Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec - On This Day

Today marks the 21st anniversary of the launch of Gran Turismo 3 on the European market. It was the first Gran Turismo for the then-new PlayStation 2 console and one of those games that made that console buy. The jump in terms of the presentation was huge and I remember at that time in the halftime of the Champions League games there was an advertisement in which the driver would stop in the middle of the race and listen to the birds singing.

The third Gran Turismo was initially developed as Gran Turismo 2000, but when the developers realized they would not be able to complete the game that round year, they renamed it Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. It was the first Gran Turismo to have its accompanying steering wheel with a seat - Logitech's GT Force.

The game, like the previous part, was divided into simulation and arcade modes. It raced on a total of 19 tracks, mostly fictional, but there were also licensed ones like Laguna Seca and the track in Monaco. For the first time in the series, Formula 1 cars could be raced. There were six models, but they were not licensed, with players in the European version of the game receiving only two models.

The offer of cars was supplemented by well-known manufacturers Lamborghini and Porsche, but again - not in the European version of the game. In terms of fleet, the Gran Turismo 3 had significantly fewer cars than its predecessor. From 650 vehicles in the GT2 we dropped to 180 in the GT3. However, the vehicles in the trio were more graphically refined and statistically more detailed, so the players did not complain too much.

Moreover, no one objected, and Gran Turismo 3 with 14.89 million copies sold then became the best-selling part of its series, but later that result was surpassed. Some will say that his 2004 sequel was even better, but by then we were already used to his graphics. When Gran Turismo 3 appeared, it was a significant leap over the presentation from the first PlayStation, and it is for this reason that this part has remained in the fondest memories of many.

Unfortunately, the game remained exclusive to the PlayStation 2, and there were no subsequent ports to other platforms or emulation of the same via the PlayStation 4, as was the case with some other hits from the PS2 console era.