If you’ve seen lots of pictures and videos from the show floor at last week’s GamesCom convention, you probably noticed this full-size, Audi TT motion simulator running what appears to be a special version of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.  While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a motion simulator hooked up to a copy of GT (indeed, this same Audi was brought to the Leipzig Games Convention last year), you can only imagine how badly manufactures of consumer-grade “motion seats” would love to interface their own products with future GT titles…

While most of us are still getting over the shock of seeing a damaged car in Gran Turismo, many others criticized Polyphony Digital’s work for not showing over-the-top destruction found in other, often more “arcade” racing games. Apparently, Kazunori Yamauchi himself responded to critics in his latest French interview with GamesBlog.fr, but we missed it the first time around without a full English transcript.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOUkAq8Kv6w

For those of you out there who still aren’t convinced of Gran Turismo 5’s pending 2009 release date, take a look at the game’s official brochure handed out at last week’s GamesCom convention. Snapped by RiseOfGames, the brochure was quickly translated by forum users – but you don’t have to be fluent in German to figure out what “4. Quartel 2009” means.  Via user G.T.Ace:

When GTPlanet reviewed the VisionRacer VR3 earlier this year, we really loved what we saw. Anyone dedicated to their sim-racing hobby would be hard-pressed to find something to match the VisonRacer’s ergonomics, beauty, or quality of construction. Craftsmanship is not cheap, though, and the VR3 is still a significant investment for most gamers. To help out, the VisionRacer guys are offering a special price just for GTPlanet readers: $999 with free shipping to the U.S..

In a video interview with French gaming site GameBlog.fr, Kazunori Yamauchi hinted at Gran Turismo 5’s release date with the following statement (thanks to reece22345 for the translation!):

Italian website MultiPlayer.it has captured a massive collection of Gran Turismo PSP screenshots, taking particular care to show us all of the new menus and game options.  You’ll see everything from mode selection screens, car selection screens, track selection screens, car trading screens, ad-hoc multiplayer screens, car/track info screens, settings, and everything in between.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQPM2g-UsCM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzcVXzrUH9A

When the staff at VG247 got the chance to interview SCEE president Andrew House, they didn’t hesitate to ask him directly about why we didn’t get the Gran Turismo 5 release date announcement that everyone was expecting.  His response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEUzLSeuY4A

IGN editor Ryan Clements entered the GamesCom show floor this morning, and headed straight for the Gran Turismo booth.  After admiring the game’s new damage features, he got to talk with Kazunori Yamauchi and asked him to clarify some of the questions that were raised yesterday.  As many expected, not all of the cars in the game will feature damage:

Hot on the heels of Gamersyde’s first look at the GamesCom playable GT5 demo, they now provide us with a first real look at ingame damage.

The folks at Gamersyde have managed to snare a video of GT5 being played on the floor at the GamesCom gathering in Cologne.

As if today hadn’t been dramatic enough for GT fans, Polyphony Digital has pulled the Gran Turismo 5 feature list from their website.  In its place, they’ve announced the PSP-3000 “Gran Turismo Edition” – which is quite curious, considering how strongly the game has been associated with the new PSP Go.  At this point, we don’t have any more details about the availability of this device, only that it’s going to be “released in limited quantity” on October 1st.

Check out all of the 21 brand new screenshots in our full gallery after the jump…

Just released via Polyphony Digital’s website (the article seems to have been removed – let the conspiracy theories begin!).  Thanks to Black Chamber for the complete translation!

BREAKING NEWS:  Just announced at the Sony GamesCom press conference: European and PAL region gamers who purchase a PSP Go and register it before October 10th will be able to download the full Gran Turismo PSP game, digitally, at no cost.

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An early walkthrough this morning of the GamesCom show floor has revealed Gran Turismo 5 will be in playable form today.  There are clearly two different types of displays for the game: one featuring PSP’s, and the other with steering wheels and HDTV’s.  We also have further confirmation from the Japanese “Express” magazine, which states that “”GT5 will be playable at Gamescom and next will be at Tokyo Game Show.”  Check out the video after the jump to get a closer look at the Gran Turismo booth (visible after 1:25)!