Kazunori Yamauchi Has The Powaaaaaah!
For the third year in a row, the Gran Turismo maestro is on Motor Trend's Top 50 list.
Published: January 4, 2007
Gran Turismo is not a game, it's a juggernaut of all-encompassing racing something-or-other, so beloved the world over that racing fans fall to their knees weeping tears of joy at the very sight of series creator Kazunori Yamauchi, the mere mention of developer Polyphony Digital making them all weak in the knees. Or, um, it's sold really well and Kaz is something of an industry icon -- perhaps not in our industry, but those auto chaps straight love him.
Case in point: Yamauchi's third consecutive nomination to the Motor Trend Top 50 power list, a who's who of automotive industry icons. Not surprisingly, Yamauchi is the only games industry member to make the list, showing just how powerful the Gran Trusimo brand is among not only gamers, but the auto industry as a whole.
In fact, manufacturers like Nissan and Mitsubishi have actually credited the "Gran Turismo effect," the recognition among would-be car nuts of cars like the Skyline and Lancer, for the companies' consideration of releasing those cars stateside. Though we're still waiting on a proper Skyline (no, the Infiniti G35 doesn't count) and the Lancer Evo isn't exactly available at your nearby Mitsubishi dealer, the impact of the game is undeniable.
Yamauchi ranked 29th on the list, joining other entertainment personalities like Jay Leno and Chip Foose (both of whom were ranked lower on the list than Kaz). Since we like to cut and paste to fill space in our news stories, enjoy this, the Top 10 and some notables from the further down the list where Kaz ranked. We're wondering if that rank will change once these mag types see [i]GT HD...
[Top 10]
#1 Fujio Cho – Toyota Motors Corporation Chairman
#2 Rick Wagoner – General Motors Chairman
#3 Ferdinand Piëch – Volkswagen AG Supervisory
#4 Wendelin Wiedeking – Porsche AG – Executive Board Chairman, CEO
#5 Chris Bangle – BMW Design Group chief
#6 Jim Press – Toyota Motor Manufacturing America president
#7 Bob Lutz – GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development
#8 Martin Winterkorn – Volkswagen AG Chairman
#9 Carlos Ghosn – Nissan Motors Corporation and Renault president and CEO
#10 Dieter Zetsche – DaimlerChrysler Chairman
Additional Personalities]
#11 Don Esmond – Rookie of the Year – Toyota Motor Sales Senior Vice President, Automotive Operations
#17 Alan Mullaly – Ford Motor Company Chief Executive Officer
#24 Bryan Nesbitt – GM Europe Design Chief
#29 Kazunori Yamauchi – Sony Computer Entertainment, Gran Turismo 4 Designer
#30 Takeo Fukui – Honda CEO
#31 Jean Todt – Ferrari CEO
#48 Jay Leno – NBC “Tonight Show” Host, Car Enthusiast
#50 Chip Foose – Hot Rod Designer, Reality Television Star
Case in point: Yamauchi's third consecutive nomination to the Motor Trend Top 50 power list, a who's who of automotive industry icons. Not surprisingly, Yamauchi is the only games industry member to make the list, showing just how powerful the Gran Trusimo brand is among not only gamers, but the auto industry as a whole.
In fact, manufacturers like Nissan and Mitsubishi have actually credited the "Gran Turismo effect," the recognition among would-be car nuts of cars like the Skyline and Lancer, for the companies' consideration of releasing those cars stateside. Though we're still waiting on a proper Skyline (no, the Infiniti G35 doesn't count) and the Lancer Evo isn't exactly available at your nearby Mitsubishi dealer, the impact of the game is undeniable.
Yamauchi ranked 29th on the list, joining other entertainment personalities like Jay Leno and Chip Foose (both of whom were ranked lower on the list than Kaz). Since we like to cut and paste to fill space in our news stories, enjoy this, the Top 10 and some notables from the further down the list where Kaz ranked. We're wondering if that rank will change once these mag types see [i]GT HD...
[Top 10]
#1 Fujio Cho – Toyota Motors Corporation Chairman
#2 Rick Wagoner – General Motors Chairman
#3 Ferdinand Piëch – Volkswagen AG Supervisory
#4 Wendelin Wiedeking – Porsche AG – Executive Board Chairman, CEO
#5 Chris Bangle – BMW Design Group chief
#6 Jim Press – Toyota Motor Manufacturing America president
#7 Bob Lutz – GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development
#8 Martin Winterkorn – Volkswagen AG Chairman
#9 Carlos Ghosn – Nissan Motors Corporation and Renault president and CEO
#10 Dieter Zetsche – DaimlerChrysler Chairman
Additional Personalities]
#11 Don Esmond – Rookie of the Year – Toyota Motor Sales Senior Vice President, Automotive Operations
#17 Alan Mullaly – Ford Motor Company Chief Executive Officer
#24 Bryan Nesbitt – GM Europe Design Chief
#29 Kazunori Yamauchi – Sony Computer Entertainment, Gran Turismo 4 Designer
#30 Takeo Fukui – Honda CEO
#31 Jean Todt – Ferrari CEO
#48 Jay Leno – NBC “Tonight Show” Host, Car Enthusiast
#50 Chip Foose – Hot Rod Designer, Reality Television Star
