01.29.99
If you have had the opportunity to play the original Gran Turismo, chances are you were impressed with the number of cars and the license exams. GI was certainly impressed too, after all, Game Informer crowned it the best racing game of 1998. Well, it's no secret that Sony has been working on a sequel, Gran Turismo 2 (GT2), lead by the original's creator, Kazunori Yamauchi.

Finally, some more concrete information has emerged concerning the anticipated sequel. Unfortunately, those of us at GI cannot take credit for it. Instead, I must acknowledge the hard-working staffs of Edge magazine and IGN PSX (hi Doug) as I cheerfully "borrow" their information for our own purposes. In GT2, there will be approximately 400 cars, now including many American and European cars. Dodge Caravan anyone? There will also be the addition of off-road racing to increase variety, along with twice as many tracks in locations like Seattle, Rome, and Tahiti. Not to mention the fact that GT2 will be Pocket Station compatible. Also, GI would like to hazard a guess and predict that GT2 will include a crash test that Yamauchi alluded to in the June 1998 issue of Game Informer.

Sounds exciting doesn't it? Well, Sony thinks so too and has already begun plans to market the heck out of the game in Japan, Europe, and the U.S. No final release date has been set, but you can bet GT2 will come out this year and will be a huge focus of Sony's at this year's Tokyo Game Show and the E3 in Los Angeles.