PS4 racing game “Gran Turismo SPORT (hereafter: GT Sport)” is the focus of the YouTube channel “GTsport Broadcast Station.” When I recently watched a virtual race on this program, I was struck by how “incredibly fun GT Sport really is.”

So this time, I interviewed MC Rico Otsuka, who plans and runs this channel, and GT Sport player Tatsuya Sugawara, and had a great conversation with both of them.

Hooked on the Charm of GT Sport…

First, could you please briefly introduce yourselves?

Sugawara: Sure. I’m currently a 22-year-old university junior. I’ve been playing Gran Turismo for 16 years now.

This year, I participated in the FIA GTC 2019 World Tour and achieved my best result with 2nd place. I’m also currently serving as an ambassador for Porsche Esports Racing Japan.

Rico: I’m a working adult, a bit older than Sugawara-kun (laughs). I usually work as a model, MC, and on TV, but in 2019 I served as the assistant MC for the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan (hereafter: PCCJ) and Porsche Sprint Challenge Japan (hereafter: PSCJ).

I just started playing Gran Turismo recently, but under Sugawara-kun’s guidance, I’m honing my skills.

What kind of program is “GT Sport Broadcast Station”?

Rico: “GT Sport Broadcast Station” is an authorized YouTube channel of Porsche Esports Racing Japan.

Though it’s on YouTube, it feels more like a radio show. We invite GT Sport players and guests from various fields to chat, and we also hold GT Sport races featuring Japan’s top players. The goal is to energize and spread the word about PS4’s GT Sport.

Sugawara: Rico-san plans the program’s framework and structure, and I decide the race regulations (rules).

Rico: Of course, there’s no script for the races themselves, but for the talk segments, we prepare scripts and hold rehearsals beforehand.

The channel is still new, but we’ve had a lot of support from many people, which we’re truly grateful for.

In virtual races, you can run cars with the same design as the real ones, right?

Sugawara: GT Sport has a livery editor feature. This allows users to customize the exterior colors and designs of cars within GT Sport, and by sharing these designs publicly, other users can freely download and use them.

Rico: In GT Sport, there are players who specialize in racing, and then there are “livery artists” who design car bodies.

Sugawara: Exactly. These “livery artists” create original colorings, but they also often recreate the liveries of real racing cars.

They take photos of the actual cars and use them as a base to create the designs. While they don’t get official permission from the teams, they’re not misusing the designs. In fact, when they send the finished designs to the teams, the teams are usually delighted.

The recent PCCJ Virtual Exhibition Match featured cars with real designs running, which was really cool!

Sugawara: Yes. For that race, we obtained permission from PCCJ teams in advance and received data to faithfully reproduce the designs on the cars we raced, which is quite rare.

Super Formula itself actually holds virtual races organized by the official body. In such cases, it’s almost impossible for us to use real car designs on our program.

Rico: For larger-scale races, there are many sponsors and stakeholders, so getting permission from everyone is impossible. This is something only PCCJ can do.

PCCJ is very homey in a good way. When we started broadcasting “GTsport Broadcast Station,” I casually asked a PCCJ team owner, “Could we get the real car data?” and they readily agreed.

When I asked other owners, they all said, “Sure! Use it!”

And amazingly, 16 liveries were completed in just one week. The owners also said, “This is something only PCCJ can do.”

The real car owners who saw the program seemed really happy, too.

Rico: That’s right. I can picture both the faces of the real car drivers and those driving in GT Sport, which feels strange but very heartwarming.

Also, virtual races held in this format are very rare, so we’ve been contacted for interviews and feel the growing attention.

Why did you two decide to start this channel together in the first place?

Rico: It started when I invited Sugawara-kun, saying, “Want to do this together?”

We met about half a year ago. This year, “GT Sport Porsche Esports Racing Japan” held its first-ever domestic GT Sport “Season 1”, with the finals at Fuji Speedway in June.

Ten GT Sport players who won the national qualifiers gathered for the finals, and Sugawara-kun won.

Sugawara: It was close at times, but I’m glad I won (laughs).

Rico: I had never played GT Sport before, but Porsche Japan told me beforehand, “Please MC and commentate the GT Sport final race.”

I was like, “Wait, what’s that!?” (laughs) Since I was going to MC, I thought I had to learn about GT Sport, so I bought a PS4 and GT Sport and practiced. By the time of the finals, I had a good idea of what GT Sport was…

But when I saw the final race live, I was deeply moved.

I thought, “This is so cool!” and got totally hooked. I even went to watch GT Sport tournaments in person.

Gradually, I started thinking,

“Isn’t there a way to share the amazing GT Sport players and the fun of GT Sport with even more people?”

Sugawara: Before starting “GT Sport Broadcast Station,” I had my own channel. It wasn’t regular; I just casually talked, sometimes raced, or explained how to drive on circuits.

One time on the show, I casually said, “Talking alone gets boring, so maybe I should take questions and do something like a radio show.”

Rico: I happened to hear that episode and thought, “Oh, Sugawara-kun wants to do something like a radio show! How about we make a radio program together!?” At the same time, I wanted to create an environment where I could do live commentary, so I immediately contacted him.

“Shall we start a radio show together?”

He replied, “Sure,” so we decided to do it together.

Sugawara: But honestly, I wasn’t super eager to do radio; I just said it lightly and didn’t expect someone to be so enthusiastic (laughs).

Next page → The Road to Porsche Japan’s Official Channel