It’s in no way surprising that Gran Turismo 5 is selling well.  The franchise has been a consistent performer for Sony, with each iteration selling over 9 million copies, and even this year’s “paid demo,” Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, moved over 5 million units.  Today, Sony was proud to announce just how successful the game is via press release; in just under two weeks, Gran Turismo 5 has shipped over 5.5 million copies worldwide.

This figure brings the Gran Turismo franchise’s total to just over 60 million units, surpassing The Legend of Zelda series in sales, and moving into the 12^th spot overall, right behind the Grand Theft Auto series.  Gran Turismo 3 remains the top-selling GT game for now, with just under 15 million copies sold, though that distinction may change over the next month or so.

According to the press release, these huge sales don’t mean that Sony or Polyphony Digital will be resting on their laurels. The publisher and developer promise to continue “to vigorously promote development of the Gran Turismo series, which can be expected to evolve even further through the PS3 platform and broadband network environment."