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For a watch company, being named an official timekeeper of an athletic event is considered an honor. These events rely on accurate times for the athletes participating. The Seiko watch company has the distinction of being the official timekeeper of an unusual kind: that of a video game. Seiko is the official timekeeper of the the video game series “Gran Turismo”, a racing simulation.

Seiko is a Japanese watch company founded in 1881 in Tokyo. Kintaro Hattori, the founder, started selling clocks in 1892 after having opened his watch and jewelry shop earlier. The first Seiko watches were made in 1924. The Seiko corporation has had many “firsts” in its watch making history, including producing the world’s first quartz watch and the first quartz chronograph.

Seiko is the official timekeeper of the Gran Turismo video games.

“Gran Turismo” is a series of racing games for the PlayStation. The series is produced by Polyphony Digital and the first title in the series appeared in 1997. The games are designed to be a racing simulation. One of the appeals of the game series is the number of licensed vehicles that look like their real world counterparts. Players may play in an arcade mode or in a simulation mode, including the ability to race online against other players. Players can earn credits throughout the game and they can then be used to purchase upgrades to vehicles or buy new vehicles and add to their collection.

This partnership between Seiko watches and the “Gran Turismo” racing series allows the iconic Japanese watchmaker to have an important role within one of the world’s best known video games. This speaks to Seiko watches’ reliability, not only in the “real” world, but also as it translates to the virtual world of video games. Seiko’s status as Gran Turismo’s official timekeeper truly is a unique one.