Gran Turismo 5 continues to while enraging with baited breath, for that one day when we can place the disc into our Playstation 3. The game was supposed to be released on November 2nd, but an announcement on the US Playstation blog said it was pushed back… again. The only clue to the new release date was that it would be available this holiday season. What does that mean exactly? Apparently it means that you will have to shake off your hangover and pick up a copy of the game on New Years Day… or Eve… or the day after New Years Day. Honestly, we’re not entirely sure and we don’t think Polyphony Digital is either.
Best Buy, Gamestop and Amazon.com have updated their respective pre-order pages to reflect a new release date. lists 12/31/10, has 01/01/11 and shows a date of 01/02/11. For some reason, believes the game will be available on November 1st, which is awfully hopeful. Wal-Mart has apparently given up listing a release date, which may be the wisest move of all. Thanks for the tip, Billfred!
Red Bull X1 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ever wonder what would happen if they threw out the rule book and created a no-holds-barred, we-don’t-need-no-freakin’-badges track car? The talented (though ) brains behind Polyphony’s long-awaited Gran Turismo 5 racing simulator for the Sony Playstation 3 did. Turns out, so did the boffins at Red Bull Racing. The result is the .
The Red Bull X1 is the brainchild of the team’s star designer Adrian Newey, the aerodynamicist who’s probably responsible for more checkered flags than any other engineer on the real F1 grid today, with input from the team’s star driving talent Sebastian Vettel. We could best describe the result as looking rather similar to the Caparo T1 – that is to say, some freakish cross between an F1 car and an LMP1 racer – but the specs would eclipse both.
Instead of a conventional internal-combustion engine, the X1 packs a (theoretical – remember this exists entirely in the binary) gas turbine driving 1,483 horsepower and 527 lb-ft of torque through a CVT to the rear wheels. Simulated performance stats give it a top speed of 249 miles per hour, while lapping Suzuka in 1:11.540. (For comparison’s sake, Vettel’s fastest time behind the 2009 F1 car was 1:30.833.) The car’s been fully detailed in the latest issue of Car magazine, which has naturally leaked its way onto the interwebs, so check out our first look at the cyber-machine in the gallery below.
Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 won’t be hitting the shelves next month as originally recently scheduled, but that isn’t stopping from hosting a 24-hour Playstation 3GT5 endurance race at this year’s Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The Japanese manufacturer has announced that a total of 48 drivers split into two teams – red and white after the company’s corporate colors – will race virtual interpretations of the for a full day and night.
That doesn’t mean that the same 48 guys will be planted in front of television screens for 24 hours, though. Toyota says that the 24 members of each team will race for one hour each starting at 3:00 PM. today and wrapping up at 3:00 PM. the next day. Toyota has chosen the epic Nürburgring as the field of battle.
Interestingly enough, neither Toyota nor Polyphony Digital are saying exactly what spoils will go to the winning team. We’re hoping it’s more than bragging rights.
Anyone looking forward to buying Gran Turismo 5 when it launches on November 2nd? Why don’t you have a seat for a minute, we have some bad news. Sony’s an announcement that the game is getting pushed back yet again. The statement does say that the game will be released this holiday season, but does not elaborate more than that. Here’s the text:
We can confirm that Gran Turismo 5 will not be available this November 2nd, but the game’s release will be coming this holiday season.
We sincerely apologize to GT fans for the delay, however, creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital want to make certain they are creating the perfect racing experience, and we are confident that this ambitious game will exceed expectations when it launches.
We keep getting excited only to continually us. The , , damage feature, and leave us waiting with baited breath. We’ve waited this long so we can wait a little longer.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit trailer – Click above to watch video
Halo Reach has already grabbed gobs of attention and Gran Turismo 5 is waiting to lure any remaining bloodshot eyeballs and fatigued thumbs away, but they’re not the only new video games on the block. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit will have a playable demo available on October 26, and it hits store shelves November 16.
While you’re waiting and deciding whether you want to play the part of a cop or speeder (and deciding whether to play the game on your Playstation 3, xBox 360 or PC), you can check out the latest trailer for it , wherein a in black and white is called on to apprehend a scofflaw in a Porsche 918 Spyder. Hat tip to Yaroukh!
Leave it to the Germans to turn a real-life radio control car, a video camera with a wireless transmitter and an arcade box into the best 3D rendition of the old Playstation game Wipeout we’ve ever seen. If designer Malte Jehmlich and friends would have stopped after designing a massive multi-level carboard track for their remote control cars, we would have thought it was pretty cool. But the innovative crew attached a plate to their 1/28 scale car and mounted a video camera with a wireless transmitter that sends a video signal to an arcade racing cabinet to make this a truly multi-dimensional video game. The racing cabinet is equipped with a steering wheel and a monitor that displays the r/c car’s progress in real time. The whole project took them two months to put together.
Jehmlich and his friends are currently working on integrating force feedback and power-ups using sensors built into the track. Very cool, indeed. to watch video of the Great Room-sized arcade game in action. We’re thinking that we’d want one of these in the basement, but we’re not sure if our wives would approve.
A steering-wheel-and-pedal setup for your PS3 starts at around $50, but you’ll spend at least double that to get into the good stuff. HKS has teamed with InterWorks on a game controller solution that stays at the $50 mark but could work just as well as a wheel while being a little less intrusive.
The hot-coal red Hipermax III replaces the analog joysticks with a thumb wheel on the left side and throttle and brake buttons on the right side. The wheel has center stripe to aid steering, and the precise inputs of the throttle and brake controls are registered in the digital readout in the center of the controller. For the moment this is PS3-only, and while HKS hasn’t released a price, it’s pegged to come under $55.
Thurstmaster Ferrari Wireless GT Cockpit 430 Scuderia Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
Looking for that ultimate gaming setup for playing Gran Turismo? Short of a full cockpit installed in your living room, this could very well be it.
The Wireless GT Cockpit 430 Scuderia Edition from Thurstmaster incorporates an 11-inch steering wheel (a 70% scale replica of the 430 Scuderia’s) mounted on an adjustable metal column affixed to a base with twin metal pedals. The wireless system is compatible with the PlayStation 3 and PC (Xbox fans are left stranded by the side of the road), but if you thought the actual Scuderia was expensive, the 23-pound Thrustmaster setup will set you back $250. to watch a demo video and to check out the official press release.
It’s time to do your homework, kids. The blokes at have built a virtual representation of the personal playground. If you’ve got some time to kill, head on over to the site for a turn-by-turn breakdown of the UK show’s test track, including the elusive history of each corner’s name. The virtual track will even let you in on which gear you should be in for each section should you ever find yourself as a .
Even if you don’t see your acting career thrusting you the public consciousness anytime soon, there’s still a chance you’ll be able to have your way with the track. A rumor dusted up last month that claimed Polyphony Digital now holds the rights to test ground’s in-game representation, which means that should Gran Turismo 5 ever decide to drop into stores, the PlayStation universe will be breathing down the Stig’s neck.
TG’s virtual track also features a couple of other neat tricks, including a “Stig’s Eye View” that allows you see what the perfect line should look like. You can even pick whether you want to view the track through the windshield of an econobox or a genuine supercar.
Need for Speed SHIFT Exotic Racing Series DLC – Click above for high-res image gallery
Playstation3 gamers: If you were disappointed that only XBox 360 players got the for Need for Speed SHIFT, take heart, because the next one’s got your name on it, too. The Exotic Racing Series pack is being released by EA for both platforms (though not for PC, PSP or mobile platforms) on March 18, with some of the most alluring machinery this side of Maranello.
Included in the downloadable content package are the McLaren MP4-12C and SLR Stirling Moss, the and , , Gumpert Apollo and Acura NSX. The DLC costs $10 (or equivalent points) on either XBox Live or PlayStation Network, and also includes an array of new events and track layouts. Video and press release , screen shots in the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Andrey!
called “Shotgun” on Playstation Home, and is so far the only automaker to take its case to those gamers with its Audi Space. First came the racing game, which has lured more than 700,000 players into running more than a million races.
As of last week, you can also find the Audi A1 showroom, which doesn’t have much more going on for it than an actual showroom does, but you can look forward to an A1 game next month as well as more info on the e-Tron. And hey, there’s always that Audi Corporate Sound Concept to chill out to in the meantime. Follow the jump for the spiel on Audi Space in Audi’s own words.
Gran Turismo 5 continues to while 
