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Polyphony Digital

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Polyphony Digital Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorPolys Entertainment
FoundedApril 2, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-04-02)
FounderKazunori Yamauchi
HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
Key people
Kazunori Yamauchi (president)
ProductsGran Turismo series
Number of employees
~300[1] (February 2022)
ParentPlayStation Studios
Websitewww.polyphony.co.jp

Polyphony Digital Inc. is an internal Japanese first-party video game development studio for PlayStation Studios. Originally a development group within Sony Computer Entertainment's Japan Studio known as Polys Entertainment,[2][3] after the success of Gran Turismo in Japan, they were granted greater autonomy, reestablished as an individual company and renamed themselves Polyphony Digital. It currently has four studios: two studios in Japan, one studio in the Netherlands, and another one in the United States.

Company overview

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The studio is best known for the Gran Turismo racing game series. Led by Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo became the most successful racing series for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. The Gran Turismo series is designed to be a realistic driving simulator, offering realistic driving physics. In 2006, Polyphony released Tourist Trophy, in an attempt to bring the realism of Gran Turismo to motorcycle racing.

Games developed

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As Polys Entertainment

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Game Title Release Date Platform
Motor Toon Grand Prix December 16, 1994 PlayStation
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 May 24, 1996
Gran Turismo December 23, 1997

As Polyphony Digital

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Game Title Release Date Platform
Omega Boost April 22, 1999 PlayStation
Gran Turismo 2 December 11, 1999
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec April 28, 2001 PlayStation 2
Gran Turismo Concept January 1, 2002
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue December 4, 2003
Gran Turismo 4 December 28, 2004
Tourist Trophy February 2, 2006
Gran Turismo HD Concept December 24, 2006 PlayStation 3
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue December 13, 2007
Gran Turismo (PSP) October 1, 2009 PlayStation Portable
Gran Turismo 5 November 24, 2010 PlayStation 3
Gran Turismo 6 December 6, 2013
Gran Turismo Sport October 17, 2017 PlayStation 4
Gran Turismo 7 March 4, 2022 PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5[4][5][6]

Other projects

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Polyphony Digital has also been involved in real life automotive projects. They have developed special versions of their Gran Turismo games for many car manufacturers as demonstrators for their cars. Nissan also commissioned them to design a special body kit for their 350Z coupe, which first appeared in 'GT Concept: 2002 Tokyo – Geneva' as the "Nissan 350Z Gran Turismo Aero", later becoming the "Fairlady Z NISMO S-Tune Concept by GRAN TURISMO" in GT4. There was also a faster 'Z-Tune' version with minor styling revisions and 400PS. The S-Tune was later sold in real life by NISMO (NISSAN MOTORSPORT) as a tuning package for existing owners.

In 2007, they were contracted to design the multifunction display on the new Nissan GT-R,[7] which displays performance information such as G-forces, acceleration opening, brake pedal pressure, steering angle, an "optimal gearshift map," to emphasize economical vehicle operation.

When Nissan was looking for a company to develop the GT-R's user-friendly 'multi-function meter', the carmaker says Polyphony was the obvious choice because of the simple menu systems applied to video games such as Gran Turismo. "If you think about the GT-R's multi-function meter with the g-force information and everything else, we wanted it to be very easy to read, very easy to use," says Nissan's global vice president of communications, Simon Sproule. "It's really about the logic of how video games work and their menu systems – which anyone can use – and then applying it to the car."[8]

Seiichi Ikiuo from Polyphony Digital encoded and decoded the movies for various SCEI games, such as The Legend of Dragoon, Everybody's Golf 2 and the Japanese versions of Roll Away and the original Crash Bandicoot games for the PS1.[9]

Recognition

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In 2012, IGN placed Polyphony Digital at number 24 on their list of the 50 greatest developers of all time.[10] In the March 2015 issue of GamesTM magazine, the company was number 34 on their list of the "50 Best Developers In The World".[11]

In 2014, Polyphony Digital made a long-term partnership with Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for a plan to launch an official FIA Online Championship in 2015.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Interview de Kazunori Yamauchi, le papa de Gran Turismo nous parle du 7ème opus" [Interview with Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of Gran Turismo, about the 7th opus]. jeuxvideo.fr (in French). February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "Corporate Profile". polyphony.co.jp. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "Polyphony Digital Inc". MobyGames. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  4. ^ Evans, Andrew (September 10, 2021). "Gran Turismo 7 Release Date is March 4 2022". GTPlanet. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. ^ "PlayStation's Jim Ryan: 'We're making a completely new VR format for PS5'". British GQ. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "Hermen Hulst Q&A: What's Next for PlayStation Studios". PlayStation.Blog. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  7. ^ Edmunds Inside Line: A Day in Germany With the GT-R Engineers Archived 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Amy (October 3, 2016). "MAZDA 121". Drive. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Seiichi Ikiuo Video Game Credits and Biography". MobyGames. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  10. ^ "Polyphony Digital – #24 Top Video Game Makers – IGN". IGN.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ GamesTM magazine issue 157, Imagine Publishing, March 2015
  12. ^ "Polyphony Digital Inc. (PDI) and FIA to Form Long-term Partnership", Polyphony Digital Inc., 2014-06-24
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