GTPlanet

I assure you I’ve had this particular image earmarked since last week, the fact that there just happened to be a “Lamborghini Exclusive” Seasonal Event this past Wednesday was a pure coincidence. A coincidence that almost swayed me from using this, but aren’t you glad that I decided to use it anyway?

What you’re looking at is the championship-winning Ferrari 312T driven by Niki Lauda, and the game is yet another gem – Assetto Corsa. AC is another game in the long list of simulation racing games that expands their scope beyond what most of us are really accustomed to, and while the game has yet to officially release you can check out the tech demo and judge the game for yourselves, and I have to say that you’re in for quite the surprise.

Last week saw a modest evolution in the Weekly Rewind, mentioning over a dozen racing games, fully acknowledging that while those of us who enjoy the thrill of going fast may be but a niche crowd, with so many options readily available the scene for racing games isn’t as much of an empty void as some would be lead to believe. In the grand scheme of things Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport are the centers of our world; a world where they are but a grand representation in the racing ecosystem; a world that expands far beyond their perspectives.

Last month’s Jalopnik Film Festival was an interesting and successful event for a lot of reasons. Although there were no major GT6 details announced or revealed, Kazunori Yamauchi spent a fair amount of time talking and interacting with journalists from a wide range of backgrounds.

With so many great options for us to choose from I sometimes wonder how we haven’t gone mad, and by that I mean we have Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, the upcoming Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Raceroom Racing Experience (R3E), rFactor 2, Project CARS, and Codemasters’ F1 series of racing games. With so many options to choose from there’s literally something for everyone and it’s because of this wealth of choice that the gaming scene for racing simulators isn’t as much of an empty void as some would believe.

Coming off the high of last week’s Jalopnik Film Festival is no easy feat and I was aware of this challenge the entirety of last week, but the problem now is whether or not I actually want to come off of such a high, and the answer is relatively simple. No.

Official videos from last week’s Jalopnik Film Festival have now been published, and include an interview with Kazunori Yamauchi and a complete recording of the panel session with Yamauchi, Jim Glickenhaus, Tamir Moscovici, and Ken Block.

What an amazing week this has been. Not only has there been a steady influx of news regarding GT6 and things related to GT6 (with more coming!), but there was also the event of the week, the coveted special as it were; of course I’m referring to the Jalopnik Film Festival.

Gran Turismo 6 has yet to make it’s way into our homes and there’s already talk of it’s successor, Gran Turismo 7. It would appear, at least at the moment, that the simplified system architecture used in the PlayStation 4 will allow Polyphony Digital, as well as any other developer, to drastically shorten the amount of development time required; more to the point, it will allow PD to return to their usual release schedule which ranged anywhere from 2-4 years.

It’s been much quieter this week thanks in part to the Tokyo Game Show being right around the corner, however, while there hasn’t been any newsworthy tidbits regarding the upcoming Gran Turismo 6 as a game, there is the upcoming Jalopnik Film Festival, presented by Gran Turismo 6.

If this looks familiar you’re not just imagining things, Pagani’s Huayra is once again gracing the Weekly Rewind. However, the image you’re looking at isn’t from Gran Turismo 6 or any Gran Turismo title for that matter, no, what you’re looking at is a brilliant shoot done by one of our very own in Forza Motorsport 4.

Within that list you will undoubtedly notice cars such as the Pagani Huayra, Audi R18 TDi, and the BMW Z8 as newcomers to the series, however, also within this list are two gems: the Cizeta V16T, which is now a Premium model, and the return of the Mark 1 GT40 road car not seen since Gran Turismo 3, if memory serves me correctly.

Gran Turismo fans definitely had some unexpected news this week, with the announcement that a Gran Turismo movie is in the works. How the producers will develop a plot around Gran Turismo will be very interesting to see. Meanwhile, there is no shortage of interesting (and hilarious) ideas being shared in our forums!

Aside from the recent 2.14 update for Gran Turismo 5 and the GT Academy demo raking in over 1 million downloads, nothing of any real interest has happened this week, at least as far as I’m concerned. That could all change at the drop of a hat though so don’t bury your head in your pillow just yet. Who knows what’s going to happen this weekend. 

Gran Turismo 6 is steadily becoming a more attractive product as the days progress and with the recent reveal of the Goodwood Hillclimb making it’s debut in the upcoming game, that attraction has nearly doubled since the GT Academy demo was released last week.

What a great week it’s been thus far, the 2013 GT Academy demo was released this past Tuesday and has left many of us wanting so much more. Whether or not we’ll get more remains to be seen but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high because we all know something has to be maintained for when Gran Turismo 6 sees itself onto store shelves later this year.

After a short hiatus the Rewind has returned in all its splendor and things have calmed down over the last two weeks or so, only to pick right back up with the events concerning the Xbox One and Microsoft’s steadfast DRM policies, all of which are no longer going to be implemented. What does this mean you ask; the same kind of freedom you currently have with the Xbox 360 are the same freedoms you’ll be able to enjoy with the upcoming One. This means no used games policies, no trading policies, no always online connection. All of it, gone.

It only happens once a year and it’s often likened to the Super Bowl, as in “the Super Bowl for gamers”. It can likened to any major event that only happens once a year that has massive appeal but at the end of the day all that matters is it’s E3!

We’re here, heading in to the final chicane leading onto the main straight — I’m referring to E3 of course. It all begins next week Monday if you weren’t aware and there’s so much I’m looking forward to, so much I’m looking to get a better hold of, and even a bit more clarity should it be provided.