APEX Kings - Racing Games

APEX Kings - Racing Games http://www.apexkings.com/ Forza, Gran Turismo, Xbox, Playstation! en Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:20:28 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.apexkings.com/images/misc/rss.png APEX Kings - Racing Games http://www.apexkings.com/ GT5 “GameStop Edition” Packaging Reveals Back of Case http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4996-GT5-GameStop-Edition-Packaging-Reveals-Back-of-Case?goto=newpost Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:25:26 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/GT5-gamestop-boxart-front-223x300.jpg ...

(Don’t panic – the game will not be sold with this cover in GameStop stores.)

When Joey Logano went up against Kazunori Yamauchi in GT5 at the private GameStop manager convention, everyone in attendance won a free copy of the game. While Sony (obviously) wasn’t able to just hand it over yet, they did provide attendees with empty Blu-Ray cases sporting special-edition box art for Logano and Yamauchi to sign. This has, interestingly, provided us with the first look at the back of the game’s case, which showcases 2005 Gran Turismo Award winner Stephen Papadakis’ Honda S2000.

Keep in mind the rear box art can and and probably will be change before release, but that doesn’t make it any less cool to see right now. Thanks to Zonda_Guy for sharing!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4996-GT5-GameStop-Edition-Packaging-Reveals-Back-of-Case GT5 Kiosk Demo Also Playable at Target Stores http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4974-GT5-Kiosk-Demo-Also-Playable-at-Target-Stores?goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:36:14 GMT The playable Gran Turismo 5 demo that first appeared in Best Buy (http://www.gtplanet.net/confirmed-gran-turismo-5-playable-demo-at-best-buy/) has... The playable Gran Turismo 5 demo that first appeared in Best Buy has now begun to appear at Target stores, according to early reports from GTPlanet readers Ryan of Denver, Colorado and Stefan of Brooklyn, New York. Check out their pictures below for confirmation, and take a look at a few more videos from Jeramy back in Oregon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfNo_...eature=channel
Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4974-GT5-Kiosk-Demo-Also-Playable-at-Target-Stores Best Buy’s GT5 Demo: Gameplay Video Collection http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4967-Best-Buys-GT5-Demo-Gameplay-Video-Collection?goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:53:12 GMT Thanks to gamer28 for the tip! Related posts: 1. GT5 Demo Collection is Real, Includes Garage Video... Thanks to gamer28 for the tip!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4967-Best-Buys-GT5-Demo-Gameplay-Video-Collection More Screenshots, Videos of GT5’s New Damage Modeling http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4965-More-Screenshots-Videos-of-GT5s-New-Damage-Modeling?goto=newpost Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:56:44 GMT The new Gran Turismo 5 damage system first spotted by GTPlanet users (http://www.gtplanet.net/new-gran-turismo-5-damage-model-in-best-buy-demo/) in... The new Gran Turismo 5 damage system first spotted by GTPlanet users in the Best Buy demo continues to make waves throughout our community, as more pictures (and now videos) keep coming in. Here’s the latest batch of higher-quality photos from Asane and tyv2448, along with a YouTube clip courtesy of StedySniper (thanks to Volcao for the tip!). Asane also provided me with a few more details on his observations so far:

From playing the*demo I noticed the only car I could really kill was the Ferrari 458*and to an extent the NASCAR car and the AMG. The other cars in demo*were impossible to really beat up only having dents and scratches.*I think it’s either damage is only turned on in some cars or PD has*made some deals with a few manufacturers to have that kind of crazy*damage. For example, the 458 is murdered in these screenshots, but the*Ferrari Enzo was very hard to kill.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4965-More-Screenshots-Videos-of-GT5s-New-Damage-Modeling New Gran Turismo 5 Damage Model in Best Buy Demo http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4958-New-Gran-Turismo-5-Damage-Model-in-Best-Buy-Demo?goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:31:16 GMT At first glance, it appeared the GT5 demo popping up in Best Buy stores (http://www.gtplanet.net/confirmed-gran-turismo-5-playable-demo-at-best-buy/)... At first glance, it appeared the GT5 demo popping up in Best Buy stores around the United States – while certainly exciting – did not reveal any new features or content. Now that more users in our forums are getting their hands on it, however, it seems that is definitely not the case. Collisions reveal dramatic and impressive new car damage modeling – I’ll let these screenshots by GTPlanet user Asane and gamer28 speak for themselves.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4958-New-Gran-Turismo-5-Damage-Model-in-Best-Buy-Demo <![CDATA[GT5 Video: Lamborghini Miura at Monza, Rome & Nurburgring]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4948-GT5-Video-Lamborghini-Miura-at-Monza-Rome-Nurburgring?goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:23:57 GMT No related posts. Image: http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/oW2ua1MZWGXYMTmhEowl_JCjQkQ/0/di ... No related posts.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4948-GT5-Video-Lamborghini-Miura-at-Monza-Rome-Nurburgring Gran Turismo 5 to be PlayStation 3’s Flagship Title http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4941-Gran-Turismo-5-to-be-PlayStation-3s-Flagship-Title?goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:20:56 GMT

Those of us here on GTPlanet aren’t the only ones who like the Gran Turismo series – it’s a pretty big deal for Sony, too. While speaking in an interview with MCV UK, Sony Worldwide Studios’ European VP, Michael Denny, confirmed GT’s importance to the company while defending the its lengthy development cycle:

“I think when you have got a game like Gran Turismo, which is THE PlayStation franchise, then you want the game to be absolutely right and to the highest quality.

“I think that now we’ve announced the date and we know this is a Gran Turismo year, it’s not only exciting for us at PlayStation company, but for PlayStation fans and consumers. And it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. From a worldwide studio perspective, our strategy is always to concentrate on the highest quality possible.

“We need exclusive games that differentiates our platform, Gran Turismo has always been our flagship title and I am sure it is going to be that again.”

Check out the full more of his comments in the full article at MCV.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4941-Gran-Turismo-5-to-be-PlayStation-3s-Flagship-Title Kazunori Yamauchi vs. NASCAR Driver Joey Logano in GT5 http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4936-Kazunori-Yamauchi-vs-NASCAR-Driver-Joey-Logano-in-GT5?goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:30:56 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/joey-logano-gt5.jpg Kazunori Yamauchi went head-to-head in a fastest lap shootout with NASCAR...

Kazunori Yamauchi went head-to-head in a fastest lap shootout with NASCAR driver Joey Logano at a private Gamestop manager’s convention just last week. Logano managed to best Yamauchi’s time in his own NASCAR machine on Tokyo R246, winning everyone in attendance a free copy of GT5. Thanks to Bryan Cook of*Logano’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing, for capturing this video of the event and sharing it with GTPlanet!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4936-Kazunori-Yamauchi-vs-NASCAR-Driver-Joey-Logano-in-GT5 Gran Turismo 5 Demo Playable at Best Buy in Oregon (Confirmed) http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4923-Gran-Turismo-5-Demo-Playable-at-Best-Buy-in-Oregon-%28Confirmed%29?goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:05:29 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gt5-demo-info.jpg The playable GT5 demo which was first spotted last night...

The playable GT5 demo which was first spotted last night at a Best Buy in Oregon has now been confirmed by multiple sources. GTPlanet reader Jeramy has also grabbed video of the new demo, walking us through all of the available cars, tracks, and features. Vermontster of the PS Forums has also shared his conversation with the Best Buy employees (thanks, calvins48), which you’ll see below. We do, indeed, owe a lot of thanks to Oldschool27 for his discovery!

The demo should be coming to more (and hopefully all) Best Buy stores over the coming weeks. For now, if you’re in the Clackamas, Oregon area (outside of Portland), you can get an early taste of GT5 right now. Click here for the exact location and directions to the store -- tell them GTPlanet sent you!

We all owe a big THANK YOU to Oldschool27 for this find.

He was in fact correct.* The Best Buy in Clackamas, OR has a working, PLAYABLE demo.*It has 2 modes. Time trial or Arcade mode,*arcade mode has 3 levels of difficulty- A ,B, C

5 tracks are available

1. Rome

2. Toscano

3. Indy Super Speedway

4.* The RING Nordscheif (sp)

5.* Tokoyo R 246

11 cars are available.

1. Merceds Benz SLS AMG

2. Corvette Stingray ‘69

3.*Enzo Ferrari

4.* GT Citroen

5. Ferrari 458 Italia

6.* Lambo Gallardo

7.* Audi R8

8. #24 Jeff Gordon Dupont Chevy

9.* Nissan Motul Autech GTR (super GT)

The last 2 cars are available to use in rally

10.* Nissan GTR V Spec

11.* Citroen C4 WRC

I had a lengthy conversation with the stores manager.* He said Sony sent it to them and they just set it up.* I think I may have really scared the guy.* He left me to go search to see if he was under any gag order.* He was not fond of the idea of hundreds of people comming in just to play a demo.* I told him to stock up on steering wheels and enjoy the next 2 months. :)

I am down loading the 3 pictures I was able to take.* The manager was very addament about not filming in his store.* They are of the TT screen, the arcade screen and home screen.

The physics are going to be familiar to those who did the Indy time trials.* They are a step up in difficulty for sure.* The graphics are nothing short of spectacular.* The demo was set up*for controller use and the left stick didn’t work so I was forced into using the D-pad.

I’m not sure if my photo’s will be any better than Oldschool were.* All I have are those 3 photo’s and a half an hour playing the demo as proof of its existance.* I also met Oldschool at Bst Buy.* He walked me through the demo then let me at it.

Thank you Oldschool.* This was a great find.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4923-Gran-Turismo-5-Demo-Playable-at-Best-Buy-in-Oregon-%28Confirmed%29 Gran Turismo 5 Releases in Australia November 4th http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4911-Gran-Turismo-5-Releases-in-Australia-November-4th?goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:22:29 GMT Our friends down under finally have an official release date for Gran Turismo 5: *November 4, 2010*, as confirmed by this press release... Our friends down under finally have an official release date for Gran Turismo 5: November 4, 2010, as confirmed by this press release from Sony. If you know you want the Signature Edition, be sure and reserve your copy now at a local retailer such as GAME Australia or EBGames.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4911-Gran-Turismo-5-Releases-in-Australia-November-4th Playable GT5 Demo Coming to Best Buy Stores? http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4910-Playable-GT5-Demo-Coming-to-Best-Buy-Stores?goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:22:29 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/best-buy-store-300x229.jpg ...

Before you read any further, keep in mind this rumor – while very promising – has only been mentioned by one person, so proceed with caution. With that said, Oldschool27 of the PlayStation Forums claims to have spotted a playable Gran Turismo 5 demo at a PS3 kiosk inside a Best Buy in Oregon. He’s backed up his story with pictures and information about the “5 tracks” and “15 cars” featured, including Rome, Daytona, Toscana, and Jeff Gordon’s #24 NASCAR.

You can read his thread for yourself, though it was unfortunately closed by the PS Forum moderators due to “flaming”. Others were understandably suspicious, and as of Wednesday night no other Oregon-based forum users were able to find this at their local stores just yet.

Regardless, the pictures are quite convincing, and it should be expected that retailers will receive playable demos of the game at least some time between now and November. Oldschool27, if you’re reading, please contact me or leave a comment below regarding the exact location of the store you visited so that others can go and check it out. Thanks to Ricardo for the tip!

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4910-Playable-GT5-Demo-Coming-to-Best-Buy-Stores <![CDATA[InsideSimRacing GT5 Special: Yamauchi Interview, Gameplay Impressions & More]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4886-InsideSimRacing-GT5-Special-Yamauchi-Interview-Gameplay-Impressions-More?goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:58:59 GMT InsideSimRacing (http://www.insidesimracing.tv/) has just published their Gran Turismo 5 Special, dedicating almost the entire 38-minute episode to... InsideSimRacing has just published their Gran Turismo 5 Special, dedicating almost the entire 38-minute episode to video reports from Gamescom 2010 by our cooperative team of Andreas (from InsideSimRacing), Famine, and Venari. They discuss everything that we learned from the show, and go into more detail about the private breakout session, the Yamauchi interview, and how the latest GT5 demo compares to previous games from the series. It’s divided into three different segments, so be sure to watch through the full episode to make sure you catch everything. The guys at ISR have even more GT5 material from the show coming, so stay tuned.

Once again, I’d like to thank Famine, Venari, and Andreas for all their hard work at the show, Darin at InsideSimRacing and their Sony representative, Alex, for providing us with so much awesome access throughout the week. Well done, guys!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4886-InsideSimRacing-GT5-Special-Yamauchi-Interview-Gameplay-Impressions-More Siena’s Flags Removed from GT5’s Piazza del Campo Circuit http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4882-Sienas-Flags-Removed-from-GT5s-Piazza-del-Campo-Circuit?goto=newpost Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:14:28 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gran-turismo-5-karting-10-300x168.jpg ...

Remember the outraged city of Siena, which was preparing legal action against Sony because the city’s*Contrade flags appeared around*GT5’s karting track, Piazza del Campo? There was some concern and confusion regarding what the eventual outcome would be, but the solution fortunately turned out to be quite simple: the offensive flags were removed and Siena’s cultural heritage “protected”… *As*reported by Corriere Fiorentino:

The Consortium*continues the note, “notes also welcome the establishment of the Sony to withdraw immediately from the market any promotional materials containing references to and claims on which there are exclusive rights of Contrade and the Consortium, as well as the commitment to remove, dall’edizione the game on the market by November, flags and any reference to the Feast Contrade and Siena.*In addition to the successful from the strictly legal matter, the Consortium is pleased because the reasons underlying its action, namely the protection of historical and cultural heritage as the Palio of Siena community were listed by Sony. “

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4882-Sienas-Flags-Removed-from-GT5s-Piazza-del-Campo-Circuit GT5 Gameplay Videos: Circuit de la Sarthe http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4854-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Circuit-de-la-Sarthe?goto=newpost Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:01:02 GMT Videos from the most recent build of the game shown at Gamescom 2010.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4854-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Circuit-de-la-Sarthe Gran Turismo 5 HD Installation Approximately 10GB in Size http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4840-Gran-Turismo-5-HD-Installation-Approximately-10GB-in-Size?goto=newpost Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:07:42 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ps3_harddrive-300x233.jpg Kazunori Yamauchi has given us a heads-up regarding what to expect...

Kazunori Yamauchi has given us a heads-up regarding what to expect from GT5 in terms of hard drive installation size via Twitter (human translation thanks to*our own SHIRAKAWA Akira):

If you have at least 256MB it will work, but if you have 10 GB available you will be able to play comfortably.

Most of today’s heftiest games consume at least several GB – by comparison, GT5 Prologue requires about 6GB. Copying data to the system’s internal drive significantly reduces loading times due to the faster rate at which data can be read from HDD into the system’s memory. Yamauchi’s tweet is a little ambiguous on the details regarding exactly how much space you will need, but for the best possible experience, just make sure you’ve got at least 10GB available before November comes along!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4840-Gran-Turismo-5-HD-Installation-Approximately-10GB-in-Size Forza Motorsport 3 - Week in Review (8/27) http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4818-Forza-Motorsport-3-Week-in-Review-%288-27%29?goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:23:08 GMT We here at Turn 10 are no strangers to high performance cars and last Friday, August 20, we had a chance to share some of the high-speed coolness... We here at Turn 10 are no strangers to high performance cars and last Friday, August 20, we had a chance to share some of the high-speed coolness with the rest of Microsoft. The Forza Motorsport Car Show was held at the Commons--one of the large open areas on the MS campus and near the massive--and massively impressive--MS cafeteria (forgive my awe but I'm still new here!). The event was a great mix of real-life cars and some good old-fashioned Forza 3 racing and here's how it all went down:

First, the cars. The folks at Evolution Motorsports and Max RPM Motorsports brought the goods that brought the crowds--namely six high end racing cars--including four Porsche models, a gorgeous lemon-yellow Ferrari 430 Scuderia and, the star of the bunch, a bright orange Gumpert Apollo. If you own the Forza 3 Exotic Car Pack DLC, you probably know that the Gumpert is a fantastic beast of a machine, and it's even more impressive in person. Microsoft employees and their guests got a chance to take pictures, sit in the driver's seat and even hear the car's massive engine in action for a few minutes.

The roar of Gumpert's engine was a fearsome thing but I have to say that, personally, the car's most impressive aspect was the incredibly wide rear tires--they looked better suited for the Batmobile and quite obviously provide the kind of grip you need in such a powerful car.

In keeping with the Gumpert theme, inside the Microsoft cafeteria, we ran a Top Gear-style time trial for MS employees with the top prize winner getting his hands on a Fanatec Wheel, as well as numerous copies of Forza 3 and DLC codes aplenty. We had a great turnout--with Jube doing a great job of running the tourney and making sure everyone stuck to the rules, which were as follows:

Car: Gumpert Apollo
Track: Mugello Club Circuit
Laps: 3
Assists: All allowed

To keep a level playing field, all competitors drove with the Microsoft Steering Wheel. The top time clocked in at 55.712 which was a valiant effort but it didn't come close to the 53.759 lap turned in by Turn 10's Christian (good thing T10 employees were exempt). The driver with the best time won a brand new Fanatec Porsche wheel, with runners up getting copies of Forza 3, and free download codes to boot.

Image by o Aperture o - See this in more in the Community Gallery

In all it was a great chance to show the rest of Microsoft just how fun Forza can be and I hope we can do something like this again in the near future. Who knows? Maybe we'll be able to get some of you local guys involved as well. Now here's Fred with the rest of the Week in Review.

Featured Video

Community Update

Special time trial this week, in order to compete and compare the community’s times against the MS employees who took on the Gumpert challenge last week. You will need to have the Exotic Car pack installed in order to compete. Let’s see how close community can come to beating Christian’s time

Time Trial: Apollo Challenge

What: Official Turn 10 Featured Time Trial Challenge

When: Now until Friday September 3rd at 12:00PM PDT

Where: Time Trials in Forza Motorsport 3.

Track and Car: Mugello Club Circuit – 2010 Gumpert Apollo

How: Navigate to the “Leaderboards” menu and scroll down to “Time Trial”. Scroll down to “Apollo Challenge” and “Press A to Start Race” at the top of the leaderboard. Set your best possible lap time!

Image by Roberts RS - See this in more in the Community Gallery

Production Hopper Refresh and More New Hoppers Coming
The first refresh of the Cycled Production hopper is just around the corner. Next week we will be reviewing all the hopper data from our latest update and putting together the next set of car and track combos for the Cycled Production hopper. Also in the works is a whole new hopper category, not going to go in to all the details just yet but suffice to say this hopper will be the place to go when you want something a little different than straight up circuit racing.

Interested in getting featured in the community update?
The community update is a great way to get one of your upcoming events, leagues, competitions or giveaways noticed. Do you want to get your event featured in this section? Head on over to our brand new community events section and promote your items. We changed the way this works and condensed it to one thread, I cannot stress enough that the events we post come directly from that thread so if you want to get the word out, stop on by.

Image by INR Jossman - See this in more in the Community Gallery

Corvette Challenge Paint Competition
There is still a week left in the Corvette Challenge, a paint competition that CRjakeFAN stated early last week. You have your choice of replicating any of the liveries for the Corvette Challenge racecars from the 1988, '89 or '90 seasons on the C4 Corvette Grand Sport. Make sure to check out all the contest details in the link above.

Porsche Photocomp
The Porsche photo competition, being hosted by Bleuprint, still has a week left and it already has a lot of great photos posted. Rules are pretty simple for this one any Porsche on any track with no outside editing. Now don’t let the stiff competition scare you away from the chance to pick up cool million credits, check out the submission thread above to get in on the action.

Real life photography
Showing that their skills are not limited to in-game photography many of the Forza photographers have been showing off their real life photo work. Some of the new photos from Old Boone’s trip out to Road America are especially nice. Take a look at all the great real life photos from the talented members of the Multimedia section by clicking on the link above.

Image by AZT B Tender - See this in more in the Community Gallery

Golden Years Tuning Comp
Entries have begun to come in for TruthWhenILie’s Golden Years Tuning Comp. Those of you who are not familiar with this competition, the goal was to create a C425 tune on any car from the years 1980 to 1999. TruthWhenILie has your regular prizing structure combined with a bunch of mystery prizes categories that have not yet be totally revealed. Click on the link above to follow along with the action from this tuning comp.

C30 Spec Tournament
Looking for some competitive racing in B class? F1R Amackin has the C30 Spec Tournament starting on September 18th. This new series is a 10 week long season featuring the 2009 Volvo C30 R. This series will be running simulation damage and wear so in some of the longer races you should be prepared for pitstops. The race details and schedule can be found in the link above if you are interested in some clean racing Volvo action.

NOTE: This post is from Forza Motorsport. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4818-Forza-Motorsport-3-Week-in-Review-%288-27%29 Abarth 1500 Bertone B.A.T. 1 Coupe Wins Gran Turismo Trophy at Pebble Beach 2010 http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4813-Abarth-1500-Bertone-B-A-T-1-Coupe-Wins-Gran-Turismo-Trophy-at-Pebble-Beach-2010?goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:05:05 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/polyphony-digital-award-pebble-beach-2010-1.jpeg For the third consecutive year, Kazunori...

For the third consecutive year, Kazunori Yamauchi has been invited to the prestigious Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance to present the Gran Turismo Trophy – an award “to support those who make efforts to preserve irreplaceable, precious automotive culture for future generations to come”. This year, it goes to the one and only*1952 Abarth 1500 Biposto Coupe in existence – an unusual, quirky, and significant car:

Designed by master designer Franco Scaglione, working for Bertone at the time, the Abarth 1500 Biposto boasted not only a mix of strong character and unique style, but first-class aerodynamics as well. The eye-opening triple headlights and the carved out features of the front and rear fenders gave it its own unique look, while the shape of the rear featured hints of the coming of the popular tailfin design. The overall design later proved to produce superior aerodynamics in wind tunnel testing, thanks in part to Scaglione’s previous study of aeronautical engineering. Scaglione was later credited for having “anticipated the flow of air” way back in the 1950s.

There was only one Abarth 1500 Biposto manufactured, and it was shown in the 1952 Torino Auto Show. After that it was purchased by Packard of the United States, and it disappeared from the public’s eye. This historically significant car was restored to perfection by Chris Drake of the United Kingdom, and brought to the United States to appear at the 2010 Concours de Elegance in Pebble Beach where it took home the Gran Turismo Trophy.

Read more on the car’s fascinating history right here – it was regularly used by its previous owner to pick up his children from school!

It is likely – though not guaranteed – this little Abarth will be coming to a Gran Turismo game near you. The 2008 winner – a 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 Bertoni Prototype – was just confirmed for GT5 at Gamescom 2010. Last year’s winner, a 1965 Alfa Romeo TZ2, has yet to be seen…

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4813-Abarth-1500-Bertone-B-A-T-1-Coupe-Wins-Gran-Turismo-Trophy-at-Pebble-Beach-2010 InsideSimRacing Gamescom 2010 GT5 Video Coverage Preview http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4812-InsideSimRacing-Gamescom-2010-GT5-Video-Coverage-Preview?goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:46:47 GMT As I mentioned earlier (http://www.gtplanet.net/gtplanet-insidesimracing-team-up-for-gamescom-2010-coverage-yamauchi-interview/), GTPlanet teamed up... As I mentioned earlier, GTPlanet teamed up with InsideSimRacing to provide comprehensive coverage of GT5 at Gamescom 2010 (which turned out to be quite a job!). We covered the announcements as they happened -- now the ISR team is sorting through over 80GB of material to include for their upcoming GT5 and Gamescom special features. Watch for a quick preview in the latest episode (posted above) around the 28:00 mark, or take a look at a few of these screenshots from their*footage below.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4812-InsideSimRacing-Gamescom-2010-GT5-Video-Coverage-Preview NASCAR Video from Latest GT5 Gamescom 2010 Demo http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4799-NASCAR-Video-from-Latest-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo?goto=newpost Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:25:08 GMT Thanks to our own Alba (http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/member.php?u=54583) and*Denur (http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/member.php?u=100607) for this... Thanks to our own Alba and*Denur for this footage!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4799-NASCAR-Video-from-Latest-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo GT5 Gameplay Videos: Zonda R, Tom’s Supra, IS-F Concept, Z4 M at the Nurburgring http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4789-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Zonda-R-Toms-Supra-IS-F-Concept-Z4-M-at-the-Nurburgring?goto=newpost Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:42:03 GMT Also, don’t miss these two extended clips at Gamersyde!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4789-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Zonda-R-Toms-Supra-IS-F-Concept-Z4-M-at-the-Nurburgring GT5 Gameplay Video: Fiat 500 F ‘67 at Piazza Del Campo http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4772-GT5-Gameplay-Video-Fiat-500-F-67-at-Piazza-Del-Campo?goto=newpost Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:57:49 GMT Regardless of what you think about this*controversial little Italian track... Regardless of what you think about this*controversial little Italian track, you’re going to love this classic little Italian car. Enjoy some cockpit gameplay footage, courtesy of our own Alba and Denur!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4772-GT5-Gameplay-Video-Fiat-500-F-67-at-Piazza-Del-Campo GT5 Gameplay Videos: Ferrari 330 P4 at Monza, Nurburgring http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4755-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Ferrari-330-P4-at-Monza-Nurburgring?goto=newpost Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:46:05 GMT A huge thanks to our own Alba (http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/member.php?u=54583) and Denur (http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/member.php?u=100607) for... A huge thanks to our own Alba and Denur for filming the first clip up there with quality sound!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4755-GT5-Gameplay-Videos-Ferrari-330-P4-at-Monza-Nurburgring Sony, Polyphony Digital Face Italian Legal Threats http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4751-Sony-Polyphony-Digital-Face-Italian-Legal-Threats?goto=newpost Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:58:52 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/piazza-del-campo-gt5.jpg Image:...

The new karting track revealed in the latest*GT5 demo shown off at Gamescom 2010 is now causing problems for Polyphony Digital and Sony Computer Entertainment. The track, named Piazza del Campo after the famous city square in Siena, Italy, hosts a world-renowned horse race twice a year known as the Palio di Siena (you may remember it in*Quantum of Solace - ironically a Sony movie). Unfortunately, though, in Polyphony’s digital recreation of the location, they’ve (gasp!) used flags of the local contrada without permission.*As reported by Corriere Fiorentino, the city is none too happy about it, and is threatening to take legal action against Sony to prevent sale and distribution of the game in Italy.

While other sites are publishing headlines suggesting this legal scuffle could cause the delay of the game, I don’t see any need for alarm. This is clearly a money-grab for Siena officials, but even if Sony isn’t willing to pay, it seems their demands could be easily worked around by replacing the flags with something less “offensive” and/or re-naming the track (there has to be a reason GT4’s rendition of the Monaco F1 circuit is known as “Cote d’Azur”).

Siena should be careful, though – a little free advertising in a game that will sell millions of copies around the world might not be a bad thing…

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4751-Sony-Polyphony-Digital-Face-Italian-Legal-Threats Gran Turismo 5 Wins Top Honors at Gamescom 2010 http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4750-Gran-Turismo-5-Wins-Top-Honors-at-Gamescom-2010?goto=newpost Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:58:52 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gt5-gamescom-winner.jpeg GT5...

GT5 may not be too popular in Italy, but that’s fortunately not the case with the judges at Gamescom in Germany. They’ve awarded the game two of the most important prizes of the show: “Best of Gamescom” and “Best Console Game”. As you can see from the results below, it won each category in which it was nominated. Congratulations to Kazunori Yamauchi and his team at Polyphony Digital!

Best of Gamescom:

Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Crysis 2 (Crytek)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (LucasArts)
Civilization V (2K)

Hardware Accessories:

Kinect (Microsoft)
PlayStation Move (Sony)
Cyborg R.A.T. 7 (Mad Catz)
Instruments: Rock Band 3 (MTV)

Best Console Game:

Mafia II (2K)
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft Montr.)
Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda)
FIFA 11 (EA)
Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Nintendo)
Gran Turismo 5 (Sony)

Best Mobile Game:

The Sims 3 (EA)
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (Sony)
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Nintendo)
Super Scribblenauts (Warner Bros.)

Best Online Game:

Guild Wars 2 (Ncsoft West)
Poisonville (Bigpoint)
Black Prophecy (gamigo AG)
Star Wars: The Old Republic (LucasArts)
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (Blizzard Entertainment)

Best PC Game:

Civilization V (2K)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Crysis 2 (Crytek)

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4750-Gran-Turismo-5-Wins-Top-Honors-at-Gamescom-2010 More GT5 Menu Screens Show Photomode http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4741-More-GT5-Menu-Screens-Show-Photomode?goto=newpost Sun, 22 Aug 2010 05:49:54 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gt5-photomode-menu-9-200x200.jpg ...

Thanks for the tip, Randy!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4741-More-GT5-Menu-Screens-Show-Photomode Gran Turismo 5 Menu Screens Show Tuning Options http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4733-Gran-Turismo-5-Menu-Screens-Show-Tuning-Options?goto=newpost Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:54:08 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gt5-menu-tuning-7-200x200.jpg ...

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4733-Gran-Turismo-5-Menu-Screens-Show-Tuning-Options Video Reveals Polyphony Digital Studied Spa-Francorchamps http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4727-Video-Reveals-Polyphony-Digital-Studied-Spa-Francorchamps?goto=newpost Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:24:53 GMT Before you read any further, keep in mind *the information below should NOT be taken as confirmation that any of the following tracks will be in Gran... Before you read any further, keep in mind the information below should NOT be taken as confirmation that any of the following tracks will be in Gran Turismo 5. I am posting this here to get ahead of other media outlets who post this without more careful consideration of what may actually be shown in these images. With that said, the following is an interesting discovery you GTPlanet readers should know about.

In the three-part Nurburgring 24-Hours documentary just published by Polyphony Digital, you’ll see several scenes from within the company’s headquarters. In that footage, one very interesting screen shot of an employee’s computer showing what appears to be a directory of “assets” or reference material for tracks both seen and un-seen in the GT series throughout the years. The text is in Japanese, but that didn’t stop new GTPlanet user kyono from taking a closer look. His discoveries include the much-wanted Spa Franchorchamps, Pikes Peak, and the much-loved classic fantasy circuit from Gran Turismo 2, Grindelwald (refresh your memory here). Here’s a picture:

See more analysis of the screenshot here. Even if you can’t read the language, you can double-check the translations by matching up the Japanese characters with Google: Spa Francorchamps, Pike’s Peak, and Grindelwald (you’ll find it in the image immediately above Gornergratbahn). Watch for this screen yourself at around 12:40 in the video below.

Here’s a partial translation of the tracks visible in this list, kindly offered by SHIRAKAWA Akira*in our forums:

????/ Europe ????
????????????
????????? America ????
????????? Italia ??????????
????? Fuji Speedway
????? Europe ????
BBC Top Gear Test Track
???? Fuji Speedway
?f-3000
Indianapolis
Infineon (raceway)
Capri
Kleine Scheidegg
Grindelwald
Gornergratbahn
Seattle
Spa Francorchamps
Seoul
Tahiti
Twin Ring Motegi
Daytona
Nurburgring
— [Nurburgring data files following]
— [...]
Pikes Peak
Paris
Valencia
Bandimere Speedway (At least, that’s my interpretation for what I read as ????????????)

(See parts 2 and 3 here.)

Let me reiterate, there is no reason to believe this is the list of tracks in development for Gran Turismo 5. It’s most likely a compilation of material for all the tracks that Polyphony Digital has included or has considered for their games. With that said, a Spa-Francorchamps sticker appeared on this suitcase in the company’s studios (you’ll also see a sticker for Monza, which was just confirmed). Also, a tipster with a perfect track record told me either Spa-Francorchamps or Indianapolis would be the track used for the GT Academy 2010 demo.

With this latest discovery, there is now no question for me that Polyphony Digital has studied the track. Whether or not they will include it in GT5, though, remains to be seen.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4727-Video-Reveals-Polyphony-Digital-Studied-Spa-Francorchamps GTTV Documentary: Racing at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4726-GTTV-Documentary-Racing-at-the-24-Hours-of-Nurburgring?goto=newpost Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:43:39 GMT Related posts: 1. Onboard with Yamauchi at the Nurburgring 24h Race (http://www.gtplanet.net/onboard-with-yamauchi-at-the-nurburgring-24h-race/) 2.... Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4726-GTTV-Documentary-Racing-at-the-24-Hours-of-Nurburgring Forza Motorsport 3 - Week in Review (8/20) http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4713-Forza-Motorsport-3-Week-in-Review-%288-20%29?goto=newpost Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:09:03 GMT Last week, someone asked me to clarify what the job of a community manager is. Here’s what I had to say on the forums:

"As community manager, my job is to figure out ways to better serve the existing Forza community base while also growing the community over time. Communication is certainly an aspect of that--though it should be obvious that there will often be times when the community team cannot talk about certain subjects for various reasons. Nonetheless, listening to the community's feedback is always a priority.

A large chunk of community management is removed from the game (and found here in the forums, blogs, and podcasts of FM.net), but another aspect of the job is helping to figure out ways to improve the social experiences in the Forza series itself. It's an aspect of the job that I relish for a number of reasons, not the least of which is getting to work with some of the most talented developers in the industry."

Image by DUI Fallen - See this in more in the Community Gallery

It’s a pretty straightforward, if not entirely complete, answer. Later, as I was thinking more about the role of a community manager--as well as the role of the community within a game’s ecosystem--I came upon this bit of wisdom from games community blog SixOkay:

"I see it this way – a developer, or publisher, or Community Manager has to act as a government would, and the community will act as a neighborhood naturally would. Community Managers should strive to provide good metaphorical roads, well lit sidewalks, and nice parks for people to congregate in. Make it safe for people to come out of their homes. Once that job is accomplished, it’s the people within the neighborhood who will build the community."

Now that’s a great explanation of the community relationship we strive for here at Turn 10, and nowhere was that more clearly represented than at this week’s Game With Turn 10. This was the fifth such event we’ve hosted and, to say it was a rousing success would be a massive understatement. We had a great turnout from the community and Turn 10 folks as well. Between Landin hanging out in the Playground hopper, Fred getting his drag racing on, Jube driving an ugly, ugly VW Beetle, resident Turn 10 ringer Christian (aka VoodooUomo) handing people their butts en masse, and Yours Truly redefining mediocrity in the Cycled Production Car hopper, there was a lot going on (and lots of unicorn cars up for grabs). I look forward to doing another Game With Turn 10 event soon.

Image by GrahamC216 - See this in more in the Community Gallery

Thanks to all of you who took some time to play with us--you guys are truly proof that the Forza “neighborhood” is alive and well. Now, that’s my perspective, but what do you guys think? What do you most appreciate about the Forza community? What appeals to you most about our little automotive home away from home and which aspects of the Forza “neighborhood” do you think could use some public works crews to repair? I’d like to hear your feedback and I’ll be gifting out a few unicorn cars for the best (and most constructive) thoughts.

In other news, I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to the return of F1--that four-week break between Hungary and next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix has seemed like a miniature eternity, especially considering the epic setting of Spa. If you’re heading out to the Grand Prix next weekend, or if you’re planning on attending any cool motorsports or automotive events in the next few weeks and you’re planning on taking photos, let us know. We’d love to feature some of your photos in a future blog.

Well that’s all for this week. I’ve got a date in the Cycled Production Car hoppers that should keep me busy this weekend…

Community Update

Time Trial: 944 Turbo on Sebring

What: Official Turn 10 Featured Time Trial Challenge

When: Now until Friday August 27th at 12:00PM PDT

Where: Time Trials in Forza Motorsport 3.

Track and Car: Sebring Short Circuit – 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo

How: Navigate to the “Leaderboards” menu and scroll down to “Time Trial”. Scroll down to “944 Turbo on Sebring” and “Press A to Start Race” at the top of the leaderboard. Set your best possible lap time!

Twitter Trivia:
Hey guys, due to a really packed Friday here at Turn 10 there will not be trivia taking place this week. However we will be back on track next week with a new set of questions, picture trivia and of course, lots of unicorn prizes to give out! You can follow us at twitter.com/turn10studios.

Image by Wrytch - See this in more in the Community Gallery Interested in getting featured in the community update?
The community update is a great way to get one of your upcoming events, leagues, competitions or giveaways noticed. Do you want to get your event featured in this section? Head on over to our brand new community events section and promote your items. We changed the way this works and condensed it to one thread, I cannot stress enough that the events we post come directly from that thread so if you want to get the word out, stop on by.

Socks Out Racing: V8 Saloon Racing Series
Socks Out Racing is launching a new B-Class racing series this week! The series will take place over the course of 6 weeks, with races taking place on Thursday nights. The first race kicks off today August 19th, but you must join before Race 2 on August 26th if you do not want to start with weight penalty. Click the link above for further details. Deadline: August 26th. 2010

Image by DB9D9 - See this in more in the Community Gallery

Forza Rolex Series
The Rolex Grand-Am Series is back in Forza form with the first race of the season set for next Friday (8/27). If you are looking for close racing with the perennial sports car companies represented, this is the series for you. All cars have been balanced to be unique in their own respects, but still competitive against the competition. More details in the link above, but make sure you sign up this week!
Deadline: August 26th, 2010.

How much drift can you get out of $35,000?
Do you have $35,000 in your pocket? Do you want to enter a drift competition? Well here's your chance! In this event, you are challenged to build a drift car by purchasing the car and upgrading that car with aftermarket parts, all on a budget of $35,000. There is no limit on what car you buy or what you do with your car, just make sure you don't spend more than 35 grand! Once your machine is ready, take it out to the track and show off your machine's sideways capabilities and your drifting skills! Do you have what it takes? Sign up NOW!
Deadline: September 1st 2010.

Nurbracer ADAC 2.4h Rennen Nordschleife
Hey, it's me again. Every year, the Nurburgring holds a 24 hour race around the Nordschleife and a section of the GP track. Hundreds of drivers flock to enter the event, many of them unable to finish. The winner of this event is the driver that covers the most distance in the time given. The rules are as realistic as possible; drivers can only drive for a maximum of 150 minutes at a time (that's about 2.4 hours). So a 2.4 hour race it is, then!

NOTE: This post is from Forza Motorsport. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4713-Forza-Motorsport-3-Week-in-Review-%288-20%29 66 Stunning Gran Turismo 5 Screenshots (18 Megapixels) http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4710-66-Stunning-Gran-Turismo-5-Screenshots-%2818-Megapixels%29?goto=newpost Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:21:03 GMT You’ve probably seen most of these before – I had them posted here for a few hours yesterday until Sony asked me to take them down due to a press embargo on the material. No matter – now I’m able to share the full, original images with you in all their glory at 18 megapixels. Enjoy!

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4710-66-Stunning-Gran-Turismo-5-Screenshots-%2818-Megapixels%29 Gran Turismo 5 Karting Videos, 18-Megapixel Screenshots http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4700-Gran-Turismo-5-Karting-Videos-18-Megapixel-Screenshots?goto=newpost Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:00:00 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gran-turismo-5-karting-1-200x200.jpg ...

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4700-Gran-Turismo-5-Karting-Videos-18-Megapixel-Screenshots GamesCom Gran Turismo 5 Breakout Session: Full Details http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4695-GamesCom-Gran-Turismo-5-Breakout-Session-Full-Details?goto=newpost Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:31:49 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/image01a-1.jpg At 9am on August 18th, Andreas Nie, Venari and myself (representing...

At 9am on August 18th, Andreas Nie, Venari and myself (representing InsideSimRacing and GTPlanet) along with other members of the American press were ushered in to the first breakout session of GT5. Penrose Tackie and Alex Armour (Sony) were on hand and passed on the first vital piece of information – all material and information from this session was under a strict press embargo until 9am GMT on Thursday 19th August. So we had to keep all this to ourselves… The floor was then given over to Kazunori Yamauchi and Translator-san.

Kazunori told us that the 140-strong PD team were still hard at work, refining the game, and that the version he would demonstrate to us had been downloaded from Sony’s servers that very morning. It was, he said, a continuation of the presentation he’d given at E3.

Exclusively revealed at GamesCom the previous day was one new track – Autodromo Nazionale Monza – and a series of new vehicles. Monza, said Yamauchi, is an interesting track for both beginners and advanced drivers as the corners are typically very fast and the track can get quite narrow. The cars were of particular importance – the Pagani Zonda R ‘09, which he credited with recently lowering the production series vehicle ‘Ring lap time record, the Impreza WRX Sedan ‘10 which had just gone on sale and the DTM-based Lexus IS-F Racing Concept ‘08. The remaining four cars were special to him. First is the Ferrari 330 P4 ‘67, which locked out the podium in the 1967 Daytona 24hr and is one of Kazunori’s personal all-time favourite cars. Second was the Ford Mark IV Race ‘67 which, at the end of that season, finally beat the P4 at the Le Mans 24hr. Third was the Jaguar XJ13 Race ‘67, which was conceived and developed as a Ferrari-beater but never made it to track – Kazunori’s inclusion of this car is to allow drivers to recreate “what if” scenarios. Last was the Lamborghini Miura Bertone Prototype P400 ‘67, modelled on the only existing surviving car and distinguished from its production counterpart by a 1″ lower ride height.

Kazunori then moved on to what he termed “The Red & Blue of Gran Turismo”. He explained that, in 2001, when GT3: A-Spec was released, he’d intended to almost immediately release GT3: B-Spec – many of us are now familiar with the concept of B-Spec through the affectionately dubbed “B-Spec Bob” from GT4. B-Spec was intended as a racing-driver management simulator – akin to Football Manager – or, as the PD team term it, the Car Racing* Simulation RPG. However, at the time of GT3, it proved impossible to implement adequately and it has taken 10 years to reach the point where the Blue (B-Spec) is at an equal level to the Red (A-Spec).

Indeed in the GT Home section, B-Spec and A-Spec are centrally-placed with equally-sized icons.*Your B-Spec counterpart this time round is not one driver, but a whole squad of them. You can train only one to start with, but eventually you can have a stable of up to 6 B-Spec drivers at once – with four of them required to run a 24 hour race. Each driver has their own personality, from the ultra-calm to the hot-head and how they drive can be affected by current emotional state and mental and physical exhaustion.

The new B-Spec mode was demonstrated to us. GT4 players will be familiar with the strategy screen showing lap/split times, track position, vehicle place and gap and the instructions, but in GT5 this can be mixed with live footage of the race, rather than switching from one to the other and tyre wear and damage status are also included. The driver can be given instructions to speed up, maintain pace, slow down, pit or not pit as before, however there is a side-effect of the personalities – a particularly tired, agitated or aggressive driver may not necessarily follow your instructions!

A-Spec mode, of course, remai

ns as it ever was, though with additional refinement of vehicle physics and dynamics. Kazunori was keen to point out that the tyre and suspension geometry physics have evolved yet further and our impressions of the show floor demo certainly agree with that assessment. In particular, Kazunori was proud of how Gran Turismo has improved to the point where he felt he could introduce karting mode – a feature accidentally scooped and originally planned for GT6, but brought forward – due to the unique nature of kart handling. The demo of karting mode on the Sony stand was spectacular fun.

The remainder of GT Mode retains all the old favourites – licences, dealerships, tuning shop, used cars and five different levels of series (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Professional and Extreme) with the five different types of cars (Kart, Production, Rally, Race and Formula).

The next big piece of news was, as first mooted by amar212 on GTP back at the start of 2009, the Course Maker. Kazunori pointed out that they didn’t call it a “Course Editor” simply because one is not able to edit an existing course, but create wholly new ones from scratch with an intuitive interface. The player selects from one of four themes (three – Toscana Sunset, Springtime Germany and Belgian High Fens – were named), adjusts the parameters of the course and the track is randomly generated from scratch. The parameters available include switching between a loop/circuit and a rally-style point-to-point track, selecting the weather, the time of day, the frequency of corners, the sharpness of corners and the bank angle. The track can be divided into up to four sectors and each sector given a different set of corner characteristics – so you can generate a long straight in one sector and a tight, complex series of corners in the next. Kazunori demonstrated all of these features and the track generation time was incredibly short. The track is limited to 6.5 miles/10km, but since that’s nearly twice the length of an average F1 track, even the most ardent future-Tilke should be happy!

Though some might prefer a full-scale track editor to recreate their own Road Atlanta, Spa-Francorchamps or Bathurst – Kazunori included – at the present time the level of customisability combined with the scope and detail of Gran Turismo means it would require a huge editor program and, of course, the resulting track may not be accessible to everyone, whereas GT5 Course Maker tracks will be available to race online.

Lastly, Kazunori presented GT5’s Photo Mode, which supports 3D and was, in his opinion, the best implementation of 3D (though having seen the XJ13’s cockpit in 3D during a race, we’d disagree). Photo Mode should be quite familiar to GT4 players, but this time round it features almost all the image treatment features of dedicated photography software, infinitely variable camera angles and, as always, the time, space and backgrounds to crack out the perfect shot. Amongst the new locations is the Red Bull Racing hangar in Austria, where Kazunori briefly demonstrated photomode using a Viper SRT-10 ACR.

As we were the first session and had a slight overrun, Kazunori couldn’t take many questions. However, he was able to confirm that the number of unique courses available in the game is “more than 70″ – with the added scope of online Course Maker circuits – and that despite their best efforts to respond to criticism about standard car interiors, they were not able to implement cockpit camera (even one similar to GTPSP’s) in GT5 – a source of some disappointment to Kazunori, who is never happy to let down his fans and is probably his own biggest critic.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4695-GamesCom-Gran-Turismo-5-Breakout-Session-Full-Details Pagani Zonda R GT5 Gameplay Video at Madrid http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4696-Pagani-Zonda-R-GT5-Gameplay-Video-at-Madrid?goto=newpost Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:31:49 GMT Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4696-Pagani-Zonda-R-GT5-Gameplay-Video-at-Madrid <![CDATA[63 Stunning GT5 Screenshots: Karts, Le Mans Classics, Zonda R, & More]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4684-63-Stunning-GT5-Screenshots-Karts-Le-Mans-Classics-Zonda-R-More?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:10:07 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/BlackBG_PDI_RACINGKART100_001-200x200.jpg ...

Thanks to all who sent these in!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4684-63-Stunning-GT5-Screenshots-Karts-Le-Mans-Classics-Zonda-R-More NASCAR Gran Turismo 5 Gameplay Video at Monza http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4682-NASCAR-Gran-Turismo-5-Gameplay-Video-at-Monza?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:00:51 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gran-turismo-5-nascar-monza.jpg ...

You knew this was coming – check out this in-car NASCAR gameplay on GT5’s newest circuit, Monza. Click on the image below to watch the video, courtesy of Gamersyde.

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4682-NASCAR-Gran-Turismo-5-Gameplay-Video-at-Monza GT5 Gamescom 2010 Demo Menu, Car/Track Selection Videos http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4678-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo-Menu-Car-Track-Selection-Videos?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:33:10 GMT Via GTHQ.nl.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4678-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo-Menu-Car-Track-Selection-Videos First Gran Turismo 5 Monza Gameplay Video http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4679-First-Gran-Turismo-5-Monza-Gameplay-Video?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:33:10 GMT Thanks to Jon and XEPEGSM for the tip! Related posts: 1. First Video of Gran Turismo 5 Karting Gameplay... Thanks to Jon and XEPEGSM for the tip!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4679-First-Gran-Turismo-5-Monza-Gameplay-Video GamesCom – The Yamauchi Interview http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4669-GamesCom-The-Yamauchi-Interview?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:36:54 GMT Hello all, from drizzly Cologne!

At this morning’s breakout session at the Radisson Hotel, Cologne we were told that all information and media given was subject to an embargo until 0900 GMT Thursday morning – which we, unlike other sites, intend to respect – we were left in somewhat of a no-man’s land. Andreas, Venari and I couldn’t really bring you any of the information we wanted to and yet, at the same time, we have to report something. This is, after all, what you’re paying us for.

What we can bring you is news that, yet again, the GT5 code has received a few tweaks and is another, more recent build than E3, there’s some good news on expected features, some better news on some potential fears and some great news on some unexpected (but by now, thanks to “other sites”, internet-wide) features. We’ll provide more the instant the embargo expires tomorrow. Kazunori seemed quite nervous beforehand – pacing the courtyard, cigarette in hand – but his nervousness was unfounded.

Luckily, after a quick play on the GamesCom show floor of the latest GT5 build (with new tracks and cars as exclusively revealed late yesterday), Andreas received an SMS from Sony’s Alex Armour – Kazunori Yamauchi would see us now…

As Andreas, Venari and I sat down with Yamauchi, we were asked to be brief – it was, after all, lunchtime after a stressful morning and we were feeling hunger-pangs too. We didn’t quite get all the questions out that we wanted and Kazunori didn’t want to be filmed during the interview, but we tried our best to interrogate while respecting his time constraints.

Can you tell us anything about PSN Trophies in GT5?

Kazunori looked a little confused at first. We’d put to him the rumour about multiple Platinum trophies which he dismissed as just that – rumour. He clarified that he really hadn’t thought about Trophies in GT5 but that they will be in. Our considered opinion is that GT has been doing “trophies” since 1997 and it’s more likely than not that the Trophies system will be grafted onto the existing trophy aspects of the game.

Will GT5 feature LAN mode/multiple monitor support?

“Probably” was the reply. At this point, there are still aspects of the game that the 140-man strong team are still refining. My understanding of Kazunori’s precise words were more probably-likely than probably-possibly.

We’ve seen changing light and, recently, weather. Will this be available on all tracks?

“Not on all tracks, but some.”. We’d imagine that tracks with 24 hour races are more likely to see diurnal cycles, but whether you can race the ‘Ring in snow… at this point it is still up in the air.

With GT5, how close are you to your goal of “The Real Driving Simulator”?

“90%” was the instant answer. “Well, 85-90%”.

Are there any features missing from GT5 that you’d like to have included?

Kazunori said “Yes”, without hesistation. “But there’s still time to work on things!”

Would this include a livery editor?

“Probably not for GT5, though it’s certainly on our list of things to work on…”.

Previously we’ve seen you say things about weather, lighting, skidmarks, that you’d add them if you felt they added to gameplay. How much is this the case, compared to community pressure (from sites like GTPlanet) to add things?

“It’s probably evenly balanced”, said Kazunori. We’d interpret this as a borderline tacit admission that our forums – and many other sites – form research for PD, especially with regards to features. We have, after all, seen a recent addition of real-time skidmarks and reverse lights in the latest demo builds, now that there is the software and hardware to achieve it.

At this point we were asked if we could wrap it up quickly – we were originally told 3-4 minutes and we were already near ten. So the last question was the question I’d decided (hey, executive decision!) was the very best “alternate” question we’d received.

Given the time, money, space and resources, which fantasy Gran Turismo track would you create in the real world?

Kazunori was visibly awed by this question and spent nearly a minute thinking of an answer. “Deep Forest”, he said. I countered with “Trial Mountain?”. His next answer was complex – the team haven’t revealed anywhere near all of the tracks yet and there may be a fantasy GT5 track which exceeds Deep Forest in his estimations, and Trial Mountain in mine.

Kazunori continued, “A construction company in Japan [Maede] investigated the possibility of building Grand Valley. They wrote a book about it!”. We weren’t able to get an accurate title from Kazunori or Translator-san – it didn’t seem to translate well, but “Fantasy Business Scheme” was the final answer. If you know of this book, please let us know!

And that was that – the first meeting between the world’s largest Gran Turismo site and the game’s creator, courtesy of Alex Armour at Sony, Darin Gangi at InsideSimRacing, Andreas Nie (our co-conspirator) and Jordan.

As ever, we’ll let Translator-san have the last word:

“We need your name!”

“No you don’t. Translator-san will do just fine…”

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4669-GamesCom-The-Yamauchi-Interview Early Info on Gran Turismo 5’s “Course Maker” http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4670-Early-Info-on-Gran-Turismo-5s-Course-Maker?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:36:54 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/toscana-fields.jpg Remember the track editor our inside man, *amar212*, told you about...

Remember the track editor our inside man, amar212, told you about all the way back in April of 2009? It’s now been officially revealed, and IGN is first to give a few hints of what’s in store for this interesting new feature.

Rather than being a fully featured editor – a feature that, Yamauchi confessed, was tinkered with but deemed too complex – the course maker allows players to select certain set parameters to create a track. A theme can be selected, with the Belgian High Fens or Toscana two examples, and the individual track sectors are then defined.

Sectors are edited individually, with frequency of curves, sharpness of corners, degree of topography and banking angle are set with a series of sliders.

Catch the full article right here. We’ll have more details once the press embargos have been lifted!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4670-Early-Info-on-Gran-Turismo-5s-Course-Maker Gran Turismo 5 “Racing Pack” Bundle Announced for Japan http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4671-Gran-Turismo-5-Racing-Pack-Bundle-Announced-for-Japan?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:36:54 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gran-turismo-5-racing-pack-japan.jpg The GT5 Japanese release date has been announced...

The GT5 Japanese release date has been announced today (November 3rd), along with yet another special edition of the game that includes a limited-edition, blue PlayStation 3 console. Read up on all the details right here.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4671-Gran-Turismo-5-Racing-Pack-Bundle-Announced-for-Japan First Video of Gran Turismo 5 Karting Gameplay http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4672-First-Video-of-Gran-Turismo-5-Karting-Gameplay?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:36:54 GMT Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4672-First-Video-of-Gran-Turismo-5-Karting-Gameplay <![CDATA[Karting, Monza, Skidmarks & More in GT5 Gamescom 2010 Demo: Full Details]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4667-Karting-Monza-Skidmarks-More-in-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo-Full-Details?goto=newpost Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:39:24 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/monza-logo-smaller.png Thanks to our team...

Thanks to our team at Gamescom 2010 (and a new YouTube video), we’ve got an early scoop on the contents of the latest*Gran Turismo 5 demo on display -- confirming some of the game’s most exciting new features. GT5’s*new karting mode is revealed, along with the debut of the*Autodromo Nationale Monza circuit! Andreas of InsideSimRacing also noticed that skidmarks are visible on the tarmac (see video above, though it’s not from Andreas), and a non-functioning*“course maker” option was visible in the menus. He also wisely compiled a complete list of all the cars and tracks available:

Tracks

Monza
Piazza del Campo (Karting Only)
San Galgano
Nurburgring (Nordschleife & GP)
Rome
Madrid
R246
Indy Speedway
Toscana
La Sarthe (chicaned)
TG Test Track

Cars

Ferrari P4 Race ‘67
PDI Racing Kart 100
XJ13 ‘66
MkIV Ford ‘67
Zonda R ‘09
IS-F concept ‘08
Impreza Sedan ‘10
Z4 M Coupe ‘08
TTS Coupe ‘09
500F ‘68
500 1.2 8v Lounge SS ‘08
Miura P400 Bertone Prototype
C30 R-design
C3 Convertible
Enzo
SRT10 ACR ‘08
ZR1 C6 ‘09
Ford GT ‘06
SLS AMG ‘10
Citroen GT
458 Italia ‘09
Gallardo LP 560-4
SLR McLaren ‘09 19″
GT-R Spec V ‘09
R8 4.2 ‘07
M5 ‘08
Esprit V8 ‘02
2010 Jeff Gordon Impala
2010 Dale Earnhardt ?
Calsonic Impul GT-R ‘08
Castrol Tom’s Supra ‘97
Impreza WRC ‘08
SX4 WRC ‘08
C4 WRC ‘08
Ford Focus WRC 07 ‘08
XKR Coupe ‘10
135i Coupe ‘07
Amuse Nismo 380RS Superleggera

Thanks, once again, to InsideSimRacing’s Andreas and our own Famine for passing along this early bit of information from Germany, and thanks to owen.c93 & SolidSnakeX*for the tip on the video. We’ll have a lot more details after the private GT5 press conference up soon!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4667-Karting-Monza-Skidmarks-More-in-GT5-Gamescom-2010-Demo-Full-Details Lamborghini Miura, Japanese Classics in New GT5 Screens http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4660-Lamborghini-Miura-Japanese-Classics-in-New-GT5-Screens?goto=newpost Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:25:27 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gamescom-1up-screens-1-200x200.jpg ...

Here’s the first batch of screenshots from Gamescom 2010. I’ll get higher-resolution images up as soon as they’re available. One interesting to note: the Lamborghini Miura’s unconventional headlights tilt upwards when turned on – an idiosyncratic detail which, as you’ll notice in the screen shot above, was not overlooked by our friends at Polyphony Digital.

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4660-Lamborghini-Miura-Japanese-Classics-in-New-GT5-Screens Gran Turismo 5: November 3rd in Europe http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4651-Gran-Turismo-5-November-3rd-in-Europe?goto=newpost Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:27:45 GMT

Just announced at Sony’s Gamescom 2010 Press Conference: GT5 will be released in all SCEE territories on November 3, 2010 - exactly one day behind the North American date of November 2, 2010. Get your pre-orders in at Amazon.co.uk now!

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4651-Gran-Turismo-5-November-3rd-in-Europe Sony’s Gamescom 2010 Press Conference: Live-Blogs, Video Streams http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4648-Sonys-Gamescom-2010-Press-Conference-Live-Blogs-Video-Streams?goto=newpost Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:25:27 GMT

Gamescom 2010 is finally here, and it’s time to kick things off with Sony’s official press conference! The show actually starts at 7:00 PM CEST - check this table to convert that to your local time zone, or keep an eye on this countdown timer. Gamescom isn’t quite as big as E3, so live video streams are a little harder to come by, but thanks to your news tips we do have a few to watch. In case they don’t work, simply fall-back on these live-blogs in the links below.

As always, major announcements will be posted immediately to the blog here – be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook so you don’t miss anything!

Recommended Live Blogs

Video Streams

Andreas – InsideSimRacing’s rep who we’re teaming up with at Gamescom, will also provide a live-stream of his own right here. Thanks again to everyone who sent in links to these streams!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4648-Sonys-Gamescom-2010-Press-Conference-Live-Blogs-Video-Streams Buy a Sandwich, Win an Early Copy of Gran Turismo 5 http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4638-Buy-a-Sandwich-Win-an-Early-Copy-of-Gran-Turismo-5?goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:50:28 GMT

That’s one headline I never thought I’d write, but it’s true! Sony has just announced a special promotion (for U.S. residents only) with SUBWAY, and they’re giving away copies of Gran Turismo 5 before it’s November 2 release date. There’s no details on exactly how*early they’ll be shipping out the prizes, but it’s exciting to know the game will be floating out in the wild before the release date.

There are no specific numbers on exactly how many copies of GT5 are up for grabs here, but there should be quite a few – a total of 7,625 games (divided among GT5, ModNation Racers, and LittleBigPlanet 2) will be given away in total. Additionally, 50 copies of the GT5 Collector’s Edition will also be awarded. Learn more about how to participate and read all the official rules here on SUBWAY’s website.

Let’s hope a few GTPlanet members win something here – if it happens to be you, please get in touch with me as soon as you can. Thanks to Randy for the tip!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4638-Buy-a-Sandwich-Win-an-Early-Copy-of-Gran-Turismo-5 <![CDATA[GTPlanet, InsideSimRacing Team Up for Gamescom 2010 Coverage & Yamauchi Interview]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4626-GTPlanet-InsideSimRacing-Team-Up-for-Gamescom-2010-Coverage-Yamauchi-Interview?goto=newpost Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:05:56 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gamescom-logo-big.jpg GT fans, get ready!*The start of GamesCom 2010 is now only hours...

GT fans, get ready!*The start of GamesCom 2010 is now only hours away, and I’m very excited to announce GTPlanet’s big plans for the show. We’re teaming up with InsideSimRacing.tv to bring you unprecedented, in-depth coverage of all the new Gran Turismo 5 information about to be released. Here’s a preview of everything that’s about to go down over the next few days:

Sony GamesCom 2010 Press Conference (Tuesday)

Sony kicks off the show a day early with their official press conference on Tuesday at 6:00PM CEST (check this table for your local time zone). Sony themselves have already confirmed that Gran Turismo 5 will be featured in the conference, so expect some major announcements. Unfortunately, there is no live streaming video from the event (if you do find a stream, please let me know), but it will be live-blogged by just about everyone. As always, I’ll make another post a few hours before the event with all the links.

Gran Turismo 5 Private “Breakout Session” (Wednesday)

The real fun begins on Wednesday, August 18th, when GTPlanet’s Famine and Venari meet up with Andreas (gNNY) of InsideSimRacing for Sony’s exclusive, invitation-only GT5 event. Much like the GT5 session at E3, this private press session allows Yamauchi to go into more details and take questions on all the new features being revealed at the show. Our guys*will tell-all as soon as they can, right here on the news blog!

Exclusive Kazunori Yamauchi Interview

This is the big one – after nearly 10 years online, GTPlanet representatives will finally come face-to-face with the creator of Gran Turismo. Our guys know the series better than anyone else, and with the help of InsideSimRacing, we should be able to produce one of his best-ever interviews.

You are also invited to submit your questions for Yamauchi via GTPlanet Ideas. It’s simple: submit your own question or vote on those submitted by others, and the most popular will rise to the top. Due to time constraints, we may not be able to ask the specific questions, but it will help give us an idea of exactly what you guys really want to know about.

Watch for the video interview to appear in a special upcoming episode of InsideSimRacing!

Exclusive Video of the latest GT5 Demo, GTPlanet User Meet-Ups

Our resident media expert, Alba, will be hands-on with the latest GT5 demo at the show. He’s got an HD camera and a tripod ready to go, so expect a lot of awesome video footage that leaves nothing to question! As you may know, Gamescom is open to the public throughout the weekend, and Alba is organizing GTPlanet user meet-ups right here in our forums so you can play and discuss the game with others who are as enthusiastic about GT5 as you are!

Famine and Alba will also be posting live updates from the show floor via Twitter, and GTPlanet’s Facebook page will be updated by-the-minute. Follow us now, because you don’t want to miss a thing this week!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4626-GTPlanet-InsideSimRacing-Team-Up-for-Gamescom-2010-Coverage-Yamauchi-Interview <![CDATA[Rain, Snow, “Spectator Mode”, Faked GT5 Videos & More]]> http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4577-Rain-Snow-Spectator-Mode-Faked-GT5-Videos-More?goto=newpost Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:34:00 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/scenery-guy.jpg An unfortunate set of circumstances required me to unplug for a few days,...

An unfortunate set of circumstances required me to unplug for a few days, and I want to get everyone caught up with the latest batch of news over the past week or so. Frankly, there hasn’t been much going on in the world of Gran Turismo, but all of that is about to change with GamesCom 2010 coming up next week! Several GTPlanet members will be in attendance throughout the event, and we’re going to have more exclusive coverage than ever before -- watch for more major announcements on that over the next few days. For now, here’s a quick summary of what you did (or…didn’t) miss:

Rain and Snow “Scenery” in Gran Turismo 5

During an interview with G4TV at Comic-Con 2010, a Sony rep raised a few eyebrows with a mention of rain and snow “scenery” in*GT5. This obviously isn’t the first time we’ve heard about weather coming to the game, but it is the first time snow’s been mentioned specifically. Regardless, this isn’t really particularly newsworthy, as we’ve had both rainy and snowy “scenery” in previous GT titles (remember Chamonix?). The real question remains: will it be “dynamic” and available on all of our favorite tracks? Nobody knows…yet.

Faked GT5 Video Shows Long Load Times

Popular gaming blog Kotaku made a serious error while attempting to call out apparently long load times seen in a*GT5 demo. The original video they posted had clearly been slowed to make it appear the Nurburgring Nordschleife took over 1:30 to get started. It didn’t take long for the rest of the web to catch on to their mistake, and they eventually admitted the error. See the unfortunate fiasco for yourself right here.

More Video of GT5’s*Online Spectator Mode Video

The guys who build the VisionRacer gaming rig shared more video of Gran Turismo 5’s online “spectator mode” which was seen during the GT Academy 2010 national finals. Thanks to VirtualR for the tip!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4577-Rain-Snow-Spectator-Mode-Faked-GT5-Videos-More GT5 E3 Trailer Song Title Announced http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4522-GT5-E3-Trailer-Song-Title-Announced?goto=newpost Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:05:23 GMT Image: http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/gt5-song-title-contest.jpg Remember the contest...

Remember the contest held to title the Daiki Kasho song used in Gran Turismo 5’s E3 2010 trailer? The winner was finally announced last week after Kazunori Yamauchi made his selection from 5,444 entries: “5OUL ON D!SPLAY”.

While sharing the announcement on their website, Polyphony Digital also released some interesting statistics about the contest. For example, although the it was open to the world, an overwhelming number of entries came from the United States (1077) – more than double those received from second-place UK (452). “Soul on Display” was actually one of the most popular suggestions (89 entries), but “One Reason” was the most popular with 274 submissions.

MajanoX of Argentina (now a GTPlanet user!), however, was clever enough to create a title that caught Yamauchi’s eye that was also unique. As his reward, his name will be immortalized in GT5’s credits. Congratulations!

Related posts:

NOTE: This post is from GT Planet. ]]> Racing Games ApexKings http://www.apexkings.com/showthread.php/4522-GT5-E3-Trailer-Song-Title-Announced