Gran Turismo 4 came out on PS2 in 2004. Back then there was no iPhone, free-to-play online Flash games were in their infancy and paying £50 for a new console release was perfectly reasonable.
Fast forward to 2007. Nope, scrap that. 2009? No. Try again.
Fast forward some more to 2010. Gran Turismo 5 finally launches tomorrow for PS3 with an RRP of £49.99. But in an industry where the 59p Angry Birds sells over 6.5m units and wins the affections of none other than the British Prime Minister David Cameron [and Gazza], are big console triple-A’s still as relevant?
[Psssst – the answer is yes]
“I didn't know until I saw it,” Sony UK boss Ray Maguire told Eurogamer. “Like you I was thinking, well, the world has moved on a little bit, social gaming has emerged, people are accepting smaller, bite-sized bits of gaming at very low value. Then I saw it, I saw the detail of it, and it does take your breath away. You go, 'Oh my God, now I understand it’.
“We have to understand that the gaming landscape has changed and recognise that, but at the end of the day, I want it all. I don't just want Angry Birds and Doodle Jump, I want Gran Turismo as well.
“Consumers will decide what they want to entertain themselves with at a certain point in time. Some of it will be a deep experience, some of it will be a very casual experience, but they'll all fit together in a wider universe.”
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