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Volkswagen's latest 'Gran Turismo' concept is a 500HP hatchback
For those who think Volkswagen's Golf GTI and Golf R hot hatches just aren't "hot" enough, the carmaker's latest virtual concept for Gran Turismo 6 (PlayStation 3) may be up your alley. The GTI Supersport Vision Gran Turismo offers up more than 500 horsepower in a hunkered-down, all-wheel-drive, two-door hatch that's slightly faster than its real-world inspiration. In fact, the carmaker says this virtual concept can hit 62MPH (100KPH) in about 3.6 seconds.
Gran Turismo 6 gets its first original track in 1.12 update
It's been 10 months since Gran Turismo 6 first hit retail shelves, but developer Polyphony Digital is still adding new content to the PlayStation 3 racing simulation. The latest update, version 1.12, brings with it a handful of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, but is most notable for the additional content it adds to the game. Two new vehicles highlight the update, including the Nissan GT-R NISMO and the Toyota FT1 Vision Gran Turismo (pictured above). While the latter is a fancy concept car available exclusively to Gran Turismo 6 players, the former vehicle is a bit more commonplace - assuming that's a descriptor that could ever reasonably be attached to a machine that once set the record at Germany's legendary Nürburgring racetrack for the world's fastest volume production car. Additionally, the 1.12 update adds a new track to Gran Turismo 6, the "Circuito de la Sierra." This mark's Polyphony's first attempt at crafting an original long course for Gran Turismo 6, though, according to the developers, the track draws aesthetic inspiration from the Ronda region of Southern Spain. As with all updates, everything included in the 1.12 patch is available at no charge to Gran Turismo 6 owners. Simply fire up your PlayStation 3, start the racing sim and you should be prompted to download the update, assuming your console hasn't already done so. For more information, visit the Gran Turismo website. [Image: Sony]
Gran Turismo creator, FIA plot to 'revitalize' motorsport
Following a recent collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in which the FIA lent official certification to a number of Gran Turismo 6 tracks - a first for any racing game - series mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi took to Reddit to explain his plans for this new partnership. "In the collaboration that was announced with the FIA, my objective now is to really revitalize and reconstruct motorsports," Yamauchi wrote. "That's also the dream of the FIA chairman and so that's the goals that we're working toward." "The last message in the FIA press conference was that this is for the expansion and prosperity of motorsports for the next 100 years. That's exactly it - I've always wanted motorsports to become as popular as football or soccer and my feelings haven't changed regarding that." For those unaware, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit that governs a massive number of motorsport events around the world. It represents 213 organizations in 125 countries, and is widely seen as the world authority in racing high-tech, exotic vehicles. Obviously it would behoove the FIA to raise interest in motorsport, which ties right into Yamauchi's stated goals to push the sport to new heights of popularity via his development team's fan-favorite racing simulation. [Image: Sony]
Report: Gran Turismo 7 probably won't arrive in 2014
Despite earlier claims that the next entry in Sony's flagship racing simulation franchise Gran Turismo might race past the development finish line in time for a 2014 debut, creator Kazunori Yamauchi is no longer as optimistic. "We are working on the title," Yamauchi told Eurogamer, before adding, "I don't think it'll make this year!" Though prior Gran Turismo games were preceded by Prologue editions - short selections of choice material from the final game sold as something bigger than a demo, but smaller than a proper retail release - Yamauchi claims that his team of developers at Polyphony Digital have no such plans for Gran Turismo 7. Though a 2014 debut appears to be off the table, we may see Gran Turismo 7 on the PlayStation 4 relatively soon. Polyphony plans to save time by once again reusing vehicle assets from prior games, some of which date back as far as 2004's Gran Turismo 4. "I doubt that we'll be throwing away the standard cars," Yamauchi said. "Each car has its own fans. So I think we'll hang on to the archive. In the meanwhile, some of those cars we may be able to make into Premium cars as they become available - but basically we're more focussed [sic] on increasing the number of premium cars." [Image: Sony]
Drive Ayrton Senna's F1 car in upcoming Gran Turismo 6 DLC
An update coming to Gran Turismo 6 will allow players to relive the legacy of Brazilian racer Ayrton Senna, Sony and Polyphony Digital have announced. The content, which includes one of Senna's first go-karts and the Lotus 97T Senna drove during his second Formula 1 season in 1985, will be available for free on May 27. The update also includes two Senna Challenges, which test a player's ability to best Senna's times on the same courses he drove in '85. Those that earn bronze or better in a Senna Challenge will earn the Lotus 97T for free, but those that would rather skip the whole "challenge" part can buy the car using in-game currency. Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the Gran Turismo series, called Senna a "personal hero" in the associated press release. "I am honored to be able to introduce him to the younger generation of racing fans through Gran Turismo," he said. Earlier this month, Sony and Polyphony released an update to the Gran Turismo site honoring Senna and the Ayrton Senna Institute. [Image: Sony]
Gran Turismo 6 remembers racing legend Ayrton Senna
It's been two decades since Formula One racing champion Ayrton Senna died during a Grand Prix race at Italy's Imola Circuit, and to memorialize the grim anniversary, the developers behind Gran Turismo 6 have unveiled a two-pronged tribute. Pay a visit to the Gran Turismo website and you'll find a new section dedicated to Senna. Currently the site's focus is on the Ayrton Senna Institute, a non-profit dedicated to educating the youth of Brazil. Here you'll find an overview of the Institute's work, including a short film directed by the same auteur responsible for the visually striking Gran Turismo documentary Kaz: Pushing the Virtual Divide. As May rolls along, the site will be updated with two slideshows depicting important moments in Senna's career. Alongside this web content, the month-long Senna memorial will also see the debut of "in-game racing content only available in Gran Turismo 6," though neither Sony nor the Gran Turismo team offer further details on what to expect. [Image: Sony]
Gran Turismo 6 GT Academy competition begins next week
Sony will launch its sixth annual GT Academy event next week, giving superior Gran Turismo 6 players the chance to put their skills to the test on a real-world racetrack. As in previous years, GT Academy players compete to enroll in a three-month driver development program, with global champions earning a spot on Nissan's NISMO race team. Judges in Europe, North America, and Germany will each pick a single winning driver to enter the program, and this year marks the first time GT Academy qualifying events are available to players in Canada. GT Academy online qualifying events will begin in-game on April 21. [Image: Sony]
Toyota's Sports Drive Logger lets you relive real life races in Gran Turismo
Imagine this: you just rounded the final bend of the Fuji Speedway International Course. Pedal jammed against the floorboard, you're neck and neck with Jenson Button, eying the finish line. Let's face the facts, you'll never actually race Jenson, but you can use Toyota's new Sports Drive Logger to hone in your skills just like he does. To use the Sports Drive Logger, you'll need to A), own a Toyota GT86 sports car and B), have access to certain race tracks in Japan (the Fuji Speedway International Course, the Tsukuba Circuit 2000 Course, and the Suzuka Circuit International Course). Meet those requirements, and you can use the accessory to record your race digitally and replay it within Gran Turismo 6 on PS3. Similar to the Corvette data recorder we saw at CES, the device captures real-life laps and vehicle data (GPS location, pedal input, steering angles and the like) onto a USB flashdrive, then builds a digital representation of your performance that's recreated in-game. And judging by the video (after the break), it's surprisingly accurate. You can even race against friends and pros alike to learn the fastest way round the track.
Gran Turismo 6 adds multi-monitor support in latest update
The latest update for Gran Turismo 6 gives players more to look at, as it adds multi-monitor support to the PS3 racing game. After updating the game, those with two or more connected screens simply need to hit the start button in the game, then select "options," then "display options" to enable the setting. Update 1.05 for Gran Turismo 6 also adds the ability to search for cars using a number of parameters in the game's car dealerships. Racing gear has seen a price shift, as players can now acquire individually-colored items as opposed to full color sets. The update also adds other features, such as the ability to select karts in one-make races on weather-enabled tracks and select time trial, drift trial and free run options in the "event settings" screen. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment America]
Four cars and a birthday gift join Gran Turismo 6 in update 1.04
As with all updates for Polyphony Digital's latest racing simulation, Gran Turismo 6., 1.04 brings with it a number of new features and new vehicles. The new additions to the Gran Turismo 6 garage include a special Gran Turismo Racing Series iteration of the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision, a Corvette Stingray Gran Turismo Concept car, and two F1 cars, the Gran Turismo Red Bull X2014 Standard and the Gran Turismo Red Bull X2014 Fan Car. Those last two rides are available as part of the new Red Bull X Challenge, a series of races now found in the game's career mode where players are instructed on how to race an F1 car by current World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Alongside this handful of cars comes an unexpected but thoughtful present from the developers behind Gran Turismo 6. Following the installation of the 1.04 update, Gran Turismo 6 will scan your PlayStation Network information to determine when you were born. Then, once your birthday rolls around, you'll automatically receive a car created in or near the year that you were born, totally gratis.
Gran Turismo documentary 'KAZ: Pushing The Virtual Divide' hits Hulu next week
Come January 22, Hulu subscribers will be given a behind the scenes look at Polyphony Digital's fan-favorite racing simulation franchise, Gran Turismo, with the release of KAZ: Pushing The Virtual Divide. Partially named for Polyphony CEO Kazunori Yamauchi, the documentary "reveals historical footage and never been told stories shared by some of the most influential people in the automotive and gaming industries," according to Sony's official description.
Toyota's FT-1 concept coupe joins Gran Turismo 6 in latest update
The Gran Turismo 6 garage has grown a bit larger with the addition of Toyota's FT-1 concept coupe, a futuristic, high-powered sports car recently revealed at the ongoing 2014 North American International Auto Show. Like most concept cars, the likelihood of the FT-1 ever becoming available to the public hovers between "probably not going to happen" and "seriously, stop asking, it's not going to happen." Luckily for virtual gearheads however, getting your hands on one of these things in Gran Turismo 6 is as simple as downloading the game's latest update, then joining a new "unique seasonal event." This event will see players racing the FT-1 around the diabolical curves of Laguna Seca, and those who earn a bronze medal or higher will get to keep the fancy new ride.
Today's deals on Good Old Games, FIFA 14, Gran Turismo 6 and Steam
Today is your last chance to take advantage of Good Old Gaming's Winter Sale, with most of its catalog available for 50 percent off or more. Highlights include the Complete Wing Commander bundle for $11.92, a Sci-Fi Combat Sims bundle that includes Descent 1 - 3 for $10.94, and the Fantasy Through History bundle that offers Torchlight and more for $11.35. Steam's ninth day of sales offers Torchlight 2 for $4.99, Deadpool for $9.99, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for $4.49 and Saints Row 4 for $19.99. If you're feeling charitable, you can grab SR4's Child's Play Pack for $1.19, which dresses your president in Digital Dino or Robochimp outfits. Deep Silver will donate all of the involved proceeds to Child's Play. Console gamers aren't left out of the post-holiday savings, either - Amazon is offering the PS3 racer Gran Turismo 6 for $39.99 today. PS3 and Xbox 360 copies of FIFA 14 are also $34.99, with PC downloads going for $29.99. Lastly, Square Enix's mobile sale is on until January 5, offering deals on mobile ports of classics like Secret of Mana for $3.99 on iOS, The World Ends With You for $8.99 on iOS, and all kinds of Final Fantasy games for iOS and Android.
GameStop post-Christmas sale hacks $10 off select next-gen games, more
That money grandma tucked into your card this year? GameStop wants it, and is holding a post-Christmas winter sale to get it. The retailer's deals end on December 29 and take $10 off the following Xbox One and PS4 games: Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Battlefield 4, Need For Speed: Rivals, Madden 25 and NBA Live 14. Each game is $10 cheaper on their respective current-gen platforms as well. Additionally, Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag and Battlefield 4 are discounted to $39.99 on their other respective platforms (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC), though the former isn't on sale for PS4 or Xbox One. GameStop's sale page features a number of items that aren't discounted at all, including listings for available Xbox One and Wii U consoles. Among the other games and accessories on sale are Tearaway ($19.99), Grand Theft Auto 5 ($39.99), NBA 2K14 for Xbox 360 and PS3 ($39.99), Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix ($24.99) and Gran Turismo 6 ($39.99).
Gran Turismo 6 gets Red Bull challenge, Mario Andretti's Hornet (Update)
A free update for Gran Turismo 6 has given players two new cars and a challenge in which to test their mettle - and their metal. Included in the 1.02 update for the game are the Red Bull Racing Kart and Red Bull X2014 Junior, as well as the Red Bull X Challenge. The challenge, as described by the PlayStation Blog, is designed to mentor players in "the art of driving an authentic formula car." Two more Red Bull cars - the Red Bull X2014 Standard and Red Bull X2014 Fan editions - will be coming to GT6 in a future update. Things aren't all energy drinks and F1 karts in the land of Gran Turismo 6, of course. Mario Andretti's first car, a 1948 Hudson Hornet, is also now available in the game. Don't know why that's a big deal? First Love, a tie-in documentary presented by Gran Turismo 6 that tells the story of Andretti and his car, is now available to watch online for free. The 1.02 GT6 update also brings with it multiple tweaks to the game's already-existing features. Credits earned in Career mode have been increased, logging online for consecutive days nets a bonus to all credits awarded - up to a potential 200 percent increase, and players now only need a National B license to participate in seasonal events. There are also two new seasonal events; one will run from December 20, 2013 to January 17, 2014, while the other goes from January 2nd to January 30th, 2014. Update: According to a statement Sony has released to Game Informer, the scheduled start date for the Red Bull Challenge was an "internal error." Further, no official dates have yet been announced. While the first two cars mentioned above - the Red Bull Racing Kart and Red Bull X2014 Junior - are available, the remaining two cars and challenge have yet to make their way to GT6's tracks.
Need for Speed Rivals offers you the keys to a 2015 Mustang
It won't hit dealerships until next year, but thanks to Need for Speed Rivals you can drive the 2015 Ford Mustang as early as today. Thanks to a free title update which should be applied the next time you fire up the game, Rivals now features a brand-new, not-yet-released Ford sports car. This new Mustang should not be confused with the 2014 edition of the vehicle previously released as promotion for the upcoming Need for Speed film, nor its tricked-out police variation. This 2015 Mustang is its own car, and as you can see from the above trailer, it flies down the track like a thematically-apropos bald eagle. Like the recently-revealed BMW M5 Coupé from Gran Turismo 6, Need for Speed's new Mustang resulted from the development team being granted early access to the car during production. "We worked closely with the development team at EA to provide them with engineering data for the new Mustang, several months before we showed it to the rest of the world," stated Mark Bentley, Ford product licensing manager. As a result, the in-game 2015 Mustang should perform similarly to its eventual real-world counterpart, only with fewer cops and exotic supercars chasing you through the streets.
Drive the 2014 BMW M4 Coupe first in Gran Turismo 6
The 2014 BMW M4 Coupé is slated for public release in June of next year, but thanks to the car industry connections of Polyphony Digital, you can drive the thing right this very minute from the convenience of Gran Turismo 6. But wait, wasn't the M4 only being officially debuted two days ago? It was, but like we mentioned, Polyphony has deep connections. Instead of waiting for production models to roll off the line, Polyphony's engineers were given early access to the BMW M4 Coupé during its initial concept car phase so that they could ensure the in-game version would feature the series' trademark attention to detail. As a result, the M4 found in Gran Turismo 6 should be the closest thing to owning a real one many of us will ever see - especially given the car's nearly $92,000 suggested retail price. To celebrate the virtual launch of the M4 Coupé, Gran Turismo 6 is hosting a Seasonal Event from now until December 26 that pits M4 drivers against one another for the fastest time through the Nürburgring Grand Prix track. This is mainly an effort to introduce people to the car's quirks on one of the world's most famous courses, but there's also bragging rights at stake here. The best news to emerge from this announcement is the virtual car's price. Instead of shelling out real-world cash to download the M4 into your copy of Gran Turismo 6, it's already there. Fire up your game, take a look at the BMW section of the car showroom, and you'll now find the 2014 BMW M4 Coupé, ready to be driven by the first racer with enough cash to afford its upper-middle class accoutrements.
Gran Turismo 6 tops weekly sales charts in Japan, moves 200,000 units
Polyphony Digital's PlayStation 3-exclusive racing sim Gran Turismo 6 ranks as Japan's biggest-selling software title in its debut week, selling over 200,000 copies since its launch on December 5, according to sales data analyst Media Create. Gran Turismo 6 takes the top chart spot in Japan with 204,784 total copies sold to date. A revised version of Square Enix's Wii MMORPG Dragon Quest X claims second place with 117,432 units sold in its first week of release. Nintendo's Pokemon X and Pokemon Y finish at third place with 111,790 copies sold this week, for a total of 3,200,919 units sold in total. Gran Turismo 6's first-place finish in Japan follows up on its sluggish start in the UK, where it sold five times fewer copies than its predecessor Gran Turismo 5 sold in its debut week in 2010. North American sales data for Gran Turismo 6 is not yet available.
Gran Turismo 6 review: a familiar excellence under the hood
There is no more shining emblem of mankind's industrious nature than the motor vehicle. From the lowly Honda Civic to the Lamborghini Aventador, cars embody not just a mode of transportation, but a sense of freedom and fun unrivaled by anything mankind has created before or since (no offense, astronauts). It's simple enough to create a video game about cars racing against other cars, but Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo franchise isn't just a series of racing games. It's a celebration of mechanics, car culture and that primal excitement one only gets from revving a turbo-charged Ferrari. Now, the only question that remains is whether or not the developer's undeniable affection for cars can again translate into something that is both entertaining and informative. On release, Gran Turismo 5 featured far less content than Polyphony had promised fans, and this problem was only rectified by a massive patch released nearly a year later. Gran Turismo fans are a rabid lot, so with Gran Turismo 6 Polyphony has to be firing on all cylinders to once again earn their trust. Fortunately, Gran Turismo 6 is the series' best entry, though it achieves this not through revolutionary design, but by incrementally building on past successes.
Gran Turismo 6 first week UK sales around five times less than GT5
Gran Turismo 6 is way off the pace of its predecessor, after debuting in the UK with close to five times less sales than Gran Turismo 5. Yes, the presence of two next-gen consoles is no doubt a factor - also GT5 came out on a Wednesday, and GT6 on Friday - but it's still a concerning performance by the PS3 racer, especially considering it had this week to itself, retail-wise. To add insult to injury, it placed eighth in the UK charts this week - behind the nearly three-month-old Grand Theft Auto 5. With Gran Turismo 6 failing to light up the charts, this week's podium is the same as last week's: Battlefield 4 in third, FIFA 14 second, and Call of Duty: Ghosts top for the second week running. There's barely any shuffling to mention either, outside of Killzone: Shadow Fall dropping from fourth to ninth. Instead of dwelling on that, let's close with a gif that harks back to happier times.
