Posted Nov 19th 2008 6:16PM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
What happens when you take four PS3 systems, one copy of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, and a Sony SRX-110 projector and put them all together? Well, you get one incredible GT experience. At the 10th Anniversary Party in New York City, Polyphony Digital ran an interesting experiment, where they were able to render the game in a glorious 2160p resolution. That's four times the resolution of the current maximum standard for HDTVs: 1080p.
The application is surprisingly simple. Each PS3 is dedicated to rendering one part of the enhanced 2160p image, with each PS3 rendering one full 1080p image. When combined, all four images turn into something that would make videophiles cry.
That wasn't the only fun and games at the event. No, Polyphony also ran another experiment with 4 PS3s: they were also able to create a 240 fps experience. Each PS3 would render alternating 60 frames per second, so that the end result would be blisteringly fast. At that point, we doubt the human eye would be able to appreciate such fluidity.
So, guys -- how 'bout you stop partying and making amazing 2160p tech demos, and uh -- you finish Gran Turismo 5? Please?
When PlayStation Home launches later this year, you won't have to choose.
Capcom, one of new publishers for Home announced earlier this week, is showing off the content they'll be providing. We've got four videos for you right after the jump -- the first one begins with Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono explaining the content for Home. But even if your foreign language skills are limited, you can still enjoy seeing Chun-Li do her famous victory jump. Chris Redfield makes an appearance in the second video, but it seems like his Home incarnation doesn't hit the gym quite as often. The Gran Turismo 5 demo showcases a couple racing pods (check out a variation of it here) for your virtual pad. Lastly, Sony recreated their TGS booth in Home at the company's press conference. All four videos after the break.
Three new cars are now available to be downloaded to Gran Turismo 5: Prologue via a free patch. Simply load up the game and the download will begin almost automagically. Included in the patch are three new vehicles, the "GT by Citroen" concept car, the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. These cost 1 million, 500 thousand and 100 thousand in-game credits, respectively.
A number of gameplay enhancements have also been added, including changes to the penalty system, tweaks to difficulty levels and reward balancing. Controller responsiveness, sound volume and Drift Trial races have also been improved. Sadly there's no sign of trophies. Before you run off to download the update, be aware that "rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update."
Check out the PlayStation Blog for more information on what the patch adds.
We see you. We see you salivating all over your keyboard. If you are a serious Gran Turismo fan, this is the stuff dreams are made of. The winner of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Middle East Challenge Ahmad El Azmi received a free trip to Japan to drive a Nissan GT-R and he took home the above GT Racing Pod. Valued at $15,000, the Racing Pod is equipped with a 40" Sony Bravia TV, a PS3 and a Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel.
However, El Azmi wasn't satisfied with the setup, and decided to disassemble and reassembled the entire Pod. He added a shifter mounter, inverted stand for the pedals, a surround sound system and replaced the DFGT with a Logitech G25 Racing Wheel. Kudos to you, sir, you have successfully made the world jealous. He was even kind enough to share with us -- check out the rest of the pictures after the jump.
Courtesy of Gamekyo, we get a glimpse of two upcoming bundles that include the new 80GB PS3. We'll start off with the less exciting Movie Pack, which includes an 80GB PS3, one Dual Shock 3 controller, and the French comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis on Blu-ray. This Movie Pack will launch October 29th for 399€. The second one, a Gran Turismo 5 Prologue bundle, is definitely more exciting. Details and a picture of the bundle after the jump. Do these new bundles appeal to you, the European consumer?
Amazon is having an All PS3 Gold Box event today. According to ZappDeals, who is usually correct, the following selections will be the Lighting Deals for the rest of the day. The deal goes live at each corresponding time. We'll update this post throughout the day with the price and if there are any changes, so stay tuned: )
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue expands this Friday, August 1st with a fairly large content patch. Not only will the patch bring the first load of GTTV content, but also a few gameplay enhancements and fixes. A full list of GTTV videos is available on the official site and will be constantly updated as more is added.
At the moment there's plenty to choose from, from season 6 of Top Gear (a must see) to Japan's Super GT and a "video magazine" called Video Option. For the first two weeks all paid-for content will be at the reduced price of $0.99, letting you trial the content for a little while for half price.
The patch also adds "fixes in penalty judgments, more tire choices for Time Trial and improved physics during collisions between cars during online races." Sounds like a pretty hefty update. Not bad for a free patch, right? Check the PlayStation Blog post for more info.
Posted Jul 17th 2008 9:30AM by Andrew Yoon Filed under: News
Were you one of those people that skipped Prologue to wait for the full version of Gran Turismo 5? Get ready to wait. In an interview with Joystiq, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi stated that the full version of GT5 "might not even roll out before 2010." Instead, Prologue will continue to be expanded upon, with additional cars, tracks and features. In fact, a new update is planned for the "near future." The big question we have though is: will it be free?
Perhaps Gran Turismo 5 would wrap up production a bit sooner if Yamauchi and crew wasn't so adamant about filming an entire series for Gran Turismo TV. Have fun driving those Ferraris Yamauchi ... while the rest of us wait years for your next game.
Have you picked up Gran Tursimo 5: Prologue yet? If not, this might be an enticing deal for you. Online retailer amazon.com is offering a free $15 gift card with the purchase of Polyphony's latest racing game. Considering it only retails for $40, that's a pretty sizable bonus. (Strangely, buying this online at amazon would make it cheaper than buying it online at the PLAYSTATION Store ...)
The gift card will be included in an email sent out by July 29th, after purchase.
Registration for the Gran Turismo Academy is now open. Simply login to the official registration website with your PSN ID and then follow the onscreen instructions. Once this is done you should immediately be able to enter the GT Academy Time Trial section in the in-game online menu. Get one of the twenty fastest times in your country and you will be moved on to phase two. Keep winning and you might end up driving a real Nissan GT-R at Silverstone racetrack.
Check out our previous post for further details about the competition, including prizes and end-dates for each of the individual phases. Good luck!
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is now up and ready to be downloaded from the American PSN Store, and has been since midnight EST. The price of the game is $40 as well as 1.9GB of your precious hard drive space. Those of you who haven't picked up the, frankly, superior (and cheaper) Blu-Ray version can now go ahead and get your hands on the game without leaving your couch by utilizing the sexy new PlayStation Store. There's more to come from the Store later today and we'll let you know exactly what else is going up as soon as we find out.
Sony has released a statement regarding yesterday's European PSN update-that-never-was. "Due to last minute technical difficulties" the Store wasn't able to be updated (and still hasn't been), but they "are working to resolve these issues and will let you know as soon as new content is posted." Normally, this wouldn't really be an issue, considering the European updates are so poor, but yesterday was meant to be the PSN release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Considering the game has already gone platinum on European pre-releases alone, we expect there are quite a few annoyed people out there who were planning on grabbing the download a day early.
Other expected releases include the Eye of Judgment expansion. Obviously, we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything. If you're feeling really impatient, however, feel free to go pick up the Blu-Ray version. With no idea about when the store update is coming, It could be a long day of waiting.
Stylish elegance. That seductive red color. No, this isn't a TV commercial for some new car. We're just stating how much we've fallen in love with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's Ferrari F2007. Just look at those sleek curves. The detail on this baby is so life-like it's hard to believe that this is just a digital rendering.
Do you share in our excitement? Interested in seeing more? You can have a better look at the F1 car in the gallery below. Sony's Three Speech blog has even more pics to drool over, so be sure to check them all out.
To download or to get the Blu-ray version: that is the question.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's release is coming rather soon for both our American and European readers. However, which version should one pick up? For those seeking instant gratification off the hard drive, perhaps the download is the way to go. But take note: the download weighs a hefty 1.9GB.
Some may be wondering: how come the game is so small when a Blu-ray disc can hold so much more? By getting rid of all the videos. Eurogamer explains: "Prologue reduces its footprint is by leaving cinematics on the server until you choose to download them from GT TV. You can choose to download the opening movie at any time, and when you finish Event series you're told that you can now download the end movie from the in-game high-definition TV download page."
Personally, this blogger is much more interested in picking up the retail copy. Who wants to wait to download over and over again?
Posted Mar 15th 2008 5:00PM by Nick Doerr Filed under: News
[Update: finding the news slightly suspicious, we had our very own European blogger, Jem Alexander, double check the number with SCEE. They confirmed it to be true. So there you have it!]
It's not every day games go "platinum" before they're even released. Generally, this occurs with huge titles, but even taking that into account it's an uncommon feat. Factor into that the notion that a game whose title explicitly states it's a Prologue to a full game ... and it's nearly unbelievable. But in Europe alone, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has achieved just that: one million pre-orders.
What we need to remember is that the pre-order number is not only for Europe alone, but also just for the Blu-ray release of the game -- not the downloadable version. If half of the people who intend to purchase the game pre-order it and the other half download it, well, this is going to be huge. Add America and Japan into the mix and we've basically got the best-selling PS3 title to date; at least, that's what we're assuming will happen. What about you?
