GTPlanet

With so many of you making plans to attend the PlayStation House tour after we noticed that Gran Turismo 5 would be making an appearance, I felt this latest turn of events has warranted its own blog post. Unfortunately, in a statement to VG247, SCEE has announced that GT5’s listing on the site was a “mistake”. Sure enough, Sony has just updated the PlayStation House website, removing the racing title from the description (the old version lives on in Google’s cache, for now).

Anyone interested in cooking up a conspiracy theory should keep in mind that several of our readers, after talking with Sony employees running the “House” confirmed that GT5 would be arriving at the display “soon”. Was it an honest mistake, then, or was the game pulled after its appearance started getting publicity? It would be interesting to hear what those workers have to say about all of this, so be sure and ask them if you still decide to go (just be nice about it – remember, it’s not their fault).

Alas, it might not be all bad news: as pointed out by several readers in the comments to my previous post, Gran Turismo 5 is on schedule to be shown at DigiExpo in Helsinki, Finland on October 30 – but can we really believe you this time, Sony?

Gran Turismo 5 is about to make its public debut in UK shopping malls as it joins Sony’s ongoing “PlayStation House Tour“. As you can see in the description, the “touring games extravaganza” will give you “the chance to test out all the best titles and newest releases [...] including [...] GT5″. Sure enough, when GTPlanet forum user Kyaw checked out the “House” in the Birmingham Bullring, the staff on-hand confirmed a demo of the racing title will be there “soon”. Before you get too excited, keep in mind this version of the game will almost certainly be similar (if not identical) to what was playable in France last month. (Though the latest demo running at the Tokyo Motor Show including the Toyota FT-86 would certainly make for a pleasant surprise.)

Regardless, with so many GT fans in the UK, this will be a great opportunity for many of you to see what the gaming press has been enjoying for some time now. The “House Tour” will be in Birmingham until November 1st, before moving to Manchester and beyond.

*UPDATE*: Sony has now removed the game from the list of playable titles at this event – see here for more information.

After the Tokyo Game Show, many in our forums speculated that we’d see Gran Turismo 5’s next appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it turned out they were correct! Unfortunately, though, the only thing new is the Toyota FT-86, which is now playable in the demo alongside the Mercedes SLS-AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia. The show is just getting started, so the only impressions we have so far are via Japanese sites Gigazine and Inside-Games. One interesting thing to note: Sony will gift you 100 free cars in Gran Turismo PSP if you bring your copy of the game to the booth. Keep reading for more pictures and the first gameplay footage of the Toyota FT-86.

(more…)

High-resolution images from the Toyota FT-86 Concept GT5 trailer we saw earlier this month.

(more…)

Sometimes, you’ll come across the most pleasant surprises when you least expect them, and this situation is no exception. Today, we get our first look at the Gran Turismo 5 box art and packaging, in the hands of Kazunori Yamauchi himself. Our own sharp-eyed reader, GON, was first to notice the revelation in this new video from Mercedes-Benz and immediately sent it my way. Sure enough, at 0:42, we get to spy on a Polyphony Digital meeting as Yamauchi inspects a thick Blu-Ray box, complete with the obligatory small text, Sony Computer Entertainment stamp, and the new PS3 logo. Although it may not be the ultimate final product, it’s very likely this is exactly what you’ll find on store shelves next year.

The most curious thing, of course, is the fact that the packaging clearly contains three separate Blu-Ray cases -- one black, one red, and one blue. What could they be? While the conspiracy theorists get to work, here’s a list of other interesting tidbits from the clip:

• Gran Turismo uses one single physics calculation model, so they simply enter the parameters for each car, and the handling characteristics play themselves out within the game. As Yamauchi says, “If the original car is made well, it’ll drive well.”
• We get a closer look at the 3D model of the SLS AMG in Gran Turismo 5, along with a corner from the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
• Mercedes’ narrarator suggests that Yamauchi is “considering” putting the new SLS AMG on the cover, but Yamauchi’s following comments (along with the box art seen earlier) all but confirm it will be the star of the show. As he explains, it “will probably be the most exciting car in the world when GT5 is released”. He also was sure to mention: “Fans of Gran Turismo 5 really have something to be excited about”.

If you’d like to grab the original, slightly-higher-quality version of this clip, download it here (.mov, 57.6 MB) -- thanks to those who managed to track it down!

Another Kazunori Yamauchi interview hits the web, this time from GameTrailers. Here’s what’s new:

• Entirely new code base from GT4 -- nothing has been carried over from the old game. Even the GT4 Online code was not used to develop the networked side of GT5.
• New physics in the TGS demo should be immediately apparent to anyone playing the game -- it’s actually “easier to drive”, though when the car begins to lose grip, its behavior is more true-to-life.
• Entirely new artificial intelligence. The oval tracks and NASCAR presented a unique AI challenge.

The big question mark, of course, looms over that one little word: “easier”. What that means is still unclear, though it will obviously worry many fans out there who may now fear a less challenging or realistic driving experience. For now, let’s hope the true meaning of Yamauchi’s words were simply lost in translation! Thanks to ComposerRyan for digging this one up.

Japanese gaming mag Famitsu hit news stands this week featuring a fresh interview with Kazunori Yamauchi. He used the opportunity to reiterate GT5’s progress while emphasizing the scale of the game:

“Naturally, my attention is focused purely on Gran Turismo 5 right now. The scale of this title is just dizzying, so daily progress is slow, but it’s still going forward at a steady clip. All the basic stuff is complete, but we’re trying to give everything that little bit extra at present. We could release it any time we want, really, but I want to have that classic GT-style ‘did we really have to go this far?’ feel going. I want to go way beyond gamer expectations.”

Though I have not seen a direct translation of the entire Famitsu interview, 1UP.com did not hesitate to confirm that “you’ll be allowed to bring your entire collection of cars” earned in Gran Turismo PSP over to GT5. We’ve known about the interoperability between the two games for a while now, but nothing as of yet has indicated if all 850 cars in GT PSP will be making the move to GT5. Unless 1UP was being liberal in their translation, it’s beginning to look like a safe bet.

He also discussed his rationale for choosing what car will appear on the cover of each GT game while explaining his choice of the Corvette ZR-1 for GT PSP.

“When I think about what car to put on the cover, I have to figure out which car is considered the coolest at this exact moment in time. The auto industry is going through a transition period right now, and it’s a dangerous time for a lot of companies. It’s a major support of the entire world economy, and the vast amount of talent and output it produces is one reason why GT is what it is. I wanted to go back to the roots with what makes a car cool, so I chose GM’s Corvette ZR-1 to try and cheer the auto industry up a little.”

So, any takers on Gran Turismo 5’s box art next spring…?