GTPlanet

After a few weeks of waiting, Ad-Hoc Party is finally available, for free, to everyone around the world! Watch the video above to see a quick demonstration with Gran Turismo PSP, then head on over to the new “official” GTPlanet lobby to start racing: World G1, Lobby 1. If you’re in the mood for a quick event but the lobby is quiet, leave a note in our official GT PSP online racing forum thread to organize a quick game. Enjoy!

Here’s a look at the Akiba Grand Prix, held the Akihabara district of Tokyo last weekend. Making excellent use of GT PSP’s multiplayer functionality, the Akiba GP led a group of players around a “circuit” of stores, shops, and restaurants, competing in different race events at each location. The final event of the day involves a showdown with two-time Super GT Series world champion and Best Motoring presenter Juichi Wakisaka.

Needless to say, it sounds like a really fun little competition, but that’s not all: the winner gets a trophy, 229 rare cars in GT PSP, a PS3 Slim, a free copy of Gran Turismo 5, and their name forever etched in the ending credits of the game. Check out Japanese GT PSP site and the article at Gigazine for more.

(No, I’ve got absolutely no idea what’s going on in this picture. Caption contest, anyone?)

Since GTPlanet users first picked up on the fact that you’d be able to play Gran Turismo PSP online with Ad-Hoc party, one tiny little thing has been holding people back: it was only available in Japanese via the country’s PSN Store. Needless to say, this language barrier prevented many from giving it a shot, leaving those who did with a limited selection of opponents.

That should be changing, though, as Sony has finally announced Ad-Hoc Party is coming to North American and European PSN Stores this month (the exact date hasn’t yet been released). With more users, online racing events in our forums should really start to pick up! Just make sure that you can connect your PlayStation 3 to the Internet directly to your router via an Ethernet cable, however, as the Ad-Hoc Party software will require exclusive use of the system’s wireless connectivity in order to work. Stay tuned for another update as soon as this is available for download.

Remember that Gran Turismo PSP commercial, featuring a Corvette ZR-1 with Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust? (No, not that terrible Japanese spot!) While we wait for the next round of GT5 news, you might enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how the clip was put together. Even if you didn’t like the commercial, you’re on the wrong website if you don’t enjoy watching this collection of cars pushing it around legendary Laguna Seca.

Although many people debate the exclusion of “career mode” in Gran Turismo PSP, it’s generally considered one of the best-looking games on the portable console to date. When you look at some of the static screenshots, though, it can appear rough or “jagged” around the edges (like above), but sure enough – when you play the game or see it in motion it looks much more impressive. Why is that? Keep reading to find out…

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It’s always interesting to see how marketing teams approach international audiences differently, and it looks like Sony’s campaign for Gran Turismo PSP is no exception. Here’s the Japanese Gran Turismo PSP commercial, showing two pristine classics: a 1969 Corvette Stingray and 1988 Lamborghini Countach swapping paint on Fuji Speedway. Aside from the real-world implications of smashing these beauties together, it’s a decidedly un-Gran Turismo, “violent” promotion of the series (for a little contrast, see the U.S. commercial here). Perhaps the Japanese production team was inspired after a few online races in GT5 Prologue, or it’s just some subtle foreshadowing..? Thanks to Canadian STIG for sending this in!

Unfortunately, most “journalists” who get the chance to interview Kazunori Yamauchi are largely clueless about the current state of the franchise. As a result, they ask the same questions to which the answers don’t really matter, delivered with the same rabid, impatient schoolboy mentality that seems to plague many people on the Internet these days. Needless to say, while this interview method can provide some sensational headlines, it does nothing to connect with the man or the company behind Gran Turismo. That’s what makes this interview with Xavier Ocampo, Japanese correspondent at MeriStation, so incredibly refreshing and insightful.

Xavier, who has a long history of friendship with Yamauchi-san, offers rare, personal impressions of his time at Polyphony Digital – all while providing us with much more information about the development status of Gran Turismo 5 than anyone who has gone before. Indeed, a quick skim of the article already revealed a “secret” GT5 trailer. The only problem, of course, is that MeriStation is a Spanish-language site, making Xavier’s full work inaccessible to many international GT fans unless they wanted to sift through an awkward machine translation. To help out, GTPlanet user Tenacious D smoothed out the rough edges, offering up the text in a much more accessible format. It’s long – 4,743 words, to be exact – but after reading it you’ll have a much better understanding of both and Gran Turismo 5 and Yamauchi-san. Thank you, Xavier, for this wonderful look inside Polyphony Digital.

You can start reading the translation below – I’ve highlighted the especially important parts in red.  For native Spanish speakers, of course, you can find the original version here.

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If you’ve played Gran Turismo PSP, the thought of hooking up a steering wheel to the little handheld console has probably crossed your mind. The only problem, of course, is that the PSP isn’t compatible with any wheel on the market -- or so we thought. GTPlanet user tingri discovered the above clip created by YouTuber RacerS2, who’s done the impossible with a hacked PSP and a collection of other software programs. Although he doesn’t provide a tutorial on how to get this working yourself, you might want to consider the one big caveat before taking on a project like this: GT PSP doesn’t support analog gas or brake controls, so it’s all or nothing when you press the pedals.

Of course, don’t forget: you can use a PS3 controller with the new PSP Go and use its TV-Out functionality if you’re craving a ‘bigger’ experience. For now, though, RacerS2’s project may be the closest anyone can ever get to being ‘behind the wheel’ in Polyphony Digital’s portable racer.