It's no secret that Gran Turismo 5 looks good. Like, REALLY good. Like "I can't tell if this is a video game or an actual race" good. But did you know, exactly, how good it looks? In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine (via CVG), Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi reveals that "The level of precision we've achieved [in GT5] is actually more suited to the next generation of machines." Also, referring to the game's vehicles, "The detail that goes into a premium model [has] gone beyond the level of the current PlayStation," says Yamauchi. You heard right…Gran Turismo 5 uses technology that HASN'T EVEN BEEN INVENTED YET. In one way, it's easy to look at these statements as yet more hyperbole from Sony, much like how PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi found criticism in the past for his wild statements about the capabilities of his consoles. But in this case, it's hard to see where Yamauchi is wrong. GT5's animations are so fluid and the details on each vehicle and even tracks are so lifelike and real, it appears to truly be the first game to come close to the breaking point where virtual reality and reality are blurred.
The detail will also extend to the game's real-time vehicle damage. According to the OPM article, vehicles will crumpled and bent realistically to "an absurd degree" with the game's newer vehicles all but disintegrating when they crash. Again, this is more of the incredible attention to detail that Polyphony is known for. Gran Turismo 4, despite being a PS2 game, still featured life-like graphics that looked in ways better than close competitor Forza Motorsport on the more powerful Xbox. It seems that Gran Turism 5 will set a new standard when it releases on November 2. Then again, what's most frightening about this statement is that if Polyphony Digital can pull off PS4 level detail on the PS3, just imagine what they could do with an ACTUAL PS4.
