GTPlanet Member of the Week

A sentimental longing for the past; for a period or place with happy personal associations. That’s the definition of nostalgia, and the reason this is both the prelude and underlying theme this week has to do specifically with nostalgia playing such a significant role among those of us here at GTPlanet.

I’ll be honest, originally, the title was going to be “Everybody Wants to Rule the World of Racing Games” but I changed it, obviously. Why? One, it’s a little long-winded. Two, it would almost certainly conjure up thoughts of Tears for Fears, at least among those old enough or even savvy enough to know who they are.

With spring drawing near, talks of the upcoming Gran Turismo Sport beta are going to become commonplace and for good reason. Gran Turismo Sport is an opportunity to steer the franchise in a new direction; to reinvent and reassert it is as one of the key players in this niche genre, and what better way to do just that than with an offshoot title.

We all love racing games; it’s the reason we’re all here. Whether it be waiting for the coveted Assetto Corsa, cheering a professional team, or putting our own spin on things, it’s a genre we know and love for better or worse. And it is a genre is need of a reboot.

This is it, the final days and week of the year and what a year it’s been to say the very least. There’s still a few surprises here and there to close out the year, of that I’m almost certain, but even if the year closes with nary a peek more of what’s to come, this will have been one of the most active years in the gaming community in recent memory.

This year has been defined by an unending torrent of news that made it apparent that 2015 was the year of the racing game; a niche no longer it would seem as the genre has been exposed to more people in the past several months than it ever has been. This is no doubt something to marvel at as the genre is steadily approaching the point where it’s easily accessible to any and everyone regardless of their skill level. While that may cause seasoned veterans to turn their noses up at the very thought of their prized franchises becoming easier in lieu of attracting a larger audience, the one thing everyone has to remember is that those options, what many of us would define as “hardcore” are still going to be there for those of us that can’t live without them, and for those of us that want to dabble about and experience the full picture.

The final days of September are upon us, and what an absolute joy this month has been: Metal Gear Solid V, Forza Motorsport 6, Destiny: The Taken King, and my birthday was even in there somewhere, but I’m pretty sure it swept past me being too occupied trying to absorb this relentless onslaught of racing games and the news surrounding it. On top of that my favorite shows are beginning to return from their off-season hiatuses, and best of all, summer is coming to an end! You all know my distaste for hot weather so there’s no need to reiterate it for the seventy-fifth time, suffice to say the last two seasons of the year are going to please my being immensely.

La Jiggy Jar Jar Doo – Dur Dur Dur Dee Dur! That is not unintelligible babble and we’ll revisit this later on, I guarantee it’ll be worth your time if you’re looking for a laugh. For now I want you to waddle about in absolute mystery wondering what those words could possibly mean; again, not unintelligible babble and I have not lost my mind.

What, no trucks this week? I need trucks! I’ve spent hours trying to think up an exciting way to best last week’s presentation, and as I’m writing this I’ve come to the realization that it just isn’t possible and there’s a very good reason for that, last week’s opening was so unexpected, even to me, that is was entirely an act of spontaneity. If you know anything about spontaneity than it should become apparent why I can’t will this week’s opening into a better place on my own admittedly selfish hierarchy chart because it just doesn’t work that way.

If it hasn’t been made apparent already, this is, unequivocally, the year of the racing game. With so many options spanning across just about every platform available there’s something for everyone, and just enough of them release in such close proximity that you’ll be driven mad just trying to decide what you want to play! Another problem arises from games already on the market that are continually updated; there’s just too much going on in the racing game scene this year – what a fantastic problem to have.

To utter the phrase “What a week this has been!” as has become synonymous with the Spotlight in recent weeks would be a gross understatement. This has been one of the most active weeks for the GTPlanet community in recent memory, and with no end in sight and even more expansion in the works, GTPlanet is not only the de facto standard in bringing forth Gran Turismo news the second it’s available, it is also becoming the standard in delivering news relating to a number of other popular racing games that pique the community’s interest. The question now becomes, for those worried, what has happened to GTPlanet – isn’t this supposed to be a community that celebrates only Gran Turismo?

We’re hot on the heels of the British Grand Prix and I’m not full of the typical vigor when talking about an F1 weekend. Fernando Alonso, who is evidently plagued with decision-makings that appear bright but are ultimately regrettable in hindsight, is quite frankly being wasted away at McLaren as they’re struggling to stay in a race let alone be competitive. Jenson Button is yet another superb talent that’s being wasted; both of these men are driver’s champions and have now been relegated to a team in a more complex stupor than even Ferrari – the only difference being that Button has been in this stupor for longer.

The SRT Tomahawk is finally upon us, and perhaps extends the most challenging obstacle by way of the The Green Hell. That’s right, in order to obtain the X variant of the Tomahawk one must go around the Nordschleife and record a time of 6 minutes or less. Of course you can always buy all three versions directly from the dealership and call it a day, but how else are you going to be able to experience the high-stakes insanity right out of the gate?

It would appear the phrase “What a week this has been!” has become wholly synonymous with the Community Spotlight. For the past couple of weeks it has been the perfect combination of words to quickly set the scene for everything that follows, and with everything that’s gone on in the past couple of days relative to E3, you could very well imagine just how much of a week this has been when compared to those prior. This is going to be a special one-off Community Spotlight that will focus on E3 while still delivering the content expected from the Spotlight.

The phrase “what a week this has been” was the flavor of the month in May, and the landscape looks no different for the month of June. With things seemingly revving on all cylinders day after day, it seems fitting to utter that very phrase.

As we head into the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix, one of the ten most prestigious races in the world, and a contributing achievement to the Triple Crown of Motorsport, I have but one thing to say: it’s time to put up or shut up. While that may sound rehearsed it couldn’t be closer to the truth unless I were present at the event myself doing play-by-play commentary. While the latter half of the season can very well cement the place of the year’s World Driver Champion, the Monaco Grand Prix is an achievement unto itself and is rightfully treated as such.

These past couple of weeks have been adventurous to say the least and for me to think things would suddenly calm down was nothing short of foolhardy, if anything at all things seem to be becoming more and more adventurous as time passes on. Whether it be the excitement concerning what this year’s E3 could bring, next week’s release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or the increasing feedback surrounding Project CARS, the community here never rests.

I find myself repeating a sentiment from the previous week: what an absolute joy this week has been. Project CARS is finally making its way out to the world and the initial reception has been nothing short of fantastic, the scene in Formula 1 is beginning to heat up again (don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil anything!) and will hopefully carry over to the next race at Monaco because this season needs the action from last year.

GT Academy 2015 has officially kicked off with the first round this past Tuesday and features the 600-horse Nissan GT-R NISMO going to task around Silverstone, home to GT Academy for the past several years. If you haven’t had a chance to partake in the opening round you’d be best served to stop by our dedicated GT Academy forum and strap yourself in for the drive of your life.

It’s no secret that Gran Turismo 2 is my absolute favorite in the series, I mention it whenever the opportunity presents itself, however, the one thing I regret when I met Kazunori Yamauchi during Jalopnik’s inaugural Film Festival wasn’t talking to him about GT2, it was forgetting to bring my imported copy of Gran Turismo 4 with me to have it signed by him.