A Bridge Between Real and Virtual

Same parts as real cars, but different charm and fun. It’s great if both thrive.

Rico: Yes. The reason I wanted to try the PCCJ Virtual Race was because I wanted to be a bridge between real racers and virtual racers.

“Real and virtual are completely different,” but is it okay to just end it there?

Some real racers might think, “They’re just gamers; they can’t actually drive real cars, right?” On the other hand, GT Sport players might think, “Real racers are different from us…”

Rather than cutting off there, I hoped to create a place where we could share the joy and fun of car racing and learn about the unique appeal of both real and virtual worlds.

To do that, we created a communication platform to connect both sides. This PCCJ Virtual Race was planned and held as that bridge.

And it turned out to be very good for both sides.

Rico: Yes. As I mentioned earlier, during the process of receiving real car design data from PCCJ drivers and creating their cars, some drivers who didn’t know what GT Sport was learned about it, were happy to see their cars created, and were thrilled when GT Sport players drove and won with their cars.

Later on SNS, some real racers even said, “I bought GT too!”

Conversely, some GT Sport players became interested in learning about “what kind of race PCCJ is,” “which drivers participate,” and “what companies sponsor the logos.”

It may be a small thing, but I felt very happy that we could be a bridge between virtual and real racers.

Sugawara: Rico-san hasn’t become too immersed in either the real or virtual side. Because she’s not biased, she can do things like this.

Also… she’s good at relying on others. For example, I think she’s good at using me (laughs).

Rico: The other day, Sugawara-kun and I had a tearful discussion.

Sugawara: I was just calmly stating my opinion, but she started crying… I was like, “Don’t cry!” (laughs)

Rico: I got carried away and thought, “It’s embarrassing for an older person to cry,” but I got too passionate and ended up crying (laughs).

Passionate… this kind of effort might help combat car disinterest among youth.

Sugawara: Yes. I think GT Sport has a huge promotional effect on young people who will buy cars in the future. It gives them a chance to think, “I want to drive this car someday” and “I’ll earn money and buy this car.”

Rico: The famous GT producer Yamauchi-san said, “PlayStation was once seen as just a game console, but now it might become the savior of the automotive industry,” and I completely agree.

The Future of GT Player and MC

Finally, could you share your future plans?

Rico: I truly believe that the current developments are thanks to human connections. Especially Mr. Matsuoka from Porsche Japan, who supports eSports and young people’s ambitions like no one else in any industry.

I’m full of gratitude.

In Japan today, “young people’s disinterest in cars” and “decline of car culture” are seen as issues, but as Yamauchi-san said, GT can be a key to solving these problems and revitalizing car culture.

That’s why from “GTsport Broadcast Station,” we want to launch projects to further energize GT Sport, driven by ourselves.

What I want to do now is to make the PCCJ Virtual Race a series next season. Since it’s online, there are bugs and sometimes players can’t join, but we want to learn and improve as we go.

Sugawara: For me… I made many new connections this year, so I hope to meet many more great people next year.

Also, I want to become world champion in the World Tour.

I’ve reached second place before, but I really want to be number one. This year, I participated in five World Tour races and felt the level rising, so to keep up next year, I have to work even harder.

I’ve always been competitive, but before I used to think, “Third place is fine. I’m happy to be on the podium.”

But when you finish third, you get some attention right after the race, but after two or three months, most people forget about third place.

That’s when I realized:

People only care about the winner. So you have to win.

Actually, because I won Season 1 of GT Sport Porsche Esports Racing Japan, I now have a good relationship with Porsche Japan and this channel started.

Rico: From now on, I want to plan various projects with everyone and keep the excitement going. Eventually, I hope to be the MC of GT Sport tournaments while Sugawara-kun races there. I want to keep improving my MC and commentary skills!

Thank you very much to Rico Otsuka and Tatsuya Sugawara for taking the time for this interview despite your busy schedules. I was surprised that Gran Turismo has grown to have such a huge influence that it could change the automotive industry.

This interview strongly made me feel that “young people’s power can change the world.” Thank you very much!