Yamauchi: GT5 not using all PS3's power

Polyphony Digital boss Kazunori Yamauchi has declared that Gran Turismo 5 doesn't use all of the PlayStation 3's power.

Talking to VentureBeat (via VG247), Yamauchi said the racing game uses 80 per cent of the machine's grunt - about the same as Uncharted 2.

"The PS3 hardware has a very high peak performance. The better you manipulate it, the better it performs," Yamauchi explained.

Perhaps that's why Gran Turismo 5 - recently delayed yet again - has taken so long to appear.

"This one has taken five years. Nothing is getting easier or less expensive," he added.

Unlike in the old days, Polyphony now requires hundreds of people to make a game, as 500 polygons per car has rocketed up to around 500,000. The studio today has 140 staff, whereas Yamauchi recalled the first Gran Turismo being made by 15 people.

"Before, you could wake up one morning and have a good idea. You could see it implemented in some form by the evening. Now, if you have a good idea, it may be two or three years later before you see the result," he said.

You'd think that after all that time Yamauchi would be looking forward to release. You'd be wrong of course.

"Every time it's the same for me," he offered. "I am usually pretty frustrated when a version comes out. Right after the release, I think we should have done this or should have done that. A game release is not a very happy time for me. When a new title comes out, I look to the next one to fix it."

Gran Turismo 5 will be released sometime this year. No one knows when.