Could you elaborate a bit on this? I am presently having a mild dispute with another bbs member who shall remain nameless (other than he sometimes goes by the handle "Monkey Brains") who maintains that this is an arcade game, not a simulation, and is thus does not reflect truly realistic racing. In other words, he says authenticity has been compromised in order to make the play action more entertaining.


Let me start off with a quote from GameSpot's review of GT-3:
Some would argue that Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec isn't the most accurate racing or driving simulator currently available, and those people would be correct. There are and have been many specialized games that more realistically depict a single aspect of motor sports--games like Grand Prix II, Mobil 1 Rally Championship, NASCAR Racing 3, F355 Challenge, Le Mans 24 Hours, and Grand Prix Legends. However, no one game has ever captured the broad essence of driving cars that hail from all walks of auto-racing life like Gran Turismo 3 does, and certainly no one game has ever offered the depth contained within this ambitious game.


While I would agree that this is not a "true simulation" I also believe that only "driving enthusiasts" will notice. There are obvious things like cars can not flip over and damage to a car does not affect performance which a true simulatin would take into account. But every other detail seems to have been accounted for. For example, the Honda Civic in GT3 responds and reacts exactly the same way my Honda Civic does in RL under the same conditions. The sublte differences of speed and power do not take away from the realistic experience of the game but Joe Average won't even notice. I also feel they have balanced simulation with graphic realism. To truely be a simulation, it should simulate everything which means cars, environment, handling, power, and everything you would be faced with in RL.

In essense, you are both correct. The game is not a true simulation but it is also not a true acade game. It is an incredible mix of the two genres to create an incredibly accurate and beautiful game that is easy to pick up and play. Also, you may be interested that ther is a disussion forum for GT games called Gran Tourismo by the numbers where they are debating these very issues. They also have a forum to join GT racing clubs and a great write up of a recent GT Party where they had 5 tvs connected through iLink.

Greg