http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9VOGcoH1h8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9V2YgZ7jjY

After seeing IGN’s lackluster video of GT5 at CES, I realized there is a need to “help” mainstream journalists and attendees who (gasp!) might not be as into the GT series as we are. So, I’m going to be more pro-active and use this platform to nudge them in the right direction – otherwise, we might just end up with more video of Tokyo R246 (and I know how much you all want to see that). If you’re a member of the media, consider this a “how-to” guide to receive millions of hits to your website from adoring GT fans from all over the world…

The show floor has finally opened up at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and reports of the Gran Turismo 5 demo are starting to come in. According to Motor Trend, there are 12 cars and 4 playable tracks in the latest demo:

Our own user Digital-Nitrate has discovered an early copy of the February issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine, and it’s got some pretty incredible news! Indy (“IRL”) cars have been confirmed, in addition to “weather effects, as well as night racing for all tracks”! Here’s a nice little summary of everything that’s discussed and confirmed:

GTPlanet user Snake206 has discovered that GT5 is scheduled to make its next appearance at European Motor Show Brussels, to be held January 14-24. While this is good news by itself, there are some clues we could be in for a few surprises at this show. First, Sony is actually holding a contest to give away two tickets to this auto show to “learn” about Gran Turismo – unusual, to say the least. Also, the show ends on the 24th – a date which just happens to be near the deadline for the GT Academy 2010 demo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dgc-bpsV8U

It’s been both the best of times and worst of times for Gran Turismo fans in 2009. It started out in what many believed would be the year of Gran Turismo 5, but actually turned out to be the year of another title almost nobody was expecting: Gran Turismo PSP! Regardless, we’ve learned a lot about GT5 – from WRC, to NASCAR, to our first look at damage and rumors of a track editor, it’s been a pretty good year. Now, as we look forward to GT5’s Japanese release in March, here’s a look back at 2009, along with all the links in case you missed something along the way…

If you’re a regular in the forums, you probably know about GTPlanet’s Weekly Race Series – our most popular and longest-running online competition. Thanks to help from JoostBaksteen, the WRS has a new, automated Leaderboard system which makes keeping track of your progress easier than ever before! Here’s how to get started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFZZ0Fjtb94

Kazunori Yamauchi added yet another event to his motorsport resume earlier this month when he competed in the 25 Hours of Thunder Hill in California. Yamauchi drove an N-spec Honda Civic for Spoon Sports along with several experienced teammates including Tatsuru Ichishima, Naoki Hattori, and journalist Sam Mitani. The all managed a clean drive, but their performance was unfortunately hampered by penalties for improper fueling and (interestingly) a too-loud exhaust. Nevertheless, it was a great experience for Yamauchi-san who is learning much from all this track time:

Before the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Demo was released to the public, it was open to a few members of the press and special VIPs involved with the GT series. While their hot laps and replays were taken offline when the leader boards were reset, they live on thanks to more videos via TaxiGamer. Below you’ll find clips of Kazunori Yamauchi and the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez. Six-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb was also spotted in the rankings, though I can’t find any video footage of his lap at the moment. If you have it, please share the link below!

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

The Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial demo has just become available for download in the Japanese PSN Store, and it should start popping up in your region soon. Of course, anyone can create a Japanese account (video instructions available here) and the demo’s in English, so first impressions are already starting to roll in around our forums. Head over to our dedicated GT5 Time Trial Demo message board to share your own opinions and see what others have to say about it! The demo file itself weighs in at around 201 MB, so you shouldn’t have to wait too long if you’ve got a slower ‘net connection.

Our friends at TaxiGamer, who are obsessed with high-quality video game footage, have shared some excellent new stuff from the Gran Turismo 5 Demo, including real game play footage, a replay, and a walk through the menu. Keep reading to see all the clips, and visit their site to download the original files in all their glory.

A writer with the Globe and Mail, Chad Sapieha, got the opportunity to try out the Gran Turismo 5 demo (the one that’s been shown off at shows, not the one we’re getting next Thursday), and he’s shared a fascinating conversation he had with a “Polyphony Digital delegate”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGNeHlfJU6I

During a Sony press event last week, SCEA Producer Chris Hinojosa was throwing around a “summer 2010” release date for Gran Turismo 5 (presumably for the North American market). The news comes from Destructoid, who had listened carefully during his presentation about the game. While this does open up the release window, an early summer date (some time in May, perhaps?) has been the most reasonable assumption for us to make since the game was announced for March in Japan, so this isn’t anything to get too upset about.

If you missed out on the free Gran Turismo PSP promotion when the PSP Go was released earlier this year, you’ve got another shot. Sony is once again making the game available to download at no cost to all PSP Go owners…as long as you’re not in North America. Much like GT Academy 2010, this promotion is only available to people outside of the United States and Canada. You can read the official rules here and, if you’re eligible, follow these instructions to get your copy of the game. It will be free through January 10, 2010, so don’t worry if you plan to receive a PSP Go on December 25th – just make sure that you tell Santa Claus about this so he can buy you something else with all that money he’ll be saving! Thanks to Marky264 for the tip.