Jordan Greer

As GTPlanet has posted over the past few days, Polyphony has finally released the Spec II update for the Japanese game.  While we’ve been throwing around the highlights in this new update (like the inclusion of High Speed Ring, Ferrari F40, F2007, QTS, etc.), the game’s official Japanese site has carefully outlined all of the new features.  Check out the complete list after the jump…

GTPlanet user dark_ruffo has created two excellent videos of the F2007 in action on the full Suzuka Circuit.  Both are of the same lap, inside the car and out.  It’s one of the first complete replays that we’ve seen on the full circuit, and it is nothing short of fantastic.  To put things in perspective, I’ve also included an onboard lap of Suzuka with Michael Schumacher in the F2006.  Play both on-board videos at the same time to see how they compare!

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:

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:

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

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:

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!

Take a look as Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi sits down to demonstrate some of the new features in GT5 Prologue!  He begins in the PowerHouse Amuse S2000 on High Speed Ring, then takes us through several options in Quick Tune Screen and uses the real time adjustment feature on the new Logitech wheel.  Finally, we get a quick look at the new Drift Mode in a Ferrari F430.  Despite some odd background music, it’s a great video – see the video after the jump!

When Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was first announced, we learned that the Blu-Ray edition of the game will contain “bonus content” in the form of a high-definition film called “Beyond the Apex”.  Just today, Sony has released a lot more details about this movie, which is essentially a documentary about the GT series with an inside look at how the game is developed.  The trailer looks very promising and is sure to sway many gamers away from the PSN download.  Head over to Amazon and pre-order the Blu-Ray copy now!

Getting the first look at the intro sequence is always something special that comes along with every new Gran Turismo series release.  Since we first got reports of the updated GT5 Prologue PAL intro move sequence, there were no doubts it would be improved over the one featured in the Japanese copy of the game.  Today, we got to see it for ourselves!  I don’t know who originally posted this (it’s been up and down off YouTube, the one below is permanent), but always like to give credit where credit is due.  So, if you know the original poster, please add a comment or shoot me an email.

IGN has just posted the very first video of the new High Speed Ring in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.  Despite some terrible driving (typically associated with IGN editors), it still provides a great look at the track, along with the first sign of a previously unmentioned new feature.  Watch closely as a “recommended” speed is placed directly over the apex of the corner ahead.

GTPlanet user Rocket Punch came across the U.S. edition of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue at the 2008 New York Auto Show!  The show is open to the public today, so if you are in the NYC area stop by and grab some seat time – just remember to wear a GTPlanet shirt!

The “Press Packs” for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue are being delivered as we speak.  According to our very own Amar212, it includes a few “postcards” highlighting features of the game, a letter from Kazunori Yamauchi, and a second promotional disc with various press assets and screenshots.  In other words, a great addition to any GT fan’s collection – we’ll be sure to let you know when they start showing up on eBay!

Yesterday, when amar212 brought us the first exclusive footage of the Ferrari F2007, we thought it couldn’t get any better.  Today, he proved us wrong with the first video of the Ferrari F40 in action!  It came today as part of his sixth update to his hands-on overview of GT5 Prologue.  Be sure to stop in and say thanks, and visit his growing Croatian GT community at GTSurgeons.com.