GTPlanet

GT Academy Winner On Class Pole at Spa 24 Hours

Jordan — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 06:05:29 +0000

Great news for our man Lucas Ordoñez (winner of the first GT Academy)! Lucas and his team, RJN Motorsports, have qualified their Nissan 370Z have first in its class for the Spa 24 Hours race this weekend. I’m not aware of any online live video streams of the race (if you find one, please share it in the comments below), but Lucas has promised me that he’ll be constantly updating his Twitter feed and his Facebook page directly from the paddock throughout the event. Good luck, Lucas!

GT5 Karting Mentioned in French PlayStation Magazine

Jordan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:28:39 +0000

Scans of the French PlayStation Official Magazine’s feature on GT5 reveal the magazine is weighing in on two of the game’s most exciting unannounced features. Most confidently, they’ve listed karting as a major category in the game and even included a small note on the track editor. Of course, the text is in French, but you can see all the scans for yourself right here.

As you may recall, these are two of the most exciting unexpected features which were confirmed last month by Sony Worldwide Studios president and Polyphony Digital executive Shuhei Yoshida. Mr. Yoshida’s interview is almost certainly the source of the magazine’s information, but it’s interesting that they have chosen to place their editorial weight and authority behind his comments. Thanks to all who sent this in so quickly!

US Gov. Builds “Green Racing” Features into GT5 Prologue

Jordan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:46:39 +0000

Programmers from the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Society of Automotive Engineers have found an interesting way to build “green racing” features on top of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Apparently, the system works by sitting between the steering wheel and the PlayStation 3, watching and recording controller inputs.

The software currently simulates a Chevrolet Corvette with a hybrid engine system running on ethanol, and calculates the player’s overall “Michelin Green X Challenge” score in real-time based on braking and acceleration. Big names such as Joerg Bergmeister and Gunnar Jeannette have already tested the system, but you can give it a try yourself “at all remaining U.S. rounds of the series, at Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Road America and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.” They’re looking to expand the system to other makes and models, and are looking to implement ”multiplayer down the road”. Read up on all the details at Michelin’s company blog, and please let me know if any of you are able to try out one of these systems for yourself!

Second Look at Old Video Shows GT5 Damage Close-Up

Jordan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:23:48 +0000

A tip from reader Volcao referenced a few screen grabs from one of the brief Gran Turismo 5 trailers released last month after E3 2010. His tip prompted me to take a closer look at the video myself and -- sure enough -- there’s actually a bit of damage shown here (albeit very, very briefly). Around 45 seconds into the clip, you’ll see a blue JGTC R35 Calsonic Skyline flipped over on its top and then sliding away from the camera.

It’s a dramatic accident for a GT game, and I think Polyphony Digital wants us to focus on the fact that cars can now be turned upside-down. Watching frame-by-frame, though, you’ll notice the car’s hood has suffered from the impact as it crumples in, exposing the top of the tire underneath. Immediately afterwards, we see the side of the car showing dents, damage to aerodynamic components behind the front wheel, and what appears to be missing chunks of the sponsor’s vinyl stickers.

Take a look for yourself in the three screen grabs I’ve provided below. These were snapped from the original version of the video, which you can download here in .mov format (88 MB) or just watch the embedded YouTube clip above.

GT5 Gameplay Videos from Comic-Con 2010

Jordan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:00:33 +0000

Comic-Con is just wrapping up in San Diego, California, and Gran Turismo 5 was on display. The demo appears to be what was introduced at E3 2010, so while there’s no new content, we’ve got another round of game-play videos to check out.

Thanks to everyone who’s helping to round these up in our forums -- please let me know if I’ve missed anything.

100 Days Before Release, GT5 a Top Seller at Amazon

Jordan — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:15:49 +0000

As of July 24th, we’re now less than 100 days away from the launch of Gran Turismo 5 and sales already off to a great start, with pre-orders alone holding the game steady in the top charts of the web’s largest retailer, Amazon.com. GT5’s already broken into the top 50 best-selling games on the site, and it’s dancing around the PlayStation 3’s top 10 list (these lists are updated hourly, making it difficult to pin anything down to a specific rank). It’s even more impressive when you consider this is only the Collector’s Edition we’re talking about here, which commands a $40.00 premium over the regular game.

The standard version of the game is still holding its own, currently ranking 39th overall in the PlayStation 3’s best-sellers and already takes the top spot in the racing category – beating out the other much-hyped and currently available first party title, Mod Nation Racers. The Collector’s Edition will only be produced in limited quantities, so it may be wise to reserve your copy now if you know you want it. Amazon also provides “release date delivery” to guarantee you’ll have the game in your hands at the same time everyone else does, so no need to worry about that. Click here to pre-order either version of the game if you haven’t already!

Kazunori Yamauchi’s “Motor Toon GP” Available on PSN

Jordan — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:05:16 +0000

Before Kazunori Yamauchi created the first Gran Turismo, he began his career with a title known as Motor Toon Grand Prix. Produced by “Polys Entertainment” (later to become Polyphony Digital), it’s a cartoon racing game featuring 8 karts and 10 tracks. Sony has just announced the game’s availability for download as a “PSOne Classic” on PSN for $5.99. So, if you want to see how it all really got started, grab the 251 MB download and give it a go.

Of course, it should be noted that the PSN version of the is technically Motor Toon Grand Prix 2. The first game of the series was actually a PS1 launch title in Japan, but was never released outside of the country. The second game was released internationally, and was known simply as “Motor Toon Grand Prix”. Interestingly, there is almost no official record of the first version of the game, and even Polyphony Digital’s own site does not acknowledge the fact that two versions exist. Game-play videos thankfully live on via YouTube -- here’s what appears to be a primitive version of GT’s Trial Mountain circuit…

Thanks to all who sent this in!

Mercedes’ GT5 Hot-Lap Challenge, Winners Drive SLS AMG

Jordan — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:37:29 +0000

Mercedes-Benz continues to take full-advantage of its newfound affiliation with the Gran Turismo series with cross-promotions and online games, and this may be the best yet! Visitors to the Mercedes-Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, UK get a chance to drive the SLS on GT5’s Nurburgring Nordschleife, recording an official time. The three fastest drivers (along with two more contestants randomly selected from the top 100 times) get to drive a real SLS AMG on Mercedes-Benz World’s test track.

Unfortunately, I’m terribly late in picking this up, and the competition ends today, Friday, July 23rd, at 6PM. If you’re local, though, and can get there in time, I’d love for a few GTPlanet readers to win this! Learn more about the contest and view the fastest times right here. Sorry for the late notice, and thanks to Hoodie1878 for the tip!

GT5’s Head-Tracking “Underwhelming”, But Damage “Looking Beautiful”

Jordan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:09:01 +0000

One of the new features in Gran Turismo 5 I’ve personally been looking forward to is head-tracking. Unless you’ve got the luxury of playing racing games on three screens, the ability to look into and through the turns – just as you should do in real life – provides a considerably more immersive experience. GT5’s head-tracking was first shown in limited action at E3 2010, but it was reportedly difficult to use because of surrounding conditions the PlayStation Eye had to deal with. According to a recent article from the Official PlayStation Magazine, however, the functionality isn’t perfect. Quoting the magazine from this article at CVG.com:

“Face-tracking using the PS Eye works on the 200 cars with cockpits and lets you look around by tilting your face away fro the screen, but the early demo we played left us underwhelmed. Head-tracking has been working well on PC for years using IR camera and reference makers but PS Eye is a simpler camera and Gran Turismo applies a digital interpretation to an analogue movement. A slight glance to the left or right is translated by the game after a considerable delay as a full 90-degree crane of your neck. Hopefully Polyphony can smooth things out before release.”

Let’s hope head-tracking functionality can be smoothed out in software, and that it’s functionality is not hindered by practical limitations in the PS Eye hardware.

Finally, in a bit of good news, the magazine editors got to see more of GT5’s damage system, confirming that it “accurately models mechanic and cosmetic damage to an absurd degree” and “looks beautiful”.

UK Residents: Play GT5 July 30th at PlayStation BETA

Jordan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:11:33 +0000

Sony UK has announced a special event known as “PlayStation BETA”, to be held for a select group of gamers on July 30th-August 1st in Birmingham. It’s basically a chance for members of the public to try out the company’s biggest upcoming titles, and you guessed it: Gran Turismo 5 is on the list. Here’s the press release:

“PlayStation BETA is our access all areas community for gamers. It’s an opportunity for us to reward you guys with trials of titles way ahead of release, invitations to exclusive content and an array of prizes to further enhance your gaming experience.

We’re inviting you to come and prove yourself on games before they’re released, battle it out with the best of the best, win awesome prizes, and speak face to face with your gaming heroes. While other people can only talk about future games, you can be launching yourself into them for real at our first ever BETA event in Birmingham.

So what kind of crumbling apocalyptic cities can you race through and what kind of power struggles can you get caught up in? For a taster of what’s about to be unleashed on the market, you can sample all of these at the event: Killzone 3, GT5, MotorStorm Apocalypse, LBP2, The Fight, Kung Fu Rider, Sports Champions, Heavy Rain Move Edition and many more.

We’ll even stage a MotorStorm Apocalypse tournament. The prize? The champion of each session not only escapes a natural catastrophe but also wins a Sony 3DTV. And if you can’t dodge enough flying concrete to claim a prize, don’t curl up in shame as there are limited edition take homes for everyone. And there’s free food and drink throughout, to fuel your shooting/racing/zombie addiction.

So if you want to thrust yourself into games no one else can get their hands on at the BETA event in Birmingham, sign up now.

The event is open to UK residents. To secure a place for you and a friend, send us an email on betarooms@scee.net before Monday 26th July along with your preferred date. You can choose from the following sessions:

Saturday 31st July: 6pm- 10pm

Sunday 1st August: 12pm- 4pm

Places are offered on a first-come, first served basis so don’t hang about. Don’t worry, we’ll be confirming venue details nearer the time but if you want to check out travel information, it’s within a mile of Birmingham New Street station.“

I’d love to have a lot of GTPlanet users in attendance, so if you’re in the area and secure reservations for the event, please let me know! Thanks to everyone who sent this in so quickly!