything out there, its just all very sterile, and a bit of bore.

  • Psiloc #17 2 years ago

    Video messed up for anyone else?

  • intpleeus #18 2 years ago

    During the Trial Mountain stage (with the Nissan Skyline), check out the geometry around the edge of the tunnel. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, it hasn't changed since the original Playstation. Actually, the exact same four flat edges appear to represent the curve of the tunnel on all four platforms. I suppose it demonstrates Polyphony Digital's priorities: the cars. The polygon budget for Gran Turismo 5 is obviously far greater than it was for Gran Turismo 2, but parts of returning courses haven't changed since the early days. That said, the cars do look beautiful. Between Gran Turismo 5 and The Lost Guardian, I may just have to find the money to purchase a Playstation 3!

  • Skandalle #19 2 years ago

    I remember watching the replays on PS2 in amazement at how realistic it looked.....now it stings my retinas!

  • jtodroc #20 2 years ago

    I'm actually fairly impressed with what they achieved with GT4 on the PS2 as before I got a PS3, the last GT game I owned was GT2.

  • Jellyman2 #21 2 years ago

    I'm just wondering what the framerate was for GT2? Did PD manage to use the full 60fps for all tracks and not just the HiFi mode of GT1?
    Also people saying they remembered it looking better than in the video, it probably did. GT1 + 2 were designed to be, or at least were played through analogue output on a non digital TV so the edges of things would have blurred a bit, means the jaggies wouldn't have looked "quite" as bad as they do here. Although I am still impressed with the power of PS1 everytime I play GT or Wipeout3 on it.

  • Arwin #22 2 years ago

    Nicely done! Though the absolute graphical highlights are a little bit absent though from these videos - stuff like the lighting effects, the sun and such, or the beautiful rally races, or the evolution of the cities, or shots of the most outrageous cars. Much of the charm of this game is definitely in some of the stuff you don't see in every title. GT3's evening lit Seattle track, the light effects in Trial Mountain through the trees, Cote d'Azur (Monaco), the crazy yet plain but above all incredibly realistic looking Complex String, or GT4's beautiful Citta di Aria, Sears, or the Grand Canyon rally track, or the Ring, all fantastic stuff. And GT5's racing the Gullwing on the Ring in the rain, or the incredible Eiger K Trial rally, or the day and night cycle version of Le Mans, Ring, Tuscany et al, or the amazing snow rally (also in GT4), etc.

    Did I mention I love this game? Level 20 in GT5 now, did more Special Events than A-Spec so far, and a tip: B-Spec wins you some interesting and useful cars early on - with Level 5 you can get yourself a Furai Concept, which can hang with the LM Big ones and is therefore the most cost effective car to do that with.

  • intpleeus #23 2 years ago

    I thought Gran Turismo 4 on the Playstation 2 held up fairly well in the video. Obviously there is a generational leap between it and Gran Turismo 5, but GT4 is still rather pretty when compared against contemporaries that have aged far worse. I remember gawping at the replays on Gran Turismo 3.

  • hulkamania78 #24 2 years ago

    Been on hols in Australia really wanted the game came back yesterday bought it and after ten mins realised. GT4 was better and went and swapped for NFS HP. Best gaming decision in ages. Gutted its so stiff and like GT4. Looks like 5 years wasted on better graphics and that is it. Forza is better and the supposedly better graphics etc was pure spin from polyphony. Burnout was my game and knew I should of gone with my.gut on this. Each to there own but it needs an overhaul for GT6. Good video though.

  • Arwin #25 2 years ago

    @hulk: after 10 minutes eh? Well, you can always buy it again later ... When you do, make sure to spend more than 10 minutes in the Special Events section, as almost all of those are awesome and worth getting the game for all by themselves.

  • Vverdenfell #26 2 years ago

    It´s because of stuff like this I _LOVE_ Eurogamer and Digital Foundry. Thumbs up!

    And some say GT5 has poor graphics? *rolleyes*

  • MJHaylett #27 2 years ago

    Nice Video :D The games all looked good for their time and platform.

  • Miths #28 2 years ago

    This nicely illustrates just how ridiculously exaggerated it is when some people throw out a comment like "it looks like a PS2/last gen game!".
    And I'm not just specifically talking about GT5 here, it's certainly a comment I've heard about a bunch of games on both PS3 and 360, and it's been equally ridiculous in most cases.

    Sometimes those rose-colored glasses are just a tad too rosy - or people just like to exaggerate to stupid proportions.

  • pyquila #29 2 years ago

    For me the sad part is that after all these years we are still driving the same tracks with mostly the same cars.

    For me GT5 hasn't been the leap forward i was hoping for. Still have to compete in a Lupo cup, many modern cars are missing, online is lacking.

    Great vid tho =)

  • intpleeus #30 2 years ago

    @Miths

    While I largely agree with you, many of the assets in Gran Turismo 5 have been directly imported from previous iterations. As I noted in a comment above, the geometry on parts of Trial Mountain has not changed since Gran Turismo 2, and screenshots are circulating of some truly ugly looking vehicles (see Digital Foundry's recent articles for some examples). While the lighting model and post-processing have improved the general image quality, Polyphony Digital appears to have been highly selective in which assets (courses and cars) have received a fundamental visual upgrade. Don't get me wrong, I love the Gran Turismo series and want a Playstation 3 for it, but Polyphony's latest release is disconcertingly inconsistent in its graphics compared to its previous output.

  • Miths #31 2 years ago

    @intpleeus

    I've spent a slew of hours with GT5 since last week and I fully agree with you that it's far from the graphical master piece that many were hoping and expecting it to be (I wasn't really one of them, based on the Prologue graphics I was already of the opinion that there are better looking console racing games around, if not a match for the premium cars in GT5, then certainly with much better looking environment graphics).

    As I pointed out though, my comment was also more generally aimed at exaggerated comparisons to last gen graphics, because even in cases where you have muddy textures and low polygon models, things like screen resolution, lighting/shadows and assorted other details are almost always bound to make even a visually underwhelming PS3/360 game look decidedly better than anything on previous generations (from a technical standpoint, obviously not necessarily in terms of artistic style).

  • SuperBas #32 2 years ago

    Holy shit PS3 games look better than PS1? Amazing!

  • photoboy #33 2 years ago

    Ahhh, good old GT1 on the PS1. I remember being so excited to play it I imported the Japanese version and it took me ages to work out that the first licence test wanted me to stop ON the chequered area, rather than blast through it... ;)

    I've got GT1 on my jailbroken iPad now, and it still plays beautifully!

  • monkfishjoe #34 2 years ago

    God GT5 is pretty, isn't it!

    THis is a genuine comment by the way!

  • funkateer #35 2 years ago

    Great video!
    Interesting to see how consistent the franchise looks across the different platforms.

  • 43n1m4 #36 2 years ago

    Seeing GT1 again brought back a lot of memories. Nice. As this is replay footage, however, this is the best case scenario for the engine(s).

  • anss123 #37 2 years ago

    @Kaminari: The PAL version of GT4 didn't have the 1080i mode, or 480p for that matter.

  • jaegermc #38 2 years ago

    Fantastic vid - made me wonder how many of GT1's cars have reappeared in every game since.

    Great stuff.

  • jamhead #39 2 years ago

    So - will the next few rounds of hardware (and software) be able to sustain the upward trend, or have we reached the point of diminishing returns?

    /hopes it is the former

  • Pikol #40 2 years ago

    Ok ps3 tracks = updates ps2 tracks. with some exceptions. Still fun though.

  • nasanu #41 2 years ago

    "Holy shit PS3 games look better than PS1? Amazing!"

    People display their stupidity on the internet? Amazing!

  • ToAks #42 2 years ago

    great video, thanks richard.

  • carlosdfn #43 2 years ago

    Nice video. I'm constantly saying that people never stop to appreciate how much videogames have evolved, maybe it's because I've been gaming since the commodore 64 era, but unlike most people I don't take it for granted. I used to dream about stuff like this when I was a kid, it seemed so surreal to think that one day games could look like this.

  • The_Pope #44 2 years ago

    Three comments spring to mind:

    1. Nice idea, and well executed, however:

    2. Driving games almost universally look great via Replay Mode, however this doesn't often translate to Actual Gameplay because they're not showing the game from camera angles we use to play with. I question whether the leap in fidelity is as dramatic from BumperCam

    3. Either way, rather than run clips back to back, did you consider blending the footage from one console to the next during the same replay? ie instead of repeating the same 10 seconds each time, take a single timed lap and dissolve from one clip to the next as we drive around? Even split-screen should be possible if you're feeling adventurous :)

  • tjlazr #45 1 year ago

    Having not played the game since the original ps1 the jump to gt5 was a pretty big shock. I love the look of the original, there really is a chunky charm to the old system's graphics...gt5 looks so clinical in comparison. It's amazing that the ps2 version still holds up well against today's standards, great work.

  • Kestana #46 1 year ago

    I love the Tom's Castrol Supra! Loved it back in GT1 and still love it in GT5. Thank god it's a premium car in GT5!

    Some prefer the "R" versions of the Skyline GT-R (i.e. Pennzoil Nismo GT-R), but I'm more of a Supra fan.