Or, as SCEA producer Taku Imasaki puts it on the PlayStation Blog, "NEW CARS!!" He's very excited. Wouldn't you be too, if a free update to Polyphony Digital's Real But Not Real Enough To Crumple Up Your Ferrari Driving Simulator enabled three new rides and a host of gameplay tweaks?
When you next load up Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, you'll be able to download the "GT by Citroen" concept car (pictured), the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. Gameplay enhancements introduced by the update include alterations to the penalty system, race difficulty levels, wireless controller responsiveness, sound volume balance and Drift Trial races, which will now feature a rolling start.
A word of caution, however: "Rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update." That's the price of Prologue progress, we suppose.
As we reported during E3, the next evolution of the Gran Turismo series isn't Gran Turismo 5 – it's enhancements to the glorified GT5 demo, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Specifically, Sony and series creator Kazunori Yamauchi are all revved up about the roll out of Gran Turismo TV, an on-demand video service featuring motorsports shows from around the world – as well as original programming – accessible from within GT5P's front-end.
We've learned that these features will finally hit this Friday, August 1 as part of an update for the game demo. Auto aficionados will be able to download episodes of programs including England's Top Gear and Japan's Best Motoring. Programming created by Polyphony Digital itself – and indeed even hosted by Yamauchi – will also be up for purchase. Speaking of which, SCEA has announced that PPV content will cost 99 cents per episode for the first two weeks of GTTV, after which it will increase to $1.99.
In addition to the debut of GTTV, Sony has confirmed that some welcome gameplay tweaks will be introduced via the update. These include improved collision physics for online races (a biggie), more tire choices for Time Trial play, and fixes in penalty judgments. In speaking with Polyphony's Yamauchi at E3, we learned that the next GT5P update will introduce new tracks and cars. No date has been set for that yet.
We somehow managed to get Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi to slam on his brakes for a moment today and talk to us about his flagship racing franchise. According to the Polyphony Digital boss, his studio is focusing a majority of its efforts on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. In fact, he confirmed that the proper, disc-based Gran Turismo 5 might not even roll out before 2010.
In the meantime, Polyphony will continue to expand Prologue with additional cars, tracks, and features. Yamauchi couldn't speak to specific plans, but mentioned that an new update is planned for the near future.
With all of the work his company is putting into the next console GT installment, Yamauchi tells us that it hasn't forgotten the long-delayed Gran Turismo 4 Mobile for PSP. He confirms that the game – originally announced at E3 2004 – is still actively in development, although it isn't planned for release until after GT5. That would be 2011 for those with pen and calendar in hand.
Really real driving simulation news now, with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Nissan launching GT Academy, the competition that will put two of Europe's best Gran Turismo 5 Prologue players inside rapidly moving hunks of metal. If you happen to live in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway or Denmark, and have always wanted to go hurtling around a track at terrifying speeds, now's your chance.
The GT Academy website is already up and running, with the first, seven-week long stage of the competition following on June 2nd. You'll have to register your PSN ID on the site during that time and set your fastest lap around the Eiger Nordwand track in a Nissan Fairlady 350Z. Following that, you'll need to come out tops in a national final held in July, and finally, avoid crashing on the real life Silverstone track in August. Easy peasy.
Umm ... is this really a good idea? Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Nissan seem to think so, having announced "the ultimate competitive driving test" in the form of "GT Academy." The eight-month long European competition will see two obsessive Gran Turismo 5 Prologue players win a four-month training programme to "earn their racing licenses" and, consequently, discover that the ol' mid-turn bump-and-go isn't advised in real life. Following the training, the winners will be granted the opportunity to drive a Nissan 350Z in a 24-hour endurance race in Dubai in January 2009.
To get your foot in the door of GT Academy, you'll first have to keep it planted on a pedal as you face "a series of elimination-based competitions on and off the racetrack." Before that, you'll have to qualify in an online GT5 Prologue tournament on the PlayStation Network, details of which will arrive when GT Academy goes live at the end of May. We wish the entrants the best of luck and remind them that the damage modeling in real-life, 80000p racing is totally awesome.
What a week it's been for the PSN! A new store, a Tuesday update and now we get back into the snug confines of routine with a normal Thursday update. The big deal this week, to those who consider "real driving simulators" precious, is that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue can now be purchased on PSN without ever having to deal with those filthy hobbitsez at retail.
Warhawk's expansion, Operation Broken Mirror, is also available for download and there's a discount bundle for those who didn't purchase the Omega Dawn expansion. Don't forget to grab the analog control update if you own DOTY (disaster of the year) Lair. The full list of the PSN update is after the break.
Check out what Europe's update looks like by heading on over to those fine chaps at PS3 Fanboy.
No doubt tired of all the screeching that emanated from yesterday's delay of tire-screeching driving sim, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Sony has finally sorted out its "technical difficulties" and updated the European PlayStation Store. Our readers from across the sea can now cease sending us irate tips and reserve the gnashing of teeth for when they send an exorbitantly priced car into an unforgiving barrier.
Whether you opted for the downloadable Prologue or the Blu-ray version, we hope you enjoy it long enough for the full game to come hurtling around the corner.
If you were planning to speed past Gran Turismo 5 Prologueon April 17th because "it's just a demo," you may wish to rifle through your virtues and see if patience is among them. According to a PlayStation Blog comment made by SCEA associate producer, Chris Hinojosa-Miranda, the real real driving simulator is still "about a year away." It's no surprise to see him recommending a Prologue purchase in the meantime, but for automotive fans eagerly awaiting the PlayStation 3's premiere driving sim, the content offered in Polyphony Digital's $40 stopgap puts it well above the status of mere demo.
The news certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to them either, as the immense and laborious task of creating Gran Turismo 5 has been welldocumented. With so much time spent painstakingly modeling each luxurious vehicle, we often wonder if it wouldn't be easier just to fill that Blu-ray disc with interactive HD video. It would be just like Road Avenger, but classier!
The upcoming Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for PlayStation 3 has already reached a milestone, with SCEE confirming the title has reach one million in European pre-orders. That pretty much assures the racer of hitting platinum status within its first week of release.
For those wishing to go the download route, Prologue will only cost your hard drive 1.9 GB. Filling out the remainder of the Blu-ray disc version are cinematics from the game, still available to the downloaded version in-game through GT TV. As explained by Eurogamer (via PS3 Fanboy), you can download the opening movie at any time, and the ending movie becomes available once you beat the game. No word yet on how big those movies are.
GT5 Prologue is due out next Friday, March 28, in Europe (March 27 for download) and April 17 in North America.
Want the perfect prologue to sim racing's most-distinguished brand? Tack another $150 onto that $40 download, as Logitech has unveiled the official, and pricey Driving Force GT racing wheel. Engineered specifically for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (but compatible with GT4 and GT5 on PS2), the Driving Force features requisite force feedback, plus a new 24-position realtime adjustment dial (see -- it's red!), so you can fine-tune the brake bias, traction control and damper settings on-the-fly. Brake bias? Damper settings? Just point us to the boost button!
The Driving Force GT wheel is "expected" to ship in May.
Were you the sort of kid who could never wait to open their Christmas presents? The tot who would lift one corner of the wrapping paper to catch a glimpse of the treasure inside? Now, would you have paid someone $40 for the privilege to do so? If so, you might be the perfect candidate for the $40 Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which Sony dated today for an April 17 release.
The sample will feature 60 cars from manufacturers like Ferrari, Audi and Nissan and five tracks like Daytona International Speedway and one on the streets of London. You can get your GT fix either from the PlayStation Network store or on a retail disc, though the latter option ships with an exclusive video. Both also include a parental scolding for not being able to restrain yourself.
Japanese racing fanatics (and international racing fanatics with Japanese accounts) can rejoice. A demo for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is coming to the Japanese PlayStation Network on October 20. Given the futuristic nature of the country (it's currently early morning Friday), that's less than 24 hours from this time of publication.
According to the press release (via Rocket Punch Auto Blog), the trial includes seven cars and one course (Suzuka). There is no online play but single-player races for up to 16 cars. Video service Gran Turismo TV will also be included with reports from 40th Tokyo Motor Show.
No word on a demo release outside of Japan. GT5 Prologue is due out this year next year, according to the official PS blog.
In apparent preparation for next month's release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in the region, the free and beautiful GT HD Concept is going to pulled from Japanese PlayStation Store as of this Sunday, September 30. According to the official page (translation), online ranking from within the game will still be running.
GT 5 Prologue is due out October 26 in Japan, whereas US and European gamers are expected to see it December 13. Will HD Concept also be pulled in these areas? We're not sure -- until we get an answer, we recommend going ahead and downloading the racer just in case.
