Jordan Greer

After a few weeks of waiting, Ad-Hoc Party is finally available, for free, to everyone around the world! Watch the video after the jump to see a quick demonstration with Gran Turismo PSP, then head on over to the new “official” GTPlanet lobby to start racing: World G1, Lobby 1. If you’re in the mood for a quick event but the lobby is quiet, leave a note in our official GT PSP online racing forum thread to organize a quick game. Enjoy!

In the latest issue of the Official UK PlayStation Magazine, Kazunori Yamauchi made yet another statement about the questionable status of Gran Turismo 5’s weather system:

Here’s a look at the Akiba Grand Prix, held the Akihabara district of Tokyo last weekend. Making excellent use of GT PSP’s multiplayer functionality, the Akiba GP led a group of players around a “circuit” of stores, shops, and restaurants, competing in different race events at each location. The final event of the day involves a showdown with two-time Super GT Series world champion and Best Motoring presenter Juichi Wakisaka.

Kazunori Yamauchi’s participation in the VLN’s BFGoodwrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft event on the Nurburgring Nordschleife last month is carefully documented in the latest issue of Auto Express. Editor Owen Mildenhall, who shared the car with Yamauchi and Peter Lyon during the 4 hour endurance race, has posted about the experience on the magazine’s website. Unfortunately, the differential on the team’s Lexus IS-F wasn’t up to the task, forcing Yamauchi to retire the car after just 40 minutes behind the wheel.

Since GTPlanet users first picked up on the fact that you’d be able to play Gran Turismo PSP online with Ad-Hoc party, one tiny little thing has been holding people back: it was only available in Japanese via the country’s PSN Store. Needless to say, this language barrier prevented many from giving it a shot, leaving those who did with a limited selection of opponents.

Remember that Gran Turismo PSP commercial, featuring a Corvette ZR-1 with Rhys Millen and Tanner Foust? (No, not that terrible Japanese spot!) While we wait for the next round of GT5 news, you might enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how the clip was put together. Even if you didn’t like the commercial, you’re on the wrong website if you don’t enjoy watching this collection of cars pushing it around legendary Laguna Seca. See the video after the jump…

Most of the Kazunori Yamauchi interviews from “mainstream” gaming sites are generally pretty weak, but I’ve got to hand it to IGN editor Ryan Geddes for asking some direct, important questions during his time with the GT series creator at SEMA. Although Yamauchi’s ability to talk his way out of specific answers remains strong, Geddes’ latest interview drew some interesting comments. Watch the interview above (look out for replay interior footage of J.R. Rocha’s G37), or keep reading for complete analysis of all the high points…

Enjoy this second round of SEMA Gran Turismo 5 screenshots in their full, 5760 x 3240 resolution. The details which emerge at this size are, as always, breathtaking!

Finally, we’ve got our first look at video of J.R. Rocha’s G37 in the latest Gran Turismo 5 SEMA demo. Unfortunately, the quality is very poor compared to what people managed to grab at previous shows, but it’s better than nothing, right? The lack of footage seems to indicate that the GT Awards show was the only place the demo was playable, which would explain the lack of more footage. Thanks to akumatose for sharing these! The first clip, above, shows replay footage, and the second provides a look at the interior.

A few more pictures Philip Koenen’s 1970 Ford Mustang were snapped by AutoBlog, providing a much closer look at the latest addition to Gran Turismo 5’s roster. We’re still, collectively, waiting on video footage from the new SEMA demo, which supposedly features previous GT Award winners, so if you see anything floating around on the web, please let me know!

It’s taken a surprisingly long amount of time for word on the latest GT Awards winner to get out, but IGN is first to break cover and confirm the winner: a 1970 Ford Mustang with a 427 SOHC “Cammer” engine. The car is a mean-yet-classy addition to Gran Turismo, carefully pieced together by Philip Koenen and Grand Touring Garage in Oregon for a “Hong Kong client” after a long search for the right body and engine. The powerplant is particularly special: considered one of the best Ford has ever built, it produces 616 hp at 7000 rpm and 515 lbs/ft of torque at 3800 rpm.

Yamauchi’s latest interview with AutoWeek magazine has quite a few surprises, with Yamauchi going so far as to confirm GT5’s development cost and a controversial new feature. Keep reading for a quick summary of everything you need to know…

Since our own insider Amar212 first hinted that a track editor would be included in Gran Turismo 5, it’s something that many people, including myself, have approached with too-good-to-be-true trepidation. As we’ve learned more about the game, both Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital’s quickly-pulled web site posting have neglected to mention anything about what would be an incredible new feature. As a result, it’s dropped off the radar for most fans.

It’s time for the 7th annual Gran Turismo Awards at the SEMA show in Las Vegas! As you may recall, this unique event is a big deal for GT fans and car tuners alike, as Yamauchi picks his favorite car from the show to be featured in the next GT game. Award winners from previous years have brought us some of the series’ most memorable and cars, including the 1962 Buick Special (’03 winner) in Gran Turismo 4 and the 1960 Art Morrison Chevrolet Corvette (’06 winner) in GT5 Prologue.

Kazunori Yamauchi’s latest interview with ComputerBild.de may not drop any bombshells, but it definitely warrants a closer look. Google’s automated translation is a bit rough, so I’ve picked out the high points for you:

Mercedes-Benz is running a special blog, hosted by “Matthew”, covering the launch of the company’s new SLS AMG at various events around the world. Of course, he was on hand at the Tokyo Game Show, and shared the experience with the video above. While there’s little that we haven’t already seen, things get a little more interesting when Polyphony Digital employees show up to take a second look at the SLS on display.

With so many of you making plans to attend the PlayStation House tour after we noticed that Gran Turismo 5 would be making an appearance, I felt this latest turn of events has warranted its own blog post. Unfortunately, in a statement to VG247, SCEE has announced that GT5’s listing on the site was a “mistake”. Sure enough, Sony has just updated the PlayStation House website, removing the racing title from the description (the old version lives on in Google’s cache, for now).

Gran Turismo 5 is about to make its public debut in UK shopping malls as it joins Sony’s ongoing “PlayStation House Tour“. As you can see in the description, the “touring games extravaganza” will give you “the chance to test out all the best titles and newest releases […] including […] GT5”. Sure enough, when GTPlanet forum user Kyaw checked out the “House” in the Birmingham Bullring, the staff on-hand confirmed a demo of the racing title will be there “soon”. Before you get too excited, keep in mind this version of the game will almost certainly be similar (if not identical) to what was playable in France last month. (Though the latest demo running at the Tokyo Motor Show including the Toyota FT-86 would certainly make for a pleasant surprise.)

After the Tokyo Game Show, many in our forums speculated that we’d see Gran Turismo 5’s next appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it turned out they were correct! Unfortunately, though, the only thing new is the Toyota FT-86, which is now playable in the demo alongside the Mercedes SLS-AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia. The show is just getting started, so the only impressions we have so far are via Japanese sites Gigazine and Inside-Games. One interesting thing to note: Sony will gift you 100 free cars in Gran Turismo PSP if you bring your copy of the game to the booth. Keep reading for more pictures and the first gameplay footage of the Toyota FT-86.