GT5s place in the modern market

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.”