Gran Turismo 7 could arrive as early as 2014, Yamauchi says

While Gran Turismo 6 won't hit PlayStation 3 for another couple weeks, the next version of the game isn't that far off and could hit sometime in 2014, Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi tells Top Gear.

"We don't want to take too long on Gran Turismo 7," Yamauchi said. "Best-case scenario? Next year. In GT6 we really had to tune the software 100 percent to maximize the PS3's architecture, but of course the PS4's hardware is much better, so I think the overall quality of the game across the board will be boosted when you come to play it."

In May, Yamauchi said the developer had a PlayStation 4 sequel in mind, one that would be released after Gran Turismo 6 received a host of updates and downloadable content.

A recent Famitsu interview with Yamauchi indicated that Gran Turismo for PS4 would share some technology with the PS3 games and emphasize the online community aspects of the series.

"The PlayStation 4's large memory size is a unique trait," he said, "but in terms of CPU performance, the PS3's Cell chip, while difficult to handle, is really capable. They both have different advantages. Besides, I think the online community aspect, one of the most fun parts of GT, doesn't have anything to do with the platform. The PlayStation 4 game which we'll likely call GT7 will be done in about a year or two, I think, and I think the community aspect's going to be vital there as well."

Gran Turismo 6 is due out Dec. 6.