Gran Turismo 5. We've teased you in the past with constantly shifting debut dates and posted most every video we can find. But today is a new day, and this time we're going to show you... another video. GT5 creator Kazunori Yamauchi sat down with GT Planet to discuss how much work goes into the five-year project known as Gran Turismo 5, along with some speculation as to which vehicle will grace the game's cover.
It's no secret that the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG will be featured in GT5, and Yamauchi actually took the uber-exotic gull-winged supercar for a spin on the legendary Nürburgring to ensure that GT5 has the proper driving dynamics. Both the 'Ring and the SLS AMG were digitally rendered pixel by pixel, aided by the game's physics calculation model. Yamauchi calls the game a driving simulator because the calculation model adds exact information about every physical aspect of each vehicle, ensuring that each one behaves in the game exactly how it drives on the road because "that's something we can't actually touch. If the original car is made well, it'll drive well."
Yamouri likes the SLS AMG so much that the vehicle could hold the honored position of being the cover girl on the upcoming game's packaging. And speaking of the game's cover, the video also shows a few seconds of Yamauchi handing over what appears to be a GT5 box set to a co-worker. The glossy box contained what appears to be black, red and blue Blu-ray cases. We're thinking it's a special edition box set for the most rabid of fans, and we hope we're right
We don't know if the marketing folks at Polyphony Digital are messing with us or if building one of the most impressive racing simulators of all time is just really, really hard. For some reason, the rumored release date of the hotly anticipated Gran Turismo 5 is jumping around like the rear axle of a gen one Cadillac CTS-V. We've heard December 29, 2009, late 2009 and even a March 2010 Japan release. Now comes word on the Amazon website that GT5 is going to be released on March 31, 2010. Frankly, we liked "late 2009" a lot more, but it appears we have little say in the matter.
Who knows, the constant date-shifting could be a heartless attempt by Kazunori Yamauchi and his minions to keep their perpetually forthcoming release in the news. We're thinking it's time to stop with the tomfoolery and get this thing launched. Five years and an all-new gaming console is long enough to wait for the answer to GT4.
Psst...PlayStation fans: Bet you've been getting a little irked about all these screen shots and details about Forza 3 for the xBox 360, haven't you? Well we've got something for you: the first batch of screen shots of the new Gran Turismo 5 for PS3. So far, it's just five shots of the Japanese Super GT-spec Nismo GT-R, but it looks good.
The long awaited and highly anticipated fifth installment from the iconic racing simulator franchise packs some 1000 different vehicles to choose from – according to Sony, more than twice as many as its "closest racing competitor" (wonder who they're talking about) – brought to life in unprecedented quality with state-of-the-art damage rendering, rollover crashes and the whole nine yards. There's even a sweet little feature worked in to allow gamers to export their favorite replay footage straight to YouTube. Alright, enough hype.
If you're a big fan of Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo series like we are, you were probably bouncing off the walls when you heard the news that GT5 would finally have damage rendering. We're pretty pumped too, but at the same time we have to ask, what took so long? After all, Forza has had damage rendering since version 2 (Forza 3 is on the way) and damage rendering can already be had on the PS3 in GRID.
With GT5 coming to a store near you at some point in time for this year's holiday season, creator Polyphony is ramping up its marketing blitz to keep our interest piqued. Follow the jump to view actual video proof that shows just how good damage rendering is on GT5. The 1:27 clip features a Subaru STI getting absolutely pummeled by walls and other drivers. We know the driving is bad on purpose in order to demonstrate how destructive GT5's damage rendering is, but we're hoping Kazunori Yamauchi isn't at the controls anyway.
When playing car racing video games, do you find yourself choosing vehicles or brands that you've owned in the past? We are definitely guilty as charged on this count, but it seems that this sort of logic works the other way too. People that play popular games like Gran Turismo and Project Gotham Racing have shown an affinity towards real-life vehicles that they used in the gaming realm. Subaru WRX or Mitsubishi Evolution anyone? Financial Post researchers recently conducted a brief study that put people in front of gaming consoles running car racing simulators. Other people were placed in separate rooms where the games were being broadcast, but not played. Afterward, both groups were surveyed, and the results were eye opening. Those that played the video games responded that they were 50% more likely to purchase vehicles that they used in the video games than those that just watched. Sure, these results don't necessarily prove anything, but automakers and advertisers have certainly taken notice. Current estimates put the in-game advertising market at $1.8 billion within the next few years.
We've been playing Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for about a year now on our PS3, and it looks like we'll be waiting another 12 months before we get our hands on the full version. Spanish newspaper El Financiero claims that senior executives at Polyphony point to a Christmas 2009 date for the full GT5. This comes after GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi told our friends over at Joystiq that the debut of GT5 might not happen until sometime in 2010. The full GT5 would contain far more race tracks and vehicles than the already competent Prologue, which we would welcome with open arms. Many are speculating that, like previous versions, GT5 will first be launched in Japan. That means it's highly likely that we'll have all the details on the prodigious racing game well before it hits our shores.
While we're hopeful that GT5 finds its way underneath our Christmas tree next year, the GT racing series has been anything but timely. One example could be the promised GT4 for PSP. It was announced four years ago in 2004 and Polyphony execs insist that it is still forthcoming – after GT5 is finally released.
Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is about to get a pretty substantial upgrade. The next time you boot up your Playstation 3, an update will be available for GT5 that will add the GT by Citroen, Ferrari's new California and the Lotus Evora. Lotus fans got a sneak peek into the Evora's GT5 inclusion at the British Motor Show a few weeks back, and now everybody gets to join in on the aluminum-intensive fun. It's always a pleasure to strap yourself in a Ferrari, in real-life or virtually, and the California is the latest Italian Stallion around, so its addition was a foregone conclusion. The biggest news, though, is the new French GT, which its maker says was "a partnership between Citroën and Polyphony." In the game-realm, the new GT concept will be powered by electrons generated from a hydrogen fuel cell. Even if the technology isn't quite ready for prime time in your driveway, it can always make waves in digital form, running around various race tracks while emitting nothing but water.
In a move more "Um, yeah..." than "Oh yeah!", Citroen has released the sixth teaser image of the car that will, one of these days, be revealed entirely to the world, all at once, front and back. We aren't even sure if this qualifies as a tease, since getting a glimpse at a front end we've already seen doesn't really ring the bell. What we can say is that one of our commenters appears to be right: the car does look like it's only 10 inches high.
Citroen has let slip another drip in the GT by Citroen reveal, and this time it's a video showing off the dramatic shapes of "The Drive of Your Life." Dig those mirrors, and the glasshouse swept back in monumental fashion. Whatever is pushing the car's massive rims apparently needs a lot of air, with two raked scoops behind the canopy and two more on the sides ahead of the rear wheels. And the rear end of the car looks like -- dare we say it -- a tail... It's Mach 5 if the car comes together like we expect, or platypus if it doesn't. The Paris Motor Show reveal is in but a few days, and you can mark us down as officially excited. Check out the video.
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It's time for your next dose of the GT by Citroen concept. To the commenter who wrote that the front of the car looks like a catfish -- well, in a victory for symmetry, the back of the car looks like a catfish, too, and a couple of other gilled sea creatures. No matter its fishy similarities, it also look like it will be a lot of fun to throw this baby around Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The tease can't go on much longer -- the Paris Motor Show begins in a week. We'll be there with cameras and bait, just in case.
