gtplanet

This weekend marks the return of Formula 1 to the United States, in Austin, Texas, at the 2012 United States Grand Prix, and if the chatter in our forums is any indication, lots of GTPlanet community members will be attending.

Each month, over half a million people visit GTPlanet using Google’s Chrome browser, making it the most popular way to access the site. Now, it’s going to be easier than ever for Chrome users to stay on top of news from the “world of Gran Turismo” with GTPlanet’s new Chrome extension!

Disturbing laws are being proposed in the U.S. Congress which threaten the Internet we know and love, including GTPlanet and hundreds of thousands of online communities and social networks like it. Known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), these bills grant unprecedented control over the Internet to the entertainment industry and the U.S. government while attempting to thwart online piracy.

After celebrating 10 years online in January, I am excited to announce that GTPlanet has already hit another milestone, with over 5 million messages having now been posted in our forums. Since the release of GT5 in November of last year, the community has grown by nearly 1.1 million posts, with an average of more than 6,300 new posts per day. 7-year member and Super Moderator, TB, takes the honor of making the 5 millionth post, with this very appropriate celebratory message.

Ten years ago, GTPlanet first made its appearance on the web. Since that time, it’s grown to a scale far beyond what I could have ever imagined and, in the process, has made a profound influence on my life’s work and interests. Though the site remains a one-man show behind the scenes, I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who has played a role in the success of this community over the years.

I’m very excited to announce that I will be personally attending the Gran Turismo 5 Launch Party in Madrid, Spain, this Wednesday, November 24th! Sony has been keeping very close wraps on what’s in store for the event, but it’s definitely going to be very big, and very special… It’s more than just a party, and should be a real treat for all automotive enthusiasts and the general public – be sure and stop by if you’re in the area.

A stream of interesting tidbits have been trickling into our Gran Turismo 5 forum today via several new magazine articles. First up is the December 2010 issue of PSM3 magazine, which provides a few details as highlighted by our own Dessy182:

For years, I’ve always had a hard time updating the main page of the site. Our previous software was clunky and out of date, and posting new articles was a real pain – definitely not something that is fun to do by any measure. Now, however, we’re using WordPress, and I look forward to easily adding new content on a frequent basis. WordPress will also allow others to contribute articles here on the main site, which is a feature I look forward to taking advantage of. Feel free to use this post as a test of the comments system. Remember, you will need to create a new account to post comments as this section of the site is not connected with our forum database.