Gran Turismo 5 will cost US$60 million

Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed that next year's sprawling racing simulator will cost nearly three times as much as Killzone 2.

It's no secret that Gran Turismo 5 is one of the most anticipated PlayStation 3 exclusives ever. As it turns out, it's also one of the most expensive. Two years after a Dutch newspaper pegged the budget of Killzone 2 at US$21 million, Autoweek has revealed that the expansive racing simulator will cost nearly three times that.

Speaking to the magazine, Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi said the budget for the game is around US$60 million. That makes it among the most expensive games ever made — but not the most expensive, according to Yamauchi.

"There are other games that cost more," said the famously perfectionist designer. "Considering the size and scale of the game, I think it's probably a fairly small amount."

US$60 million could buy you a lot of serious motoring metal.
(Credit: Polyphony Digital)

Yamauchi wasn't shy about telling Autoweek what Gran Turismo 5's massive budget produced. The game will have nearly 1000 cars sporting 400,000 polygons each — 100 times more polygons than Gran Turismo 4's vehicles had. However, unlike its predecessor, the cars in the game will take actual damage when they crash and will be fully customisable.

As outlined in our previous coverage of GT5's long gestation, the game will have 20 locations and 70 variations of tracks to choose from. It is also an official licence of several prominent racing organisations, such as NASCAR and the World Rally Championship. The game is due out in March in Japan, with a Western release "probably" happening in early 2010, according to Yamauchi.

Via GameSpot