GT Academy, the notable racing program made as a result of cooperation between Nissan and PlayStation, quickly gained recognition for offering PlayStation and Gran Turismo users an opportunity to take part in real racing. Currently running strong in its 8th year of existence, the program has life in it yet as, according to recent news, there are more things to come.
Located between Great Britain and Ireland, the small Isle of Man annually hosts one of the most dangerous and thrilling motorcycle events in the world: The International Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race. Although the race is entirely devoted to motorcycles, for the last several years Subaru has been coming to the course in order to challenge the four-wheel lap record. Their latest entry saw a significant improvement, beating the 2014 record by more than 100 seconds!
People who enjoy spending much of their time in drifting lobbies could find the following video quite delightful. The Mixed Reality video series created by Marcel Pfister continues, this time focusing purely on drifting, a discipline that can definitely benefit from the freedom VR provides. Watch the video above and enjoy the beauty of tandem drifting.
All-Japan Formula 3 Championship is a small open-wheel series that takes place at various landmark circuits all over Japan. Each weekend drivers are required to tackle two rounds per course (for total of 16 rounds) if they want to claim the title at the end of season. Well known 2011 GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough is one of the drivers currently taking part in this interesting event.
At this point, it’s been confirmed beyond doubt that the partnership between Polyphony Digital and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (view the original announcement) will greatly influence the gameplay structure of the incoming GT Sport. But by how much?
When the Vision GT Project took off back in 2013, nobody really knew how long the collaborative effort between Polyphony Digital and leading automobile manufacturers and design houses was going to last. Speaking with GTPlanet in London last week, Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed the initiative is far from complete, and that players can expect further additions in this year’s Gran Turismo Sport:
In less than a month, citizens residing near Colorado Springs will get the chance to attend the 100th anniversary race of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb challenge, one of the most dangerous point-to-point racing events in the world. Conquering the peak of this 12.42 miles long course has always been one of motorsports’ cream-of-the-crop undertakings, with various numbers of unique machines trying to beat the environment in the hands of unbelievably talented drivers.
We haven’t forgotten about Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, the latest free-to-play release of the Forza series and the first one built for the Windows 10 platform. Although it doesn’t feature the traditional hallmarks of the console-released titles in the franchise (online multiplayer, wheel support and livery editor), with 63 cars and approximately 20 variations of 6 playable circuits, the game still offers a tease of what’s to come, as future Forza titles will be released on Xbox One and PC simultaneously.
It is never too late to share the latest developments in motorsport circles involving GT Academy graduates. Today’s spotlight is reserved for 2011 GT Academy graduate Jann Mardenborough, who recently won his first GT300 race in the second round of the 2016 Super GT season.
It has been quite a while since we shared anything related to the groundbreaking gaming accessory known as the virtual reality headset. Who’s to blame, you’re no doubt asking? We don’t know if you heard, but a little game by the name of Gran Turismo Sport had our attention for most of last week…
Does anyone remember the initial announcement regarding one of the largest collaborations between a motorsport organization and a video game developer: the agreement between Polyphony Digital and Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile? The partnership was followed by the certification of four of the game’s real world circuits and an official FIA Online Championship, a mode destined to merge real life racing with the virtual world of Gran Turismo.
One reality against another – that is exactly how we could describe this latest split-screen comparison video, meticulously prepared by Youtube user Marcel Pfister. His Mixed Reality gameplay and tutorial videos (previously highlighted here and here) show off the advantages of owning an Oculus Rift VR headset, a device that could soon change the experience of playing a video game tremendously, driving games in particular. Just look at the level of immersion, all without going far from your sofa!
We’ve been witnessing a prodigious heat increase among gaming enthusiasts ever since Slightly Mad Studios announced the adoption of the Oculus Rift VR headset into Project CARS, introducing the breakthrough of virtual reality technology into the world of driving games. The tried-and-true method of comparing still images isn’t sufficient these days; here you have to monitor vehicles in motion to truly perceive the magnitude of this technology. We recently reported about Oculus Rift experiments on Assetto Corsa and DiRT Rally and now it is time to see how this virtual reality item works in conjunction with Project CARS.
We recently spotted another video game channel – 60fps Sim Racing – pitting the virtual world against the real, featuring none other than that most illustrious of German courses, the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Using real lap footage of the BMW M4 (narrated by BMW development driver Jörg Weidinger), the channel peruses the technical achievements of one of the newer players on the sim racing block: Assetto Corsa.
If there is a novelty in hardware technology that could rapidly change interaction with future video game driving simulators, the virtual reality headset certainly could be leading the way. Ever since becoming commercially available in March 2016, VR has been at the centre of talks relating dropping players directly into the world of virtual reality, a matter particularly interesting to the driving game genre.
The flurry of whispers, theories, and rumours have all been confirmed, and laid to rest – Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, Turn 10’s first PC-oriented title of the series, has been recently launched as a beta for the Windows 10 platform.
One of the latest advances to herald a whole new approach to manufacturing, 3D printing is a way of building three-dimensional objects using the digital instructions of a computer as a guide. This unique piece of technology has become a veritable breeding ground, spawning various portable and compact objects, many of which can be conveniently used just as their ‘real’ counterparts. 3D printing technology is also being heavily considered for science and general home-use.
What does a croissant have in common with Brands Hatch Indy, the clipped version of the historic circuit? Well, they both share the same, gentle crescent-shaped figure and digestibility. As far as video games are concerned, digestible content equals popular content, with a number of users continuously returning for another tasty snack. I’m quite positive anyone could confirm that the track in question fits that description.