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.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og3uRCwHPMA

Few franchises in the gaming world can trigger such heated debate as Forza and Gran Turismo. The reason for the rivalry is obvious, with each high-profile game competing for hearts and minds on the front lines of the “console wars”. Up until this year, however, Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios and Kazunori Yamauchi’s Polyphony Digital worked quietly on their respective titles and delivered driving games of excellent quality for each console. As the online rhetoric of fans begins to heat up, however, that code of silence is beginning to melt away. Here’s what Yamauchi had to say about the competition while speaking with NowGamer just last week:

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

Japanese gaming mag Famitsu hit news stands this week featuring a fresh interview with Kazunori Yamauchi. He used the opportunity to reiterate GT5’s progress while emphasizing the scale of the game:

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

GT Academy winner Lucas Ordonez has seen an incredible amount of success on both real and virtual race tracks. After coming out on top at the GT Academy Finals and scoring a drive in the 24 Hours of Dubai, Lucas has completed his first race season with seriously impressive results. Needless to say, he’s living the dream that lives inside every GT fan, and now it’s our chance to ask him anything you want! GTPlanet member 130tc is going to sit down for an interview Lucas tomorrow (October 12th), and he’s opened the floor to the entire community. Head on over to his forum thread or leave your questions in the comments below. Watch for the full interview featuring your questions very soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZacNDd6vI

Unfortunately, most “journalists” who get the chance to interview Kazunori Yamauchi are largely clueless about the current state of the franchise. As a result, they ask the same questions to which the answers don’t really matter, delivered with the same rabid, impatient schoolboy mentality that seems to plague many people on the Internet these days. Needless to say, while this interview method can provide some sensational headlines, it does nothing to connect with the man or the company behind Gran Turismo. That’s what makes this interview with Xavier Ocampo, Japanese correspondent at MeriStation, so incredibly refreshing and insightful.

If you’ve played Gran Turismo PSP, the thought of hooking up a steering wheel to the little handheld console has probably crossed your mind. The only problem, of course, is that the PSP isn’t compatible with any wheel on the market – or so we thought. GTPlanet user tingri discovered the above clip created by YouTuber RacerS2, who’s done the impossible with a hacked PSP and a collection of other software programs. Although he doesn’t provide a tutorial on how to get this working yourself, you might want to consider the one big caveat before taking on a project like this: GT PSP doesn’t support analog gas or brake controls, so it’s all or nothing when you press the pedals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE3VAt07ie4