GTPlanet

Despite some very serious problems actually getting the latest Japanese GT5 Prologue update to finish downloading, users who did manage to get the file are happily reporting that all of the vehicles in the U.S. and PAL versions of the game made it into the Japanese Spec II update.  So, if you’ve imported your own copy of the game, wait a few hours until the Internet tubes unclog and grab hold of your own F2007!  Granted, the IT staff in charge of managing the actual hosting of the file may not take international traffic into account when planning to release these updates.  However, unless certain technological infrastructure improvements are made, April 17 could become one very long day for fans here in North America.

Since we first learned of all the exciting new changes and content to the PAL and U.S. editions of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, there has been one dominant question on our forums: will the Japanese edition of the game be updated accordingly?  It’s a legitimate question for many of the hard-core fans on GTPlanet, who imported the region free game back in January.  Until now, Polyphony and Sony had remained mum on the subject, but today the official Japanese site posted the following news release:

“Gran Turismo 5 Prologue” will be undergoing a free online update to “Gran Turismo Prologue Spec II” at around noon on Friday, March 28.

The detailed content of the update will be announced on the day of the update, but there are some points of caution before performing the update. Please red before proceeding with the update.

(1) After updating, it will not be possible to replay the replay data created and saved before the update.

(2) Because the content of events will be renewed in the update, the event data before the update will be cleared, and those events will no longer be possible to play. (Acquired prize credits, cars in the garage, and clear information up to the A class will be carried over.)

(3) Even if an error occurs during the update, data downloaded up to the error is saved. Repeating the update will complete the download normally.

The update can be resumed as indicated below:

- Select News in My Page after starting the game
- Exit the game with the PS button, and restart the game.

* To update, you will need a Playstation 3 connected to the internet with a broadband connection, and “Gran Turismo 5 Prologue” (Either the Blu-ray disc version or downloaded version).

* All information listed in this website is for Japan. For information outside Japan, please refer to the website of your region.

While new vehicles are not explicitly mentioned, a “tuned car” is visible in the Spec II screenshot from their site (as seen in this post), so I believe it is a fairly safe assumption.  Regardless, we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out…

A few days ago, we posted an interview of Kazunori Yamauchi walking us through some of the new features in GT5 Prologue, such as the Quick Tune screen and real-time setup adjustments.  However, as you may have noticed, the video was not perfect and stopped playing after about 5 minutes.  Today, thanks to jweaver, we’ve got the rest of the segment.  Aside from an incredibly annoying narrator (who translates the words of Kazunori Yamauchi with a bizarre drawl), near the end we get about a minute of footage of the F2007 racing against “normal” cars on Daytona Super Speedway.  It’s the first time we’ve seen the F2007 in action on the oval circuit, and the first time we’ve seen how it performs against normal cars.  Don’t miss it!

As we first speculated, the complete Gran Turismo 5 game will not be released until next year in 2009.  The confirmation comes from a reply to a comment at the PlayStation Blog:

“Also, to further clarify, GT5 is still about a year away. You should just decide now to buy it, enjoy it, go online and race against anyone and everyone, rank number one worldwide, get the girl (or guy) and become the most popular kid in town. The end.“

This doesn’t really come as much of a surprise, especially as Polyphony continues to pack more and more content into Prologue.  If the rumblings of new features are any indication, however, Prologue will continue to evolve and expand via online updates that will keep all of us entertained through the months ahead.

Let the rush begin: one of the United Kingdom’s largest online retailers, Play.com, has posted the following notice on their site:

“Our initial allocation of stock has now sold through. All orders placed on or after 25th March will be fulfilled week commencing 31st March.”

This represents an absolutely incredible demand for the game - and more importantly, an incredible demand for the hard-copy Blu-Ray disc.  Perhaps less informed fans of the series (i.e. those who don’t come to GTPlanet) are not aware that it will also be available via PSN download?  Or, could it be that everyone likes the secure feeling of owning a physical copy of the game?  Which version will you, yourself, choose to purchase? Head on over to our GT5 Prologue Forum and let us know.

As we learned earlier today, GT5 Prologue takes the series’ physics to a new level by allowing the player to completely disable the anti-lock braking system.  Now, only a few hours later, we’ve got the first video of the “skidding” in action from our own Numer0bis -  grab the video here.  As you can see in this screen grab, the brakes (with more bias correctly in the front) first lock up the two front wheels.  A few seconds later as the vehicle’s speed decreases, the rear wheels stop spinning as well.  It’s a very accurate recreation - thanks for the quick work, Numer0bis!

With a less than one day to go before the official launch of GT5 Prologue in Europe, Sony hits us with another new surprise in the form of a last-minute update to the game’s software.  Going by the official name of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: Spec II, it’s made a few significant changes to the features we were already anticipating in the PAL and North American releases.  Many thanks, once again, to amar212 for bringing us all up to speed on all the changes!  Here’s a quick summary:

ABS Can Be Completely Disabled

As pointed out by Amar in his latest thread, the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) system can now be completely disabled.  This represents a significant step forward in the physics of the Gran Turismo series, and fulfills a long-time wish of many dedicated players.  By adjusting the ABS settings in the new Quick Tune menu, the tires can become “locked” under heavy braking to make the game considerably more challenging.

35 Online Race Events

Although Spec II does not yet introduce private races (don’t fret - they are still coming), PAL players will now be able to race participate in 35 different online events divided between time trials and live races.  Time trials are now limited only by a car’s “Performance Points”, making for a much more diverse combination of opportunities to set your own fast laps.

See the rest of the updates here in Amar’s latest revision of his PAL Hands-On guide…

Sony has just updated the PlayStation blog with two new videos featuring the most anticipated songs from the official soundtrack.  Even if you don’t like the music, don’t miss the videos!  They are of excellent quality and provide the first high resolution look at some of the new vehicles in the game.

GTPlanet member Numer0bis got his hands on an early copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and has begun posting some of the first footage we’ve seen of the “tuned” cars in the game.  The two clips below show replay and in-car footage of the Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS and the blacked-out Ford GT-LM.  Head on over to our Gran Turismo 5 Prologue forum and be sure to thank Numer0bis for sharing these with us!

Sony has just announced the complete soundtrack for the North American edition of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.  It’s an interesting (if not typical for the series) mix of indie dance rock, classic rock, and electronica from artists like Weezer, Mars Volta, and DJ Shadow.  The most important track is an exclusive remix of Weezer’s “Automatic”, which headlines the mix.  See the full list after the jump - we’ll be sure to let you know when this goes on sale!

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