I'm 26.
In all honesty I don't remember the specifics, but I know I played GT1 either when it came out or within a few months of that date, I'm guessing back in 1998??? Wow, so long ago now.
From the very first time I saw that intro movie I knew I was watching something special, something that quite simply had not been achieved on a home console before. I knew I liked racing games since playing Virtua Racing, then Sega Rally. Yep, I was a Sega kid and it took me a while to get into PlayStation, WipeOut 2097 was the game that made me take the leap, and GT was the one that sealed the deal. I knew I wanted real racing, real driving, over more arcadey exploits, and GT delivered as best it could on that hardware, likewise evolving with GT3 and 4, however those games for whatever reason I never really played as much as they deserved.
I'm still not a car nut in the way that plenty others around here are, but I still appreciate them very much and GT brings a unique passion for cars which no other game comes anywhere close to. I appreciate how good Forza can be but it feels very much like a GT clone, done simply to make sure the Xbox brand 'has a GT'. Kazunori Yamauchi's passion takes the series beyond anything else, and with GT5 it seems to be taking a quantum leap beyond what many of us thought would happen with this series, a leap towards ever more realism. I for one welcome it and can't wait to enjoy this game. I know it will be the first GT game I take truly seriously, and know for a fact my PS3 will almost exclusively be spinning this disc and only this disc for the next year or two at least! I'm looking forward to improving my driving skills immensely, improving my car history and mechanical knowledge and just enjoying the thrill of driving these beautiful cars around some of the world's best tracks (I take that last bit back if Spa isn't in the game however
![Tongue :P :P](/wp-content/themes/gtp16/images/smilies/tongue.svg?v=3)
).
GT5 is going to reclaim driving for those who care about their racing games, long live Yamauchi-san
![Smile :) :)](/wp-content/themes/gtp16/images/smilies/smile.svg?v=3)