As far as understanding developer Polyphony Digital's ambitions for Gran Turismo and its PlayStation 4 outing GT Sport goes, there's only one thing you need to know: players will be able to earn a digital license that's recognised by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) and is valid at real motorsport venues in 22 countries. In other words, you take your tests in game, drive a race car in real life.

That might sound a little crazy, maybe even a little dangerous, but let's not forget that airline pilots train for the real thing in simulators, at least in part—and they end up responsible for more than their own lives at the end of it. Perhaps this license was always the ambition for a series that has forever styled itself as "the real driving simulator." It's simply taken 19 years for the world to catch up and take that ambition seriously.

The problem is, the vast majority of Gran Turismo fans are, well, gamers. And at this point, they've little to be excited about. Far in advance of mentioning the FIA license scheme, Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi—on stage at an event in London—hurriedly glossed over single-player content in order to dedicate as much time as possible to explain the inclusion of tournaments aimed at professional-grade players drivers. Exactly what these tests will look like, how they're officially validated, and just how many doors a passing grade will open remain a mystery, however.

What we do know is that two championships are to be held, both officially recognised by the FIA, which will determine which Gran Turismo drivers are the best worldwide. There's a Manufacturer's Cup where fans of particular car brands go up against one another, while the Nation's Cup is a competition between countries. In both competitions a number of early rounds are used to whittle the numbers down until each country or car manufacturer has found its sole representative, at which point the winners will all battle it out to find an overall winner.

If you've got the skills not to embarrass yourself on lap one of race one, then good luck. Mere mortals, however, are unlikely to get anything at all out of the concept.























































Elsewhere, daily races are available at specific start times, with results and racing etiquette recorded after each finish. If you do well enough you can qualify for one of the weekly races that occurs on weekends, which sounds like a nice idea so long as you have the free time available to dedicate to it.

In fact, it all sounds like a great idea. The license, the top-tier tournaments, the focus on quality driving, the events that require good results and good behaviour... it's all incredibly exciting and should foster an environment in which professionalism and dedication to improvement take centre stage. However, it's only exciting if constant and unyielding competition against other human players is what you want from a racing game.

Gran Turismo, like many of its genre peers, has built a reputation on not just offering this tip of the racing pyramid, but by embracing much of what car culture has to offer. With so much of Yamauchi's focus on the competitive e-sports angle, it's hard to believe that the same care and attention has been ploughed into other aspects of the game—and it shows.

Yes, there's a photo mode that allows you to take shots of your favourite cars and yes, there's a livery editor with which you can design your own paint jobs—but this is clearly a game with a singular focus.

That's not always a bad thing, but GT Sport belongs to one of longest-running console racing franchises in existence and as such has a legion of fans who are as diverse as they are expectant. Those fans have different reasons for adoring these games, and not all of them are smitten with the idea of competing at the highest level online.

Single player competition still exists, but it's not easy to see where improvements have been made. Collision detection is still distinctly arcade in its implementation, with crunching high-speed contact with walls and other cars very often resulting in little more than a slight reduction in speed. Having said that, work does seem to have gone into the differences between terrain types since 2013's Gran Turismo 6, with a single tyre off the track and onto the dirt at high speed making the car almost impossible to handle.

Artificial intelligence, though, remains awful as cars follow each other like train carriages around the track. It's understandable that something as complex as AI performance might not be a main concern given the wider focus on competitive gaming, but that thinking isn't going to appease those Gran Turismo fans who have, for numerous games, enjoyed the single-player progression, and have come to expect consistent advancement from game to game.

Past Gran Turismo titles have underperformed when it comes to online options, with the competition—see Forza 5, Project Cars—having taken a drastic lead in this area. In many ways GT Sport is simply an exercise in making up for lost time and market share.

With no Gran Turismo in sight after this one, there's little hope that fans of single player will get the update they deserve either. After all, this is a mainstream series locked into a mainstream platform, with mainstream fans making up the majority of its audience. How many of those fans, for instance, would seriously contemplate investing in the racing wheel necessary to perform at the highest level?

As an offshoot of a legendary racing series, and a path towards real-world competition, there's a lot to like about GT Sport. I, on the other hand, am left wondering where my favourite racing game has gone.

GT Sport is due for release exclusively on PlayStation 4 on November 15 in the US and Japan. The UK and Europe have to wait just a tiny bit longer until November 18.