Today GTPlanet is launching a new video series where we take a look at some of the cars in Gran Turismo 7 and compare them to the real thing in the real world — using the game’s virtual reality capabilities.
In the biggest update to GT7 in its life since launch, Polyphony Digital added full game support for the new PlayStation VR2 hardware in February 2023. Unlike the limited mode in Gran Turismo Sport, this allows players to experience the entire game, from dealership to track, in virtual reality.
As we commented in our review at the time, it’s a truly transformative experience and — while not without some flaws — is a feature lauded by even the game’s most ardent of detractors.
Our own experience of GT7 with PlayStation VR2 got us thinking: just how close is the VR2 experience in the game to the real thing? We have, after all, had some time driving more than a few of the cars in the game!
Handily, we have a good working relationship with many car manufacturers through their press offices, and a few were just as curious about the real vs. virtual comparison as we were.
First on the list was, of course, Mazda. The brand has some pretty close ties with Gran Turismo, as a brand partner of the Gran Turismo World Series. Its Vision Gran Turismo car had the unique privilege of being part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed central display — alongside the legendary 787B — back in 2015.
The current generation Mazda 3 hatchback was introduced to the game in an update in March 2023. It just so happened that Mazda UK had a model in an almost identical specification added to its press fleet in August 2023, which it was happy to loan to us for the first video in the series.
That gave us the opportunity to poke around the car as much as we could in VR Tour in the game, and see how its details compare to the real thing. Spoiler alert: it’s phenomenally close, as you’ll see in the video!
We’ve got more cars lined up for future videos in the series, so hopefully you’ll enjoy this one and look forward to the next — planned for late November.
See more articles on Gaming vs Reality and PlayStation VR.
