Who could have imagined that a “demo” would be one of the year’s best selling PlayStation 3 titles?  Marketing research company NPD Group today released U.S. sales data for each console, and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue landed a spot in the PS3’s top 5.  This is fantastic result for the game, especially when you consider the ranking does not include PSN downloads.  While our recent poll indicated that most GTPlanet users bought the hard copy, it would still be interesting to see what the actual numbers look like…

Our own chief race organizer, Sphinx, has started things off with GTPlanet’s first officially-sanctioned GT5 Prologue race competition!  We begin with a run of the 1960 Art Morrison Corvette at the Daytona Speedway Road Course with “professional” physics.  The competition actually takes place within the S4 event in the game, so tire selection is pre-determined.  Other tuning options, however, are completely up to you.  Just remember to save your replay at the end of your best time, and have fun!  This competition is only open to GTP_Registry members.

Thanks to GT5 Prologue’s new method of online time and replay verification, we are beginning to see the rise of legitimate competitions endorsed by business and “old media”.  This time, Australia’s Tarmac magazine is fueling the fires of the age old rivalry between the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and Subaru Impreza STi.  It’s simple enough to participate – just set your best time at London and upload it to the game’s online database.  Then, enter the competition and see if your time holds up.  The fastest drivers of each car will receive either a Mitsubishi or Subaru prize pack.  However, there does appear to be an oversight in the rules, as the use of Professional or Standard physics is not specified.  Tarmac editors posted on our forum that “it’s up to the driver”, but this seems a bit preposterous considering the vast differences between the two modes.  Either way, give it a go, and be sure to use your GTPlanet Registry PSN tag!

Back in March of this year, we first learned that Polyphony Digital and Citröen were going to collaborate on a “virtual” concept car to make an exclusive appearance in the Gran Turismo series.  Since that time, Polyphony has been dropping hints to remind us of the project, but the images and videos amounted to little more than artistic looks at the in-game circuits.  Today, however, our very own alexwrc uncovered a mysterious upload to photo-sharing site Flickr from user “GT by Citröen”.  Sony regularly uses Flickr to upload high resolution screenshots, and alexwrc confirms this is certainly the real deal.  We will share more photos as they become available…until then, enjoy the teaser!

GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi was on hand at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance last month to award the first “Polyphony Digital Trophy”.  As an honorary judge, Yamauchi was given the chance to recognize his favorite vehicle from the hundreds of elite and storied competitors at the event.  His final selection, a 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 Bertone prototype, is certainly an exceptional automobile, but it got people talking in our forums.  Could his recognition of a Lamborghini be a sign of things to come?  It’s a fun theory, but don’t hold your breath.  Instead, consider this unprecedented event a landmark for Polyphony Digital, and one of the highest recognitions the Gran Turismo series could possibly ever receive.  Who could have dreamed the first new award in more than 7 years at Pebble Beach would be in the name of a video game developer?  This respect and recognition is a testament to the professional, mature style that Polyphony and Yamauchi have crafted into the GT series over the years.  Check out more details about the event after the jump…

Just a reminder to those of you who have yet to submit a time for the GTPlanet Registry Qualifier – the deadline has been moved up to this coming Sunday, September 14, 2008 at midnight GMT.  Remember, a GTP_Registry tag will be required if you want to compete in all future GTPlanet racing events, and the registry will be closed to all new members for one full week following the deadline.  Click here to review all the details about the qualifier, and be sure to send our On-Line Racing manager, Sphinx, a kind word of appreciation for all of his hard work!

Djie of granturismo5.nl managed to dig up a Dutch press release by SCEE which explains the GT Academy Finals competition in great detail, describing the drama of the final day of competition which ultimately left Lucas Ordoñez and Lars Schlommer in the winner’s circle.  New photos from the event were also released today, showing the Gran Turismo livery on a pair of new Nissan GT-Rs and Silverstone’s own open-wheeled formula car.  The competitors themselves have joined the discussion in our forums, and I would like to personally welcome each of them to our growing community! Now, for the rest of us, here’s an interesting read of how it all went down in the last day of competition:

Many GTPlanet members made it into the GT Academy’s final rounds, and we have anxiously awaited to hear the results from Silverstone.  Today, thanks to a heads-up by our own dark_ruffo, we can confirm the two winners are Lucas Ordoñez of Spain and Lars Schlommer of Germany.  These two lucky and highly skilled drivers will now continue their training for the 24 Hours of Dubai race in January of 2009.  Congratulations to both of you!  If you’re reading, please stop by our forums and make yourself known!  Of course, even those who won’t be driving in Dubai had an amazing experience, as reports have begun trickling onto our message boards as all the competitors arrive home.  Grandi, of Finland, has been posting details and fielding questions about the experience.  The drivers were pushed to their limits, with tests ranging from physical exams and karting endurance races to piloting a 350Z, Caterham 7, R35 Nissan GT-R, and open-wheeled formula car in nasty weather conditions around the famous British circuit.

In yet another confirmation of the Top Gear test track appearing in Gran Turismo 5, the show has launched a contest giving away 5 free copies of GT5 Prologue.  It’s easy enough to enter – just answer 9 automotive news and Top Gear questions correctly before September 1.  As you might expect, however, only UK residents are eligible, but it’s exciting to see the BBC acknowledge the GT series once again.  See Top Gear’s website for all the questions, terms, and conditions.

There are some pretty impressive cockpits for driving simulators out there.  You can spend hundreds on a commercial option, or put in time for your own DIY project, but few compare to what Ahmed Al Azmi got his hands on last week.  Ahmed, winner of the GT5 Prologue Middle East Challenge, finally took delivery of his prize: an official “racing pod”.  The impressive structure, used by Sony all over the world to show off Gran Turismo 5 Prologue at shows and launch parties, is made of steel, glass, and a Recaro racing seat.  As if that wasn’t enough, Sony threw in a brand new 40” Bravia, PlayStation 3, and Logitech Driving Force GT.  Finally, Ahmed went the extra mile, modifying his pod further with a Logitech G25 and inverted pedals (hinged from above, just like a real car), making this one of the most unique, best looking, and well-built racing cockpit we’ve ever seen.

If you’re too cheap to take advantage of the 99¢ programs on Gran Turismo TV, be on the lookout for some new content headed your way.  According to the press release, a Top Gear “intro” is available now, containing highlights of the show.  It’s free, so go ahead and take a look.  Polyphony is also publishing the in-game video of the new Ferrari California, but if you’re a regular GTPlanet visitor, you saw it a month ago.

The GTPlanet PSN Registry has quickly grown to be the largest organized group of racers in the online world of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue with more than 412 members.  More importantly, it’s going to be the most important set of credentials that you can have when private race rooms come along this fall, as a requirement to compete in officially-sanctioned GTPlanet online events.  In anticipation of this, the Registry’s organizer, Sphinx, is dividing members into separate divisions based upon their performance in an official qualifying time trial.  The new divisions will allow online racers to enjoy much more competitive races with each other this fall, and will give you a good idea of where you stand with the rest of the world (or would that be…the ‘Planet?).

The August 1st update to Gran Turismo 5: Prologue brought quite a few changes.  Although there were many undocumented features, the new peer-to-peer downloading option for Gran Turismo TV is the one with the broadest implications.  Basically, it allows others to download programs directly from your PS3, using your internet connection’s upload bandwidth.  This can help downloaders, as it eliminates the bottleneck generated by the traditional client/server network architecture while alleviating some of the distribution and hosting costs for Sony and Polyphony Digital.  Here’s the official description from GT5 Prologue’s Network Options page:

The big August 1st update has been live for more than 24 hours in most of the world now, and although the download was rocky for some, most everyone has their hands on the latest iteration of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.  Now, we’re discovering quite a few tweaks and bug fixes that weren’t documented in the press release.  For example, in-game sounds have improved, there’s a lot of new music tracks, Logitech’s G25 handling characteristics have changed dramatically, and online race hosts can no longer leave an online race and disconnect the other players.  Threshold has a very hot thread in our forums right now, as everyone tries to document a full list of changes as they are discovered.  Join the rest of GTPlanet in our GT5 Prologue Forum and share your opinion on all the changes!

When we first learned that the in-game GTTV feature was going pay-per-view, prices were still up in the air.  Today, Sony announced that all content would be available for just 99 cents during the two weeks starting August 1st.  Presumably, programs will be priced differently once this introductory promotion is over, but it will encourage people to at least try out the service.  What do you plan on watching, if anything?  Head on over to our Gran Turismo 5 Prologue forums and join the conversation!

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue has played a prominent role at the 2008 British Motor Show, with rumored circuits like the Nurburgring Nordschliefe and Le Sarthe both making appearances.  The most exciting news coming out of the show, however, is the Lotus Evora.  Shortly after its debut, Lotus allowed show goers to “drive” the new car in – you guess it – GT5 Prologue.  Obviously, the Evora isn’t in the current version of the game, and rumors are flying that it’s coming via a future update.  Here’s the first batch of official screenshots, including a rare look at the new car’s interior.

Now that the GT Academy competition is officially over, GTPlanet user Timppaq has taken on the task of organizing and sorting the international results to see just how close the drivers really are.  A special congratulations go to Timppaq of Finland and spyrrari of the Netherlands, who used their registered GTPlanet names to enter the competition.  Thanks to you guys for supporting our site, I know you will represent us well!  Check out Timppaq’s list of all the times along with a breakdown by country right here in his thread.  Of course, if you are also a finalist, be sure to stop by our forums and make yourself known!

Congratulations to Ahmad El Azmi of Kuwait, the fastest driver of more than 10,000 participants in the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Middle East Challenge 2008.  Preliminary rounds took place in nine regional cities across the Middle East in June and July 2008, with the finalists invited to Dubai for the Grand Final this past weekend.  Ahmed walked away with a trip to Japan to test drive a Nissan GT-R, a “GT Racing Pod”, 40” Bravia LCD TV, and a new PS3.  If you’re reading this,  Ahmad, be sure to stop by our forums and say hello.

As you may or may not be aware, the August 1st update to GT5 Prologue will wipe all of your “Quick Tune” settings.  This is obviously a big problem, but an understandably necessary side affect from updating the game’s physics engine.  The solution, of course, is to “back up” your settings by writing them down, and GTPlanet user MeWhiteNoise makes the task even easier with his professionally crafted “Quick Tune Record Sheets”.  Available in a high-quality PDF file, these Record Sheets can be easily sorted, stored, or filed away however you prefer.  Be sure to stop by his thread on our forums and thank MeWhiteNoise for his contribution to the community!