Polyphony Digital to Reveal Speedboat Simulator at E3?

Andrew Evans · · 86 Comments

mercedes-cigarette-vision-gt-boat-1

As rumours increase of Polyphony Digital showing something big at E3 this summer, gamers could be in for a big surprise as it seems that the studio might be set to reveal a racing sim set in the world of offshore powerboat racing.

Pushing this twist to GTPlanet’s attention are comments attributed to Vasso Pindarilo of powerboating’s governing body UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique). He suggested to Monegasque newspaper Blague Évident that members of the Polyphony Digital team had been industriously photographing the machinery at the Class 1 event in Terracina in October.

Rumoured to have been initially developed under the working title “Gran Turismo for Buoys”, the new game is supposedly to be released as “Coupe d’Or”, presumably named for one of the oldest events in powerboat racing.

Improbable as it may seem, this title might not come as much of a surprise to Gran Turismo gamers at all. After meeting with critical success when it turned its hand to two-wheel racing, Polyphony’s will to digitise more forms of racing is self-evident. The Vision GT program for GT6 has already given birth to a speedboat in 2014, something that seemed rather implausible at the time.

route_x_fukuoka_hakata_1Long-term Gran Turismo players will note that a great many of the series’ original circuits host large bodies of water – notably High Speed Ring and Grand Valley – with many of the recent additions and upgrades following suit. The PD team reportedly spent hundreds of hours to achieve faithful water effects at Special Stage Route X under the direction of their new fluid dynamics expert Shiga Tsubaka, setting the groundwork for the realistic behaviour of the boats as they cut through the water – or even skim the surface – at high speeds.

Few in the gaming community will have been anticipating this development, but with E3 fast approaching it stands to be one of the most interesting shows in years.

Comments (86)

  1. IceKoldKilla

    I would of believed the joke if you said Tourist Trophy 2! That would have been so much better for an April Fools joke:)

  5. MXHyland

    I actually sort of would want this. Shame it was an April Fools day joke, a rather good one too – almost got me shouting ”Just give me TT2 first, you bastards!”.

    :b

  6. austint30

    Awesone! I hope this isn’t an April fools because there is so little speedboat games. All we have is the classic Hydro Thunder, Hydro Thunder: Hurricane, and Driver: Speedboat Paradise. I would love to have a freaking speedboat simulator!!!

    If this actually is a cruel April Fools joke then I will be angry and I might flip the bird at Sony.

  12. jacnob

    I know its an April Fool’s Day joke, but this sounds like an interesting idea to me. I would try it for sure!

  19. drag lab 101

    Yeah but will they have that awesome HOOVER/Kirby sound that there asphalt driven/ppl driven counterpart does???

    Its a good laugh even if it’s not a joke, like PD doesn’t already have enough trouble on solid ground.

    1. drag lab 101

      Nevermind the 50 bass-cat models, 75 skeeter duplicates + another 50 Ranger models backed up by 75 identical Procraft!

    1. Famine

      Many of GT’s circuits have large bodies of water – Grand Valley, High Speed Ring, SSRX, Sierra and even the new Midfield. Sierra and SSRX look to have slipways that could be accessible if barriers weren’t there – imagine the potential for a motorised triathlon! Pull your boat to the slipway with a RAM, complete the boat course, then hop onto a Tourist Trophy bike…

    2. Progress823

      Famine, here is the scenario:

      1. Have my VGT Cigarette Boat towed behind my Silverado SST, completing a lap of SSR X and going down to the boat launch after the start/finish line.

      2. Get in the the VGT Cigarette and complete a circuit of the water course.

      3. Hope on my GSX-R or Hayabusa and take the route to SSR 7 to complete a lap. Done lol.

      Totally on board with this (no pun intended)!!!

    3. Hayden

      I’d never even thought of it before but I would play the hell out of a motorised triathlon. Famine’s brilliance never ceases to amaze me!

  29. dixonbaps

    LOL, I can imagine Kaz doing the annual round the world yacht race now in the new NISSAN GT-R Long Hull 9000 water-skipper. Ahoy Translator-San. rofl.

  30. GTP_CargoRatt

    Great news, I love boats, I can’t wait.

    Nice try Famine, but you’re going to have to do better than that, lol.

  31. The Chosen One

    Considering the state of PD, this could’ve been posted at any time of the year and people will still believe it.

  35. Kurei

    I know it’s April fool’s, but considering the state of PD/GT6 atm, this is more pathetic than humorous.

  41. mister dog

    I think ‘course maker released’ would gave been a better April fools joke.
    Imagine all the punters loading up their PS3’s in excitement mwuhahahaa

  46. JKgo

    ……Nope. Not falling for it. Nooooope.
    Unless PDI is going to include fishing “coffee breaks”…..then I’m sold!! Take my money!!

  48. Fat Tyre

    “rumours increase of Polyphony Digital showing something big at E3 this summer” that already gave it away :)

  51. Speedster911

    A speedboat simulator?

    Oh wow… this is exciting news!

    I wonder if PD ever plans to resurrect Tourist Trophy in the process.

  53. Kovu

    The sad part is – Aprils fools day or not – I wouldn’t be surprised if Polyphony would be doing this instead of finally releasing the course maker :P

  58. jezboosted

    I was falling for it hook, line and sinker until ” The PD team reportedly spent hundreds of hours to achieve faithful water effects at Special Stage Route X” bahahahaha.
    Nice one Famine.

  61. ildd

    Well, it would certainly be cool to have a moon Rover, speed boat(s), somewhat endless cars, and maybe even moto gp bikes in the same game…

  63. blackjack

    I was expecting something like “GT7 for PS4 is completely finished and will be coming out next week” or even “Final update for GT6 is out next week”. It’s probably a bit more far fetched than this boat simulator though. Happy April fools everyone.

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