Gran Turismo series surpasses 50 million sold

Shipments of the Gran Turismo series of car racing games edged past the 50 million unit mark at the end of April, Sony said Friday.

The feat places Gran Turismo as the ninth best-selling franchise of all time, ahead of Donkey Kong's 48 million but behind Zelda's 52 million, Grand Theft Auto's 70 million, and Mario's 200 million (Wikipedia).

Gran Turismo was first launched in December 1997 for the original PlayStation console and has been through six incarnations since then. The seventh game in the series, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PlayStation 3, was launched in December 2007.

The game differentiates itself from the myriad of other racing games available for the PlayStation with its realistic simulation of driving a racing car. Sony takes care to ensure that even features such as the engine noise is realistic to the car being driven, and winning is much more complex than hitting the accelerator and beating the other cars.

This attention to detail seems to have caught on with gamers, who made the first version a hit with sales of 10.8 million copies. The second version went on to sell 9.4 million copies and the third version, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, became the best selling in the series with sales of 14.8 million copies. The latest version has so far seen sales, which for this title include downloads, of 2.2 million copies.

Despite the success there have been some hiccups along the way, usually in the form of delays.

The new Gran Turismo titles for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable have both seen their launch dates pushed back. Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3 won't be out for at least another year, Sony said in March this year, while Gran Turismo 4 for the PSP isn't due out until 2009.

Comments [45]

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gregdnr

best in game graphic i have seen in any driving game ever on any system.. and the most fun driving game to ply ever

Gue1

most boring racer? what a joke! go. continue your play on all those "fast & the furious" wannabes cuz GT is all about realism!!!

gregdnr

The biggest All Formats No1 ever Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar/Take 2 puts a stop to Nintendos Wii Fit workout, replacing it at the top and outselling it by over 9 to 1.

Gamekarma

mstrmrdr82 Posted at: 05/09/08 at 8:28 AM PST gran turismo is the most boring racer i ever played~!!!!!
yeah me too, i go for PGR and Froza

gregdnr

Gran Turismo stays in All Formats driving seat Sonys Gran Turismo 5: Prologue races to a second week at No1 in the All Formats Chart despite a 40% drop in sales. This week Sonys title accounts for 39% of all PS3 sales, but only 28% of all PS3 software revenue

BLackdragon201

mstrmrdr82 Posted at: 05/09/08 at 8:28 AM PST gran turismo is the most boring racer i ever played~!!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Depends on what you are looking for. I personally don't see the appeal with the burnout series. "To each his own" I guess.

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