Keiichi
1st May 2001, 10:57 PM
Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Ships More Than a Million
May 1, 2001
Gran Turismo 3 A-spec has officially taken Japan by storm. Today, SCE announced the shipment of more than 1,000,000 copies of the game to retail as of April 30, and first-hand reports from Tokyo indicate that even that massive production isn't quite enough to meet demand. The game is sold out in many areas, as eager gamers set upon Sony's first internally-developed killer app for PlayStation 2.
This figure indicates the total number of games shipped from April 28th to April 30th. It took just three days for GT3 to ship as many copies as Onimusha, the PS2's only other platinum-selling title, did in approximately three months.
Tokyo's Akihabara district, home to game shops galore, naturally attracted crowds of GT fans -- Sony met them with a demo display in the open area near the Akihabara train station (synchronized with related exhibitions at company headquarters and upcoming festivals at major race circuits).
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_3in.jpg
These people got to see GT3, and you didn't.</center>
Meanwhile, game shops stacked GT3 to the rafters and still sold out. Note the boxes of Logitech (or in Japan, "Logicool") GT Force wheels in the background.
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_1in.jpg
These people got cool GT3 windbreakers, and you didn't.</center>
Out in the street, demo setups let the unlucky few get at least a little GT3 in. We've actually been to the game store shown, just down the street from the train station. Usually, the demo systems all have different games, but today there was only one.
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_2in.jpg
These people got to play GT3, and you didn't.</center>
In summation, Japan has Gran Turismo 3 A-spec. They have a whole lot of it, and will get even more in the coming weeks. And we don't.
Demo rigs (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_4.jpg)
GT3 fest (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_1.jpg)
Stacked to the rafters (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_3.jpg)
That's a lotta GT3 (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_2.jpg)
i.link battle (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_5.jpg)
-Keiichi
May 1, 2001
Gran Turismo 3 A-spec has officially taken Japan by storm. Today, SCE announced the shipment of more than 1,000,000 copies of the game to retail as of April 30, and first-hand reports from Tokyo indicate that even that massive production isn't quite enough to meet demand. The game is sold out in many areas, as eager gamers set upon Sony's first internally-developed killer app for PlayStation 2.
This figure indicates the total number of games shipped from April 28th to April 30th. It took just three days for GT3 to ship as many copies as Onimusha, the PS2's only other platinum-selling title, did in approximately three months.
Tokyo's Akihabara district, home to game shops galore, naturally attracted crowds of GT fans -- Sony met them with a demo display in the open area near the Akihabara train station (synchronized with related exhibitions at company headquarters and upcoming festivals at major race circuits).
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_3in.jpg
These people got to see GT3, and you didn't.</center>
Meanwhile, game shops stacked GT3 to the rafters and still sold out. Note the boxes of Logitech (or in Japan, "Logicool") GT Force wheels in the background.
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_1in.jpg
These people got cool GT3 windbreakers, and you didn't.</center>
Out in the street, demo setups let the unlucky few get at least a little GT3 in. We've actually been to the game store shown, just down the street from the train station. Usually, the demo systems all have different games, but today there was only one.
<center>http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_2in.jpg
These people got to play GT3, and you didn't.</center>
In summation, Japan has Gran Turismo 3 A-spec. They have a whole lot of it, and will get even more in the coming weeks. And we don't.
Demo rigs (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_4.jpg)
GT3 fest (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_1.jpg)
Stacked to the rafters (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_3.jpg)
That's a lotta GT3 (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_2.jpg)
i.link battle (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/news/image/gt3launch/gt3_5.jpg)
-Keiichi