The engineers at Digital Foundry have used GT5 Prologue to demonstrate one of their new video performance analysis tools.  As you can see in the clip above, their software graphs the frame rate at a given point in time while marking each torn frame.  They cite all of the criticism that the game has received for “tearing”, yet their objective results show the game performs exceptionally well.  Another revelation: frame rate is cut down to 30 FPS during the “pre-race drive-by”, with lots of torn frames.  Once the player gets control of the car, the game rockets up to 60 FPS, with no obvious explanation.  Watch how the FPS is, otherwise, only really affected when  other cars are in very close proximity.

This head-to-head shootout between GT5 Prologue and Forza 2 by the Inside Sim Racing guys caused quite a stir in our forums last week, and it’s worth posting here for those of you who missed it.  Needless to say, the latest GT game didn’t fare quite so well, partly due to the fact that it wasn’t able to provide the features, size, or scale of a complete title.  This has put some GT fans up in arms, and you can argue that some of the evaluated criteria wasn’t appropriate.  That aside, their critiques are honest.  More than anything, though, the review spotlights what features Gran Turismo 5 needs the most in order to stay competitive.

This is a little far-out, but it’s worth mentioning that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has filed a new patent which demonstrates the PSP being used to remotely control a car.  As you can see, the RC vehicle has a camera attached to it, and the images are sent wirelessly back to the PSP.  According to the patent, ““a user may control the car […] so as to spy on their friends… then upload the stored video images to a website.”  Of course, this is an idea we’ve all probably had since we were little, and it’s been done many times before.

It’s not much, but the image above is our first look at the Gran Turismo Café at Twin Ring Motegi circuit which just opened a few weeks ago.  Thanks to Johnny for sending this in – he managed to dig it up from a random Japanese blog.  This picture helps the original sketch make more sense – now we just need a peek at the inside…  If you can take pictures of the café yourself, or if you can find some other shots, please send them our way!

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:

The GT Academy Experience is about to jump off the internet and on to the airwaves via Dave, a men’s television channel in the UK.  The 30-minute episodes are set to air on Saturday nights at 7:00 PM, starting today (April 4, 2009), but no word yet on exactly how many shows you can expect.  Dave has already posted videos from the event that GTPlanet put together back in February, so the show will probably be put together from that footage.  Nevertheless, if you’re in the UK, check it out, and don’t forget to enter to win the PlayStation 3 that Dave is giving away to promote the show.

Don’t bother checking your calendar – this isn’t another April fool’s joke!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_66KyeyfI4

In a shocking turn of events, it has just been announced that Gran Turismo 5 will only be playable in “B-Spec” mode.  What’s that mean?  As fans of Gran Turismo 4 will recall, the game featured two modes of play: “A-Spec” and “B-Spec”.  In A-Spec mode, you drive the car yourself – just like every other racing game.  B-Spec mode allows you to act as a sort of team manager by controlling the computer driver’s pace, passing, and pit strategy – and now it looks to be the future of the GT series!  Kazunori Yamauchi explains:

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:

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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NxKSsXZ9mI

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 Logitech Challenge in GT5 Prologue is well under way.  Unfortunately, though, with thousands of dollars worth of prizes up for grabs, it has attracted the attention of cheaters with no regards for fair play or clean driving.  The first week of competition ended on Tuesday, and GTPlanet’s own challengers are up in arms over the drivers who took the top positions by “wall riding” around the High Speed Ring circuit.  “Wall riding” consists of nothing more than exploiting the game’s physics engine to carry unrealistic speed through a corner without losing momentum.  The only skill involved is simply avoiding activation of the penalty system – a far cry from watching your braking points, turn in angles, and throttle modulation.

If you’re a regular GTPlanet visitor, you already know about the Citroen GT.  It’s a monumental and unique achievement for a video game production company – the one and only Polyphony Digital.  However, you may be surprised to learn how many “real world” projects the Gran Turismo master minds are responsible for.  Tucked away on their Japanese website is a fascinating timeline of  collaborative projects, from the Nissan GT-R concept in 2001 to the Citroen GT today.

What’s the difference between real-world performance driving and Gran Turismo?  How does the virtual experience measure up to the real thing?  These questions have long-haunted forum discussions, and finding the answer usually requires a fair bit of debate.  Of course, you can only accurately compare the two with a healthy dose of maturity and extensive experience with both – making relative comments sometimes difficult to find on the Internet.

In a perfect world, all of us would enjoy our favorite driving games in the comfort of a purpose-built virtual cockpit.  Unfortunately, practical limitations like space, cost, and wives prevent most virtual racers from achieving this ideal.  Although such circumstances may inspire creative solutions, nothing is more frustrating than spending $250 on a Logitech G25 or Fanatec 911 without a proper place to enjoy it.  This is the problem the Wheel Stand Pro aims to solve – read our full review to see how it stacks up!

A new official competition is afoot in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and while it may not be quite as good as the ultimate racing cockpit, a trip to the GT Academy, or the Drifting World Championships, you’ve got a much better chance at winning something.  The Logitech Challenge begins tomorrow, and will consist of three week-long events.  The top three finishers from each week will win prizes from – you guessed it – Logitech, including steering wheels, speakers, and more.  Specifics on what cars will be used will only be released at the beginning of each week, but here is what we know so far:

Aside from a few seconds of screen time in the rolling credits at the end of each game, few people aside from Kazunori Yamauchi get much credit for the countless hours of hard work that goes into each masterpiece of the Gran Turismo series. True, Polyphony Digital is a very secretive company – that’s just a fact of life in their industry – but there are hundreds of brilliant people getting their hands dirty (and sleeping on cots under their desks) who deserve more credit for what they do.  A single web page on Polyphony Digital’s corporate site offers the rare opportunity to place faces with names.  Thanks to the magic of online translation, let’s take a closer look at who they are.  GTPlanet wishes all of them well – keep up the great work, guys, we are looking forward to what you have in store for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY0MGB1OO4A