Your Gran Turismo Journey...

[Doomotron]

So tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the GT series so I think it would be a good idea to to see people's GT series journeys. Here's mine:

Spoiler: My Gran Turismo Journey

Part 1 - My Friends PS3:
A few years ago, I had a friend. I went round his house a lot and the game we played the most was Gran Turismo 5. It was the first GT I played. I enjoyed racing him down SSR7 in the Mclaren MP4-12C and I think he went in an Audi Quattro. I won.

Part 2 - My First PlayStation:
In 2014, I found a used PS2, which I bought. Later on I bought Gran Turismo 4 for it. This was the first GT I owned. At that time I wasn't a car guy and didn't know much about Cars. I had affectionately called my favourite car at the time the Pennzoil One (the Pennzoil Nismo Skyline that had the number 1 on it's side). I struggled at the career mode but by using the Costa Di Amalfi money grind trick, I ended up owning lots of cars and had 25% completion. However, I was given another copy of GT4 for my birthday at some point and to test it, I decided to start the game with it. However, this corrupted the file as when I loaded it later with the original disc, the camera was constantly panning upwards, so I couldn't drive. In fact, my first thread on here was about this glitch. It was badly named, as 'GT4's Deadly Secret' or something like that. I then made a new save and have so far gotten 75% completion.

Part 3 - My Next PlayStation:
Later in 2014, after getting my PS2, I got a PS3. I hit games like LittleBigPlanet and also some GTs. They were Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and GT6. I had wanted 5 but the person who got the PS3 for me couldn't get GT5. I hated GT6 (as some of you will know) and I made a controversial rant thread on it. Eventually, I got GT5 and much preferred it. I also liked GT5P but it never came close to GT5. I loved that game. However, after completing it I never found much replay value in it and therefore decided to update and play GT6... And I liked it. However, it was a car collecting game for me so eventually I got bored. Therefore, this year, I started a new GT5 game.

Part 4 - The Mastery Of Gran Turismo 3:
At some time in 2015 I played GT3 on my cousin's PS2. He had a save file that was almost complete. I enjoyed the game (especially Super Speedway) and decided to buy it. As with GT4, I struggled at first, so I decided to copy my cousin's save game (yes, I has permission). Suddenly I owned most of the cars on the game and it was my favourite GT. I used to do 50-lap endurance races with my father in Arcade Mode all the time around Super Speedway. I always took the Viper GTSR and I think he took the Calsonic Skyline. Super Speedway is probably my favourite track of all time and it should be added to GTS immediately. Anyway, long before I had GT3 or even played it, I had a PS2 demo disc. It had a late trailer for GT3 on it and I would watch it over and over again. In that trailer (as I knew not much about cars), I thought the C5R was actually a Lister Storm!

Part 5 - Gran Turismo 1, 2 and Concept:
Sometime after getting GT3 I got the first two GTs as collectors' items. I never played them much because I found them so hard. Around the same time I also got Concept. I used to play a ton of this but I have never completed it because I cannot get gold times in the licence tests.

Part 6 - The 1000HP Cars:
In Gran Turismo 4 I always used to make my cars have the most power possible. This created the 1000HP cars. My favourite is the Toyota 88CV.

However, I revived the idea in GT6 and every new race car I got was max-tuned. And yes, I know that power doesn't always equal speed, but oh well.

Part 7 - The Future:
This Christmas I am getting GT Sport. I hope to enjoy it as much as previous games. I also plan to get the Install Disc for GTHDC as a collector's item. I hope to enjoy that as well. Anyway, Gran Turismo is one of my favourite game franchises ever, along with Need For Speed, Saints Row and LittleBigPlanet. And I found it because of a friend. Thank you.

The end.

Thread rules:
- This thread is for your journey in the GT series, not just GT1, as this post has previously implied. This post has now been fixed to say that this thread is for the whole series. However, you may still talk about GT1. When I wrote Gran Turismo in the OP, I meant it as a series. My fault, sorry.
- If you reply here and it's a wall of text, please put it in a spoiler so people can scroll through quicker.

 

[Potato_Head]

I remember waiting all weekend for a copy of GT1 to become available for rent at the local Blockbuster. The lucky few who had rented the few copies that were available kept them all weekend long. On Monday, before School, Blockbuster phoned to say a copy was finally available. Biked down early and rented it immediately. I haven't left the house or stopped playing since.

 

[danthespam]

I started out playing at my friends house at lunchtime and after school, one day he put this new game into his Playstation (I only had a Sega Saturn at this point). I don't think he got to play much over the coming hours. I soon had a Playstation and bought GT1 immediately and it still sits proudly on my shelf alongside every other GT Title. Every GT release since I've pre-ordered. Gran Turismo is the sole reason I continually choose Playstation over any other console, buying wheels and seats over guitars or dancemats. I'd love to know the hours I've put in in total. I may not be the fastest but I'd be right up there with the most experienced GT drivers...

 

[stevenhiggster]

Oaft I can't remember I'm that old lol.
Played the first one a little but never got that into it.
Played the second one a lot got well into it.
Played the 3rd one a lot too.
Didn't play the 4th as I was well into my drinking beer and chasing ladies phase of life.
Got a PS3 and played prologue and GT5 to death. Never really bothered with 6 though, did buy it just didn't really play much.
GTsport I'm pretty much an addict. Despite all its flaws I'm having more fun with it than any other racing sim/game in many moons.

 

[jpine324]

I remember on GT1 back when you could upgrade parts on your car. The mitsu gt3000 could be upgraded to over 1000hp. I couldn't drive the thing but thought it was the coolest I had a car with over 1k hp. That was fun. I have played all since except for prolog. But GT5 is where I really got my driving down. Now I am huge fan of GTS. Loving online racing- there are some a-holes out there but for the most part I am really enjoying the adrenaline of racing with someone, just gets my heart racing when your closing in on final laps and someone is closing in on you. I usually mess up, but that feeling of beating someone to the line is just incredible.

I wish I could afford a real race car. Looking into getting back into Kart racing.

 

[skydragon49]

That memory lane goes far far away...

I remember the1st time I saw GT1. It was in my uncle’s house. What stroke me most was the replay mode. - “you can check your performance after you race, son” said my uncle. Another thing I do remember is that I didn’t know any of those cars in game. I was a teenager and I could name every car in the streets of my town (I live in Brazil), but those Japanese cars were something new entirely.

Later I was given a PSone and I got a GT2 disc. Actually, discs! Oh boy! What a thrill! Arcade mode in one disc and career mode in another. Right now while I write this, I can listen to the menu BGM. So many hours playing that career mode, visiting every corner of the “city menu” and checking cars in the dealerships. I still remember playing the endurance races over and over. Mainly the 2hrs in Rome. I was so much into that game, that I don’t remember any other game I had for my PSone. I guess it was just GT2 100% of the time.

Then I got in my 20’s. Started to work and spend more time with girls. Lol I skipped GT3. (Not on purpose, just lost it). Few years later I bought (with my very own money) a PS2 and (of course) a copy of GT4. Moon over the castle, Panama, my beloved Honda S2000, costa di amalfi, my Opel Astra, the JGTC cars, the licenses I never got to gold, the rally events I never finished, the “super” secret black cars, the hours I played all of that after I left work and before I would go to college. And then when I got back from it late night. What a good time!!!

A few more years got past, I got married and I got a PS3. First games I bought? F1 2010 and GT5. I played GT5 a lot as usual. I remind I hit a wall when I tried the Vettel Challenges. Oh boy, those were hard. I put the game aside after that. I stuck with the F1 games from Codies. Even NFS Shift got more from my time than GT5. I “finished” NFS Shift twice. Something about GT5 wasn’t right. It didn’t spark the same exciment like GT4.

I bought GT6. Same thing happened. Bought it, played it, 100% it, put it aside. No excitment. No thrill. No endurance races. Few nice Seasonal Events. I do remember thought, spending days trying to beat Senna’s time in Brand Hatch with the Lotus. That thing felt like impossible for many days untill I managed.

GT Sport time. Not gonna lie. I was afraid of the new path the series were heading to. Gotta say that after the first online win my hands were shaking and my heart was pumping hard. It is cool again. GT is cool again, I’m playing GTS and GTS only. No other game right now in my PS4. The feeling of getting better and better and keep pushing and pushing every day to be a more proeficient driver is nice. It is different from my beloved GT2 and GT4 indeed. But it is a nice game. Gotta say that GTS format does fit well into my life. I’m married with a kid. A job. Don’t have many hours to spend with video games. With GTS I can get a daily dose of that old exciment with GT mode. If I don’t, I just boot my PS2 and my GT4.

 

[jpine324]

That memory lane goes far far away...

I remember the1st time I saw GT1. It was in my uncle’s house. What stroke me most was the replay mode. - “you can check your performance after you race, son” said mu uncle. Another thing I do remember is that I didn’t know any of those cars in game. I was a teenager and I could name every car in the streets of my town (I live in Brazil), but those Japanese cars were something new entirely.

Later I was given a PSone and I got a GT2 disc. Actually, discs! Oh boy! What a thrill! Arcade mode in one disc and carrer mode in another. Right now while I write this, I can listen to the menu BGM. So many hours playing that career mode, visiting every corner of the “city menu” and checking cars in the dealerships. I still remember playing the endurance races over and over. Mainly the 2hrs in Rome. I was so much into that game, that I don’t remember any other game I had for my PSone. I guess it was just GT2 100% of the time.

Then I got in my 20’s. Started to work and spend more time with girls. Lol I skipped GT3. (Not on purpose, just lost it). Few years later I bought (with my very own money) a PS2 and (of course) a copy of GT4. Moon over the castle, Panama, my beloved Honda S2000, costa di amalfi, opel astra, the JGTC cars, the licenses I never got to gold, the rally events I never finished, the “super” secret black cars, the hours I played all of that after work and before college. And then when I got back from it late night. What a good time!!!

A few more years got past, I got married and I got a PS3. First games I bought? F1 2010 and GT5. I played GT5 a lot as usual. I remind I hit a wall when I tried the Vettel Challenges. Oh boy, those were hard. I put the game aside after that. I stuck with the F1 games from Codies. Even NFS Shift got more from my time than GT5. I “finished” NFS Shift twice. Something about GT5 wasn’t right. It didn’t spark the same exciment like GT4.

I bought GT6. Same thing happened. Bought it, played it, 100% it, put it aside. No excitment. No thrill. I do remember thought, spending days trying to beat Senna’s time in Brand Hatch with the Lotus. That thing felt like impossible for many days untill I managed.

GT Sport time. Not gonna lie. I was afraid of the new path the series were heading to. Gotta say that after the first online win my hands were shaking and my heart was pumping hard. It is cool again. GT is cool again, I’m playing GTS and GTS only. No other game right now in my PS4. The feeling of getting better and better and keep pushing and pushing every day to be a more proeficient driver is nice. It is different from my beloved GT2 and GT4 indeed. But it is a nice game. Gotta say that GTS format does fit well into my life. I’m married with a kid. A job. Don’t have many hours to spend with video games. With GTS I can get a daily dose of that old exciment with GT mode.

I love that about GTsport... the hands shaking, the heart racing... the EXCITEMENT of really racing. I can remember when I was 13 racing karts... the exact same feelings chasing someone down, pushing them into making a mistake and bam.... overtake!!! The best feeling

 

[zzz_pt]

Short version:

I was 12 when GT (1) took me in.

Moved (house) 6 times. Graduated in a different city. Took a masters degree. Worked in a few different places doing completely different things. Moved to Germany for 2 and a half years. Had a 9 year relationship.

Still here, playing GT Sport. As long as there's a GT game I'll be around, I guess.

 

[Sven Jurgens]

GT1 First time I saw it was in club Mazzo in Amsterdam. There were a couple playstations hooked up to tvs in the lounge area behind the dance floor. It made enough of an impression on us to get the game and play it after clubbing.

GT2 More of the same goodness, mostly played in split screen after a night out.

GT3 I had settled down by then and got into the campaign mode. It was great until I got so frustrated with the drone AI I got the disc out of the ps2 and threw it on the floor, where it shattered. That was the end of that.

GT4 Settled down a bit more, this was the first GT I completed and where I fell in love with the Nordschleife.

GT5 My most played GT so far (GTS is looking to surpass that if it keeps its promises). I actually completed the campaign twice as my ps3 had ylod and I lost all progress on the encrypted hdd. The second time went a lot faster anyway and luckily I had not done the endurance ones yet. I was not crazy enough to do the 24h endurance ones, 5 hours is about my limit. However the 4hr Nurb 24h only felt like 30 minutes.
After the campaign I got addicted to the online for almost a year, mostly doing laps on the Nordschleife. I had a good group of regulars, fast clean drivers in LeMans cars. GT5 had a great selection of tracks, and with all the different racing disciplines it never got old. Karts on the Nurb! Weekly challenges, procedural rally stages, user created tracks. Best GT for content!

GT6 Loved the campaign, first time I got the platinum trophy for a GT game thanks to making the driving school a bit more humanly possible. I didn't very much into the online this time. GT6 split the online user base and I lost contact with my regulars. Finding good regular lobbies with fair hosts that enforce clean driving and actually organize races takes a lot of time. Also some features from GT5 never made it to GT6. It was still great and in some ways better, but didn't have the same lasting appeal.

GTS No more need to find lobbies! Jump in and play and get a mostly clean experience is SR.S. I'll be playing this for a long time! It's a shame day/night cycle and weather have been scrapped (for now) and the track selection is still quite limited. Finally getting to drive the nurb in sport mode last Sunday was a dream come through. 20 cars on track all day long and mostly clean. The amount of time it took to get even one well populated somewhat even race on the nurb in GT5 was maybe once or twice a month...

 

[Racin-Rev]

First know that I am 71 years old. I didn't even own a Playstation until my son introduced me to GT soon after it's release. I had been racing games on Nintendo until then. I bought my first playstation the next week and haven't looked back.

Followed GT with GT2, and when GT3 was about to be released I purchased a PS2 and continued with GT4. Also really enjoyed Dirt to Daytona on that system

Again as GT5 was to be released I purchased a PS3 just for that game. First began playing online and trading with other GTers. Purchased a used G27 for cheap (got really lucky on Ebay). Continued my journey with GT6

When GTS was development was announced I began looking at PS4. Just before Project Cars came out I purchased a PS4 and sold my G27 to purchase a Thrustmaster T300 and upgraded the pedals. Drove PCars and PCars2 until GTS landed.

Been a member for a long time. Can't remember when I joined, but it has been well worth it both in terms of and Gran Truism

 

[Doomotron]

Guys, this thread doesn't just have to be about how we found GT1, as some posts suggest. This thread can also be used for our journey through the entire series (like in my case)!

 

[Rinsky]

In early 1998 I got married at the age of 27 my best friend got me a PS1 and GT1 for my wedding gift. I still remember to this day it being the coolest game I'd ever played. Hooked.

For the next 10 years or more I have bought every new PS system and GT2 GT3 GT4 up until GT 5 Prologue

I skipped Prologue and GT5 as life gets in the way and other games became a priority.

I bought a new PS4 the day it was released in the hopes that GT6 would be released on both systems because a lot of companies were releasing the same game on both systems. Well it didn't happen so I sold the PS4 bought another PS3 and a used copy of GT5 and a new copy of GT6

I still play GT6 to this day as I think it's the best GT of them all.
Two days ago I just bought another PS4 and GTS so I'm still playing GT 20 years later.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Maybe I'll get round to typing a more extensive personal history of Gran Turismo but for now..

These are notes I made in 1999 on Hybriding. I don't even recall how I got into it in the first place, but the internet was a very different place back then, and the only guides I'd managed to find to Hybriding didn't seem to work with the UK PAL version of the game... so many, many hours later, I'd made a list of Hex codes myself...

Skip forward about 15 years... no hybriding, just hotlapping!

It was all about the lap data!...

Now... skip forward a bit more...

... and it's all about the SVG's!

 

[CastrolNSXJGTCJ]

One of the demo discs that came out in '97. Played it so much I learned to use gas/brake on right joystick and use manual shift before game was released. If I remember, it only had an NSX, Split-window Corvette, and a Subaru in race modification on Clubman Rt. 5. Had all of the other games except GT6... my gen 1 PS3 fizzed out and adulthood kept me from getting another. Managed to get GTS though, but I'm gearing up for a copy of PC2 from my kids for Christmas (they are bad with secrets).

 

[hznbrq]

GT1 when I was 10 or so years old. My dad played it a lot with me, trying to beat each other in the driving school and racing 1 on 1. That's how I came to love it. We had so many good races on those memory cards - all gone now. I've completed every campaign of every game since. Never did online racing before this one. Never got all gold trophies before this one, but came close in 4 and 5. I think that 4 was my favorite.

 

[foxtrotonfire]

I basically grew up with Gran Turismo. I've played all the main GT games and GT4 Prologue. My brother introduced me to the game back when I was 5, played GT1 and 2 on his PS1.

4 years later, he bought a PS2. And with it came GT3 and 4. I had the best time of my life playing GT4, which is why IMO the best game of the series. Sadly, the PS2 died just a year later.

In 2009, I bought a PSP. Played GTPSP, it wasn't good but the idea of having a mini GT4 in my pocket wasn't that bad either.

Bought a PS3 in 2013 just to play GT5 and 6.

So here I am, playing Sport today. Thanks to Kaz and PD for the fond memories. Here's to another great 20 years of Gran Turismo.