Gran Turismo Sport Selected for First Ever Olympic Virtual Series

[Rangeraus]

Gran Turismo will be featured in an Olympic competition this year - The Verge

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new series of virtual sporting events that will take place ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, called the Olympic Virtual Series. No, this doesn’t mean that League of Legends just became an Olympic sport — what’s happening is that the IOC is partnering with five international sports federations to host virtual competitions in games featuring their sports.

The Olympic Virtual Series will kick off on May 13th and will run through June 23rd. Here’s the lineup of federations and what games they’ll be hosting events for, as we know it so far:

• Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile will host a Gran Turismo competition

 

[Pigems]

That’s pretty cool. 👍

 

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

Gran Turismo Sport Selected for First Ever Olympic Virtual Series

This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on April 22nd, 2021 in the Esports category.

 

[Famine]

Well, that's quite something.

It looks like it'll just slot into Sport Mode as well. No special hoop jumping like FIA Motorsport Games. I wonder who'll be the first ever Gran Turismo Olympic champion?

 

[lancia delta hf]

The Olympics is dying on its ass, this just reaffirms it for me. Let's go back to basics.

 

[Northstar]

Not gonna lie, if I was Sony I would probably have turned this down after looking at the other games involved.

 

[05XR8]

It'll be interesting what the car choices will be. There were TCR racing in the "real" motoraport olympics. A One Mkae with Megane trophy or I guess a new car introduced to the series. Could be the Z or GR86. We'll soon see.

 

[Raptor013]

An interesting concept. But lets face it, the same guys that race on the World Tour will be selected for this also.

 

[Famine]

An interesting concept. But lets face it, the same guys that race on the World Tour will be selected for this also.

There'll certainly be some crossover, but it depends on how it's organised.

It seems unlikely that the Olympic event will use the exact same regional participation and national restrictions as the FIAGTC; generally a nation is allowed to send a maximum of three qualifying competitors (three individuals or three squads for multiple participation sports) for each Olympic finals event, although it varies a little. Age is also not a disqualifying criterion in the Olympics, although some disciplines (diving, for example) do have cutoffs due to the physical damage inflicted (and increased chances of death in action) on still-growing bodies.

If the OVS uses a similar format, that should mean we see some different names as well as the more familiar ones.

 

[barak181]

Does this mean we get to see Tidgney sing along to the Olympic Theme on his stream now?

 

[Hasnain282]

Does this mean we get to see Tidgney sing along to the Olympic Theme on his stream now?

@Tidgney

 

[eran0004]

I want to see a custom soundtrack for this. Chariots of Fire meets Moon over the Castle.

 

[Rangeraus]

It looks like it'll just slot into Sport Mode as well. No special hoop jumping like FIA Motorsport Games.

The problem I see with that, is that it is not possible to create a PSN account for many countries where there are otherwise a Motorsports and Olympics organisation.

So if it is there is no hoop jumping or leeway allowed for this, then it might preclude a lot of people from entering.

 

[Tricky Vega]

Obviously this is excellent news for the game and for the players. It gives me back à bit of interest to GT Sport.

Will we see a special update with new contents for that event during the forthcoming weeks ?

 

[Lazybike]

Seems strange to me, but hey, who new virtual sailing was a thing! Hope it's a successful event and good luck to all competitors.

 

[barak181]

Seems strange to me, but hey, who new virtual sailing was a thing! Hope it's a successful event and good luck to all competitors.

And virtual cycling and virtual rowing.

 

[Marius789]

What?!?

That is so awesome for PD. I'm glad they were able to get this opportunity. It's great seeing all the hard work they've put into the series and everything around it.

Can't wait to see it in action!

 

[NekoPufferPPP]

Everything's going virtual lately...with good reason.

It's nice to see games included in the Olympics.

 

[Abyss1]

The Olympics is dying on its ass, this just reaffirms it for me. Let's go back to basics.

Most certainly COVID helped bring it out to the barn to get shot. E-sports took off, Twitch exploded, seeing guys like nico rosberg and Lando Norris having sim channels and guys like demsy proton racing are investing in sim competitions.

no way we will get the 80-90s competition Olympics again

 

[Groundfish]

The Olympics is dying on its ass, this just reaffirms it for me. Let's go back to basics.

Yeah.
On one hand it’s great to have more exposure for sim racing in any way possible, but these games are not worthy of the Olympics.
Everything’s in the Olympics now.
I could see virtual hot dog eating getting a gold medal.
Maybe basketweaving too and Tetris. It’s just too much.
They are not sports.
The Olympics are now completely meaningless.
It all started with synchronized swimming, and YES, they had INDIVIDUAL synchronized swimming.
Smh
facepalm
I eagerly await its return lol

 

[polysmut]

Maybe basketweaving too

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_competitions_at_the_Summer_Olympics

Art competitions formed part of the modern Olympic Games during its early years, from 1912 to 1948. The competitions were part of the original intention of the Olympic Movement's founder, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. Medals were awarded for works of art inspired by sport, divided into five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture.

The juried art competitions were abandoned in 1954 because artists were considered to be professionals, while Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs. Since 1956, the Olympic cultural programme has taken their place.

 

[Groundfish]

I’d rather they add Olympic lumberjack



Like I said I’m a huge esports sim fan, I just don’t support it as an Olympic sport.

 

[Auditore]

As far as esport goes motorsport makes the most sense to me,PD must be so proud of this,congrats to them

 

[Abyss1]

Yeah.
On one hand it’s great to have more exposure for sim racing in any way possible, but these games are not worthy of the Olympics.
Everything’s in the Olympics now.
I could see virtual hot dog eating getting a gold medal.
Maybe basketweaving too and Tetris. It’s just too much.
They are not sports.
The Olympics are now completely meaningless.
It all started with synchronized swimming, and YES, they had INDIVIDUAL synchronized swimming.
Smh
facepalm
I eagerly await its return lol

I’ve been skateboarding since 1996 and it’s commonly agreed that it being an event in Tokyo is the dumbest things ever for skateboarding and the Olympics

 

[zeptrans]

Partnership between Gran Turismo and FIA... a big help to enter.

As a GT fan, it's ok. But some PC games are maybe a better choice (Assetto, iRacing or RFactor).

PS: Miyazono, Kokobun, Yamanaka, Mizuno, etc... hey guys, no pressure It's just winning an Olympic medal at home (Japan).

 

[Pigems]

Well, that's quite something.

It looks like it'll just slot into Sport Mode as well. No special hoop jumping like FIA Motorsport Games. I wonder who'll be the first ever Gran Turismo Olympic champion?

I don’t think we will need more than 2 guesses.

 

[fisheye]

I was going to nominate you and a few others here for the GT Sport Olympics.

Yeah.
On one hand it’s great to have more exposure for sim racing in any way possible, but these games are not worthy of the Olympics.
Everything’s in the Olympics now.
I could see virtual hot dog eating getting a gold medal.
Maybe basketweaving too and Tetris. It’s just too much.
They are not sports.
The Olympics are now completely meaningless.
It all started with synchronized swimming, and YES, they had INDIVIDUAL synchronized swimming.
Smh
facepalm
I eagerly await its return lol

 

[Famine]

It all started with synchronized swimming, and YES, they had INDIVIDUAL synchronized swimming.
Smh

It's not as mad as it sounds. They're supposed to synchronise to the music, not to each other (although that helps in the team version, so long as they're not all synchronised to the wrong person). It's water dancing - solo or in teams makes no difference.

 

[NikZer]

It was possible to compete in the Olympics on your TV in the 80s. Both rowing and cycling was included.

 

[Joey D]

I'm really surprised Sony didn't use the MLB The Show engine and reskin it for the Olympics with generic teams and players. I've never actually heard of eBaseball until today and it looks...uh...interesting. Zwift is common enough though and it's a decent platform for adding other athletic events since it supports running too. The equipment can be a little bit pricey though, but it simulates elevation changes, road conditions, and even wind through a fan of sorts. It's pretty cool. As for Virtual Regatta, I've never actually heard of that before but apparently, there's a big online sailing community that I didn't know existed either. The more you know.

Also, in addition to what the article mentioned about motorsports being unofficially in the 1900 games, Water Motorsports or Power Boating was in the 1908 games which I find pretty wild.