PlayStation LifeStyle » gran turismo

Retailers Reveal Polyphony Digital’s Latest Prototype: Gran Turismo XL

Rae Langdon — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:29:51 +0000

Sony may be preparing a “Game of the Year”-esque release of Gran Turimso 5 for release early next year if entries on Amazon.com and NewEgg are to be believed. Titled Gran Turismo 5 XL, this new edition of the 2010 racer may include previously released downloadable content as well as the Spec II update.

Spec II added a new cockpit view for standard cars, a brand new opening movie, 11 new NASCAR cars and improvements to the online mode. The update was originally released this past October over the PSN for free. It would make sense that Sony would want to include Spec II on store shelves since anyone playing GT 5 without an internet connection would still be playing the original version.

Gran Turismo XL is current scheduled for release in Japan on February 2nd, 2012 and in North America on January 17th if Amazon’s listing is accurate.

Below: The Japanese box art for the “Spec II” re-release of GT 5.

Now That Gran Turismo 6 is In Development, Will it Be for PS3 or PS4?

Jonathan Leack — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:43:12 +0000

Earlier in the week, Yamauchi stated vigorously during an interview that the Polyphony Digital team is currently working on Gran Turismo 6. That got us thinking, will it come out for the PlayStation 3, or will we be waiting until the next generation to see it come to fruition? Let’s step back and approach this question with as much evidence as possible.

Gran Turismo 5 had one of the lengthiest development cycles in gaming history, lasting from before the release of the PlayStation 3 until its fourth year of existence. Much of the development time was put into the game engine, which despite having lackluster damaging modeling, is far ahead of the competition when it comes to physics simulation and visual presentation. The thing is, that engine might not translate well to Sony’s unannounced PlayStation 4, and as a result it would only make sense for financial reasons to seize the opportunity and release another title that runs on it before moving onto a new project.

Additionally, while Gran Turismo 5 has sold over six million units, it received some criticism when it launched. Thankfully, the few issues that critics spoke of weren’t particularly huge, but seemed like noticeable blemishes on what many expected to be a perfect game. Things like loading times, poor UI navigation, and “standard cars” kept it from being yet another 90+ rated game for the series. It’s safe to say that Polyphony Digital would like another shot at being the champion of this generation’s racing simulation genre. Releasing a follow-up similar to Gran Turismo 2 which polishes the experience and addresses the items that fans have given feedback on is a strong possibility.

Speaking of console Gran Turismo titles only, Polyphony Digital also has a history of releasing two games per PlayStation platform. Best of all, each initial title was followed up by one that was not only more robust, but featured a lot more content as well. For example, while the original Gran Turismo came with 178 cars and 11 tracks, its successor released with 650 vehicles and 27 tracks. We expect this tradition to continue, and as a result not only should Gran Turismo 6 be a PlayStation 3 title, but it should heavily improve on what is already a thorough racing simulation experience.

Lastly, the PlayStation Vita is nearing release, and it’s fully capable of producing PS3-quality visuals, and due to its capable hardware and dual-analog sticks there are already plans to release titles that work on both the Vita and PS3. While Gran Turismo for the PSP didn’t do particularly well, it’d be both in Polyphony Digital and Sony’s interest to get one of the most recognizable Sony exclusives on the platform. What better than to have a release that works on both platforms? The Vita will be Sony’s premier platform for the next couple years, so it’s highly unlikely we’re going to see a PS4 in the immediate future, and with the inevitable PS3 price drop to the golden $199.99 price point, there’s an opportunity here to hit the market like a storm, promoting both the PS3 and Vita in the process.

Polyphony Digital has continued to support Gran Turismo 5 with regular patching, seasonal events, and even the recently released DLC. However, sooner or later fans are going to be dying for another racing simulator fix, and Polyphony Digital will be under pressure to release something that stays competitive in the modern market, but doesn’t take such an inordinate amount of time to release. So we ask you, what platform do you think Gran Turismo 6 will release on? Share your answer in the comments below.

Gran Turismo 6 Could Have an Unbearable Development Cycle Like its Predecessor

Jonathan Leack — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:02:21 +0000

Gran Turismo 5 took an enormous amount of resources and over five years to develop, and nobody wants to go through that pain again any less than its developer, Polyphony Digital. Unfortunately, its successor may be just as much of a lengthy project.

President of Worldwide Studios at Sony Computer Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida, has finally given us insight into when we can expect Gran Turismo 6, as well as how far into development it currently is. As you may have suspected, it’s far off, and Yoshida stated the following in his latest interview:

As far as the Gran Turismo team’s concerned, they are still working on updating the games, so they’re just shifting to the designing and concepting phase of the next project. It’s going to take a few years.

The wait for GT5 was borderline unbearable, so we can only hope that Gran Turismo 6 doesn’t follow suit. However, GT5 has been getting plenty of support, and there is still DLC and some big patches to look forward to. At least this time around we’ll be equipped to endure the wait with a game that seems to get better every month.

Gran Turismo 5 DLC is in Order, Yamauchi Speaks

Jonathan Leack — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:36:29 +0000

Gran Turismo 5 will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in four months, and we are still yet to see DLC. Okay, so the game has received an almost unprecedented amount of support through patches and updates, making the game somewhat of an MMO experience with continually evolving features. With that said, it’s hard to ignore that a few popular cars and tracks never made it into the seismic game. Now, Yamauchi has spoken.

Gran Turismo lead designer and racing extraordinaire Kaz Yamauchi is known for being a frequent poster on Twitter, and has now replied to several requests about the looming GT5 DLC. His initial post states the following (roughly translated):

Updates coming soon. First bug fixes, feature updates and DLC or the next. Huge studio production distributed systems is difficult than expected.

Okay, so more bug fixes and feature updates are on the horizon, with DLC coming after. Also, it appears that the Polyphony Digital studio responsible for GT5 has moved locations, slowing down production. After a mountain of additional replies, Yamuchi-san typed the following words (once again roughly translated):

We’re trying to meet expectations. The servers still aren’t working completely yet anyway, which is our primary struggle.

If there’s one thing we know about Yamauchi-san and his heavily experienced team at Polyphony, it’s that they won’t settle for anything less than perfection. Heck, GT5 almost avoided releasing for an entire generation, until they finally said enough is enough. Even then, the team wished they had more time to perfect the title. Hopefully this same elusive mannerism doesn’t affect DLC, because racing and automotive fans alike are itching to get their hands on some new beauties. I know I am.

Give Dad a Limited Edition PSP Bundle This Father’s Day

Steven Garcia — Thu, 26 May 2011 10:57:37 +0000

Just because you’re a dad doesn’t mean you have to kiss your dreams of playing in the big leagues or speeding down the raceway goodbye. Sony understands that although you’ve set those aspirations aside to change diapers and pay for college, these desires are still there, burning and yearning to be satisfied, and believes that if anybody deserves to be rewarded, it’s dads everywhere.

Come this June, you’ll be able to pick up the newest Limited Edition PSP Entertainment Pack to show your old man how much you care. In the bundle, your dad will find a PSP, a 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, and a copy of both MLB 11: The Show and Gran Turismo; All for $159.99. Fatherhood just got a whole lot more exciting!

Gran Turismo Boutique Opens Up Shop

Paulmichael Contreras — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 04:22:00 +0000

Are you a hardcore Gran Turismo fan who has been on the lookout for ways to show how big of a fan you are? Well you are in luck, as you can now buy officially licensed apparel at a new shop. Details after the jump.

The recently launched shop.us.gran-turismo.com website now plays host to a small, dedicated virtual shop filled with nothing but Gran Turismo-branded apparel crafted by the ‘musterbrand’ design group. There are currently five items to choose from (prices exclude shipping and applicable taxes):

T-Shirt: $24.00
Long-Sleeve Top: $29.00
Track Jacket: $149.00
Water Resistant Windbreaker: $169.00
Endurance Jacket: $199.00

All items come embroidered with official GT logos. The t-shirt and long sleeve come in your choice of black, white and gray, while the jackets are currently only available in black. So, who’s planning on putting down a cool $200+ for that endurance jacket?

Gran Turismo Series Hits Impressive Mark

Adam Wolfe — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:10:34 +0000

Last month Gran Turismo 5 hit the PS3, and while some critics weren’t favorable of the franchise, it did receive high praises overall. But how big is the game? Sony have given the official word on just how well it has done, as well on just how strong the Gran Turismo series really is.

Today, Sony announced that the Gran Turismo series has shipped over 60 million units worldwide. These figures are from all nine installments including Gran Turismo Concept 2001 TOKYO, as well as Gran Turismo 4 & 5 Prologue and Gran Turismo PSP.

In addition to the 60 million sold to retailers across all games, Sony also announced that Gran Turismo 5 shipped 5.5 million worldwide in just 12 days, selling 2.9 million to consumers. These sales figures should really show that Gran Turismo is still a force in the racing world, and even after a five-year wait it still can hold its own against any other racing franchise.

Here is a breakdown of how well each game sold.

Gran Turismo: 10.78 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 2: 9.34 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 3 A-spec: 14.80 million worldwide
Gran Turismo Concept 2001 TOKYO: 1.50 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue: 1.34 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 4: 10.86 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: 5.03 million worldwide
Gran Turismo (PSP): 2.24 million worldwide
Gran Turismo 5: 5.52 million worldwide

Are you one of the millions of Gran Turismo fans? Let us know in the comments below.

PS3 Review – Gran Turismo 5

Anthony Severino — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:01:58 +0000

After five years of development,Gran Turismo 5 is finally available at retailers worldwide. Now that the game has crossed the finish line, many are wondering if it was worth the wait. Find out in our in-depth review of the real racing simulator.

Gran Turismo 5 marks the first PlayStation 3 release of Sony’s record-breaking racing franchise, which first gained popularity on the original PlayStation thanks to its realistic graphics, unprecedented physics, and a massive roster of real-life automobiles. As the series has aged, it has become synonymous with the racing industry as well as a system-seller for Sony. It’s really no surprise that Gran Turismo 5 has become the PlayStation 3′s most anticipated game since it came to the spotlight at the console’s launch which now seems like ages ago. With such hype and anticipation, coupled with the franchise’s legacy, GT5 has some enormous expectations to live up to.

GT5 features over 1000 real-life, licensed vehicles, all tuned to perfectly perform using the game’s flawless physics engine. Every aspect of each individual car is painstakingly realized, dripping with polish. More than 20 tracks, all brought to life by a team of developers that have a love affair with racing. And that’s just the tip of the Titanic-sinking iceberg.

Upon loading up Gran Turismo 5, it is strongly suggested that you install the game’s main data to the PS3′s hard drive. Although losing some precious disk space and waiting 50 minutes to install all 8GB might seem daunting, it is indeed well worth the sacrifice since it will cut down on load times dramatically. From there, most will jump right into GT Mode, but the game does feature an Arcade Mode that is brimming with unlockable cars, tracks, and some split-screen goodness. However, the GT Mode is the main hub for Gran Turismo 5, and it is the mode where you’ll spend the majority of your time

The My Home screen will be your central hub that gives you access to the bulk of GT5′s single player content. My Home is where you find A-Spec and B-Spec modes, your garage, dealerships, special events, and much more. As you progress through each of these modes, credits and experience are earned allowing you to purchase new or used cars, maintain or tune vehicles, or even access certain events. New to the series is an RPG style leveling system which forces you to complete things like license tests and a larger variety of races in order to move forward. While this might come as a strange concept, it is Polyphony Digital’s way of making GT5 a more welcoming experience. The game eases you into the difficulty, and does a great job of ensuring that you understand the basics prior to battling the best. In addition, the game does a great job of balancing the progression. For example, early on in our adventure we didn’t have enough money or experience to buy a better Toyota Vitz to place in the Yaris Challenge, so we opted to modify the Vitz we’d won earlier to the point where it was powerful enough to not only place, but to win.

Modifying cars is one of the most rewarding components of the game. Taking a sub-100 horsepower car and turning it into a formidable beast on wheels is deeply satisfying. Body kits help to lighten the vehicle’s weight, and swapping out engines makes for a more thunderous ride. Though, what good is power when it takes too long to build up speed? Fix that with a better gear system and transmission. Even then, your car can’t perform unless your oil is changed frequently, and when you’re driving a $300,000 supercar, you want it to look its best so feel free to head to the shop and give it new rims, tires, a fresh coat of paint, or maybe just a car wash will do. It’s all there in Gran Turismo 5, and it seems like everything racing-related made its way into this expansive package.

While preparation is all fine and dandy, the real experience lies in driving these pristine automobiles. Gran Turismo is well-known for its A-Spec mode, which puts you in the driver’s seat on a variety of tracks and challenges. Working your way up through the ranks from a beginner to a professional takes dedication, skill, and a handful of patience to go along with it. Everyone wants to drive the Lamborghini, but you’ll have to win with a Honda Civic before you prove you are mighty enough to tackle the exotic beauties of planet Earth. The challenges available during progression have various requirements, which will have you driving cars from many different manufacturers across a number of decades. Learning to adapt and learn the rules of the road is an important part of succeeding in Kaz Yamauchi of Gran Turismo 5. Continue reading…

PS3′s Power “Not Enough” To Handle Yamauchi’s Gran Turismo

Sebastian Moss — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 02:39:00 +0000

Whether it comes out this year or the next, Gran Turismo 5 is set to be one of the most ambitious games of all time, pushing the boundaries of what the PlayStation 3 can render, with gorgeous 1080p visuals, damage modeling and a dynamic weather system. While the game took over 5 years to develop, cost around $60 million to make, and has more features than you can shake a stick at, apparently the game just isn’t good enough to satisfy its creator, due to the limitations of the PS3.

Polyphony Digital’s President, and Gran Turismo father, Kaz Yamauchi told the latest issue of Esquire UK that he has been restricted by each generation of PlayStation he has worked on:

“Software has to be created under the restriction of the hardware, with each new PlayStation, the vessel has become bigger, but its still not enough.

He continued:

“With Gran Turismo 5 we’ve made it as clean and beautiful as possible within the confines of the space we’re given – but of course there’s a lot more that we want to put in.”

With Sony promising a release before Christmas, Yamauchi saying the game has gone gold, and rumors that discs are already in the wild, GT5 looks like it may finally release this year.

Of course, if GT5 maxes out the PS3 it does beg the question: Which platform will Gran Turismo 6 – which is already in development – be released on?

[Via]

Yamauchi: Gran Turismo 5 Delay “Inexcusable”

Kishen Patel — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:02:34 +0000

Series creator of the Gran Turismo franchise, Kazunori Yamauchi, is a known perfectionist. Resulting from his apparent obsessive compulsive disorder, the development time for GT5 has extended itself throughout the coarse of six years. Unfortunately, an official delay was put in action at, pretty much, the very last minute of the game’s release. As a result, the director of the anticipated release had something to get off of his chest.

On the official Twitter page of the CEO of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi gave an apology for the delay and admitted that there is no excuse for his creation’s detainment. As translated by Kotaku:

“Apologies for the delay. It’s because time and labor were spent ironing the kinks out of [the game's] complex system. I’m really sorry. Everyone, it’s inexcusable… Wait a little longer.”

As consolation, both Sony and Mr. Yamauchi, himself, have confirmed that Gran Turismo 5 will release during the holiday season yet before Christmas. Regardless of the delay, the game is still expected to sell “astronomically”. There has been an immense amount of speculation as to why the title was delayed and, while vague confirmation has been given, some have even went as far as saying the title was delayed to produce more copies in order to meet the demand. Regardless, the game will still release in the 2010 calendar year.

Stay connected to PlayStation LifeStyle for the latest release date for Gran Turismo 5.

Gran Turismo 5 Still Expected to Win the Race

Kishen Patel — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:00:12 +0000

Over two years after the release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, the full version of Gran Turismo 5 was finally officially dated for November, but sadly, the title was delayed. As anyone could imagine, dedicated fans and PS3 skeptics, alike, were quick to predict the downfall of both the game and even the console itself. However, according to industry analysts, the game is still set to race into victory lane.

In the words of Capital Research’s Jesse Divnich:

“I don’t believe a GT5 delay impacts Sony’s current momentum. GT5 is such an anticipated title that delays are unlikely to impact consumer’s purchase intent. Whether released a week later or the last week of December, sales will be astronomical.”

Capital Research is not the only firm that has faith in Gran Turismo 5‘s untarnished success. Everyone’s favorite analyst from Wedbush Securities, Michael Pachter, had this to say about the delay.

“Without knowing the date, it’s impossible to say. If it’s a week, no impact. If after Need for Speed, they could lose some momentum.“

In all honesty, we have to agree with the analysts. Looking back at the history of the Gran Turismo series, the super-realistic racing simulator has never failed to set sales records thanks to its huge audience and fanbase. Gran Turismo 5 is set to release this holiday season. Keep up with PlayStation LifeStyle for news on the latest release date and more.

[Source]

Fall in Love with Gran Turismo 5 Commercial All Over Again

Kishen Patel — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:43:30 +0000

Regardless of how committed Polyphony Digital is with the technical aspects and specifications of Gran Turismo 5, at least on the Japanese side of things, the marketing team opted to keep their advertising geared towards showcasing the passion and love put into the development of the title. Just in case views loved the commercial as much as we did, the making-of video has been released to show everyone just how it was done.

Seems easy enough to create, right? With the right equipment, any die-cast model car collector can replicate the ad at their local playground. Anyone budding filmmakers inspired by this documentary shoot? Send us your creations for a possible feature on PlayStation LifeStyle. Gran Turismo 5 hits store shelves on November 2, 2010.

Gran Turismo Developer Reveals X1

Kishen Patel — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:21:21 +0000

It’s no secret that Gran Turismo 5 is set to be the greatest racing simulator in existence and as the days go by, the game keeps getting better and better. With the game’s release date winding down to just over a month, who could imagine Polyphony Digital announcing more details after its already lengthy development time? That will not stop the Japanese developers as they have released yet another trailer focusing on a digitally exclusive creation.

Teaming up with Red Bull Racing, Polyphony Digital took on the ambitious undertaking of crafting an automobile free from racing rules and legal limitations. According to Red Bull:

“If you built the fastest racing car on land, one that throws aside all rules and regulations, what would that car look like, how would it perform and how would it feel to drive?”

The answer to this naive inquiry is the X1. According to the developers:

“Red Bull’s aerodynamics expert, Adrian Newey, performed the role of technical advisor on the X1 Prototype project. Adrian is renowned in the motorsports world for designing championship winning cars. Throughout the X1 design process by Polyphony, Adrian contributed his vast experience, as well as a pure, child-like technical curiosity. As a result, the completed X1 Prototype became an extreme car, having a unique form and mechanism unlike any other racing car in history.”

What does this mean for the final product? Check out the latest trailer for Gran Turismo 5 showcasing the X1 Prototype below:

[Source]

Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition Races up Bestseller List

Anthony Severino — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:17:16 +0000

Many believe that the hype for Gran Turismo 5 has begun to kick into a low gear and slow to a halt, all in thanks to an extremely drawn out development cycle and the fact that GT5: Prologue released over 2 years ago. However, according to recent sales data, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all and instead Gran Turismo 5 is on course to top the PlayStation 3 bestsellers list on one major online retailer.

The Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition, has just taken a pit stop in the #3 spot on Amazon’s PS3 bestseller list. At a price of $99.99 it’s shocking to see the collector’s edition of the game speed past many hot new and upcoming releases like NCAA Football 11, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Madden NFL 11. Gran Turismo 5 collector’s edition is hot on the tails of the years biggest PlayStation 3 titles, God of War III and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption.

Since this Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition is likely to be extremely rare and hard to find on release date (remember how difficult it was to find a God of War III Ultimate Edition on release?), we highly recommend that you head on over to Amazon now, and pre-order your copy of Gran Turismo 5 Collector’s Edition, before Amazon waives the checkered flag on pre-orders.

Gran Turismo 5 releases on the PS3 this November 2nd.

Gran Turismo 5 3D Confirmed, PlayStation Move Support Confirmed

Zak Islam — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:15:13 +0000

Gran Turismo 5, the first full Gran Turismo on the PS3 will bring Sony’s largest franchise to the waiting fans. The game has been rumored to receive 3D for some time now, with numerous leaked and developer comments pointing towards the feature. It’s now been confirmed.

Gran Turismo 5 will be in full 3D, and it will have PlayStation Move functionality, launching November 2nd.

Are you excited to get your hands on GT5 later this year, and will you be using 3D or Move?