Some people were quick to lament that no “hard facts” regarding Gran Turismo 5 were released at last week’s E3 show, but now that we’ve had some time to carefully pick through the HD trailer, you can see we’ve actually learned quite a bit. Much like we did with Gran Turismo PSP: What You Need to Know, let’s put the pieces of the puzzle together and find out exactly what Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital told us…
We knew it wouldn’t be long before more detailed information begins trickling out of Los Angeles – and sure enough – the first interview with Kazunori Yamauchi from E3 does just that! He sat down with automotive news site Edmunds.com shortly after Sony’s E3 press conference and shared a few interesting things about GT Mobile and Gran Turismo 5. Here’s a quick summary of what we learn:
GT Mobile will include every track from Gran Turismo 4 - including the Nurburgring Nordscheife!These are just a few of the high points – check out the full interview for much more!
There may be a hint of sensationalist link-baiting in VG247’s latest headline about Gran Turismo 5 – indeed, you can’t help but wonder why they didn’t mention these comments by SCEA Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller in their article last month. Regardless, his additional comments reinforce the important notion that the GT series is coming to platforms other than the PS3:
“[Polyphony Digital] report directly into our CEO, Kaz Hirai, so it’s a little bit of a ‘wait and see’,” the exec told VG247 when asked when we can expect to see GT5.
“But we look for that franchise to continue on as many platforms as possible.”
You won’t see GTPlanet jumping to any rediculous conclusions about a PC (or Xbox, ha!) release, but Mr. Koller’s broad choice of words there is still raising a few eyebrows. E3 2009 may be even more interesting than we originally thought…
In a revealing statement from last week’s Game Developer’s Conference, SCEA Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller mentioned that Gran Turismo 5 will be released across “all platforms” when it “makes the most sense”. The comments came from a Q&A session and were just picked up by VG247:
“Ultimately, they [Polyphony Digital] are a developer who makes a lot of their own decisions, but we are looking at GT5 across all platforms, just to see what makes the most sense. [...] Seriously though, there is really nothing we can really say about it, other than it’s a franchise we would like to continue. So, other than that, we don’t really have any announcements regarding the game at this time.”
Now, what the heck does that mean? GT5 will almost certainly not be released on any hardware that competes with Sony’s franchise, and it won’t be on older systems (PS2). That leaves the obvious PlayStation 3 and re-affirms that development of Gran Turismo Mobile for the PSP is ongoing. This idea is in line with recent comments about GT Mobile from Kazunori Yamauchi himself, and fits the cryptic hints about GT’s future shared by highly respected GTPlanet member amar212 in our forums.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning two more “radical” interpretations of John Koller’s comments which, despite being highly unlikely, can logically be made. Less than one year ago, Kazunori Yamauchi declared that Gran Turismo could be coming to the PC, and that the mysterious Gran Turismo for Boys is still in the works. Could both or either of these games be what Mr. Koller is referring to? Time will tell…
You know exactly what features you want in Gran Turismo 5, but how many people out there actually agree with you? It’s easy enough to peruse our Gran Turismo 5 forum, but even the most popular ideas get lost in the sea of discussions and opinions. That’s why we’ve launched ideas.gtplanet.net, a new type of forum that lets you submit and vote on the features, cars, and tracks that you most want to see in future updates to the Gran Turismo series. The ultimate goal is to efficiently utilize GTPlanet’s large audience to communicate what we, the fans, are most looking for from Polyphony Digital. To keep things organized, the GTPlanet Ideas site is divided into three categories, or forums:
If you’re a regular in our forums, you may have seen this section of our site mentioned before. Regardless of the “soft launch”, we’ve already seen over 10,000 votes for new ideas – now throw in some of your own, and let your voice be heard!
Since the Logitech Challenge cheaters were exposed, many of you have spread the word and contacted Sony/Logitech, expressing your anger with poorly-skilled drivers who were bending the rules to get ahead. Now, we’ve got official word from Logitech on exactly what is (not) going to happen. Chris Pate, Logitech’s Global Product Marketing Manager, stopped by the GTPlanet Forums:
The issue of wall contact is a tough one. While Logitech does not at all approve of cheating in GT5:P or any other game, we won’t be reviewing ghost laps for wall contact as it would add a significant element of subjectivity. As such, there will be no disqualifications or changes to player rankings for racing line decisions. The decision to uphold the game’s own penalty system for this event was made in the interest of ensuring a level playing field for all drivers.
Read Chris’ full post on the issue – you’ll also find his comments on Logitech’s corporate blog where the challenge was originally announced. This outcome is not a surprising one, and indeed, it would add a significant element of subjectivity. Ultimately, we can only place blame on the forgiving collision detection algorithms set in place by Polyphony Digital and those who decided to take advantage of them. At the very least, perhaps the spotlight on this issue will encourage Kazunori Yamauchi to implement more sensitive boundaries in future GT5 Prologue updates.
If you’ve spent any amount of time playing GT5 Prologue, you’ve surely noticed the “Tuned Nissan Skyline Coupe (V36)”. It offers just enough modification to the standard car’s shape without going overboard, and the result is beautiful. Of course, much like the GTbyCitroen, it was designed entirely by Polyphony Digital, and it was not until last year at SEMA that we learned this car will be brought to the “real world” by Japanese tuning shop Zele Performance. We’ve now got the full details – Zele is actually offering up the official body kit for Skyline Coupe/Infiniti G37 owners everywhere, but it doesn’t come cheap. For the rest of us, though, it provides an interesting look at yet another car that made the jump from our TV screens. Take a look at the photos below or visit Zele’s website for all the details.
