Welcome to the most advanced racing game ever created. Encounter exhilarating high-speed racing in 11 stunning environments. Feel handling agility and throttle response so convincing, the car seems to be an extension of yourself. Experience the extraordinary world of Gran Turismo!

Discussion
If there was ever a game offered too much, it is Gran Turismo...but that's a good thing. Polyphony's landmark series brought simulation racing to new heights, perhaps raising the bar a little too far. While GT and GT2 both remain amazingly fun (and painstakingly annoying with the licenses), the series has lost a lot of its flair.

The PlayStation 2, 3's demo (I do not care what it's called, Prologue is a demo), and PSP versions have all drained the actual game aspect from the series. Director Kazunori Yamauchi seems to have lost his focus and instead has driven the realistic aspect too far. Newer games are no longer fun - they have literally become simulators. A Game is supposed to have at least some sort of entertainment quality to it that can not be experienced in real life, that's what makes it a game.

Sadly, especially with the dismal reviews of the PSP version, it seems the trend will continue. If you're frustrated with the drabness of the new ones, check out the PlayStation originals. They're the two best simulation games on the deck.

• Two variants, see below.
   
• There was a long standing rumor / myth that the reason for the covered car on the front of the manual was to avoid having to pay additional royalties or to avoid conflicts between manufacturers. The first 3 Gran Turismo games all feature 'obscured' views of their cover cars.
   
• The 2nd manual is actually a reference book for all car types, tracks, and driving skills featured in the game. Both books are full color.
   
• Gran Turismo requires you to essentially take 3 different Driver's Education courses to earn the required licenses needed to race in simulation mode.
   
• The creator of the game started off with Motor Toon Gran Prix.
   
• If you hang back at the starting line, you can watch all of the A.I. controlled cars line up in single file like a Nascar race.
   
• The development team did another game on PlayStation - Omega Boost. A pretty sweet rails shooter similar to Panzer Dragoon but with a robot mech. Apparently they feel that this and Tourist Trophy (a PS2 bike racing game) aren't worthy because they don't appear in their sales listing on the official site!

What's eluded me all these years was the middle-man of the group - the black text version of the standard release. Thanks to a watchful reader, Game Rave can now present a complete picture of the original Gran Turismo.

Essentially the variant is a code fix - a change dramatic enough to need new cheat device codes hacked for it. Both variants have the same internal date: June 17, 1998. The original release had one of April 15, 1998. Meaning Sony and Polyphony must have caught something too late to prevent the first run from printing.

Between the black label versions, the only difference visually is the text on the CD.

With the Greatest Hits, besides the obvious changes, the GH version also adds the Vibration Icon, and removes the Dual Shock & Analog combined logo to simply the Analog Icon.  

Gran Turismo "Black Text Variant" (Version 1.1) - SLUS Date of June 17, 1998

Gran Turismo "Greatest Hits" (Version 1.1) - SLUS Date of June 17, 1998