Gran Turismo PSP

Check out all of the 21 brand new screenshots in our full gallery after the jump…

BREAKING NEWS:  Just announced at the Sony GamesCom press conference: European and PAL region gamers who purchase a PSP Go and register it before October 10th will be able to download the full Gran Turismo PSP game, digitally, at no cost.

An early walkthrough this morning of the GamesCom show floor has revealed Gran Turismo 5 will be in playable form today.  There are clearly two different types of displays for the game: one featuring PSP’s, and the other with steering wheels and HDTV’s.  We also have further confirmation from the Japanese “Express” magazine, which states that “”GT5 will be playable at Gamescom and next will be at Tokyo Game Show.”  Check out the video after the jump to get a closer look at the Gran Turismo booth (visible after 1:25)!

It’s always fun to compare real-life photographs with screenshots from Gran Turismo, and it looks like that’s exactly what Polyphony Digital had in mind when they released this batch of Corvette ZR1 images from Gran Turismo PSP last week.  Coincidentally (or not!), the camera angles match up quite nicely to Chevrolet’s official ZR1 photos, making it simple for us to place them side-by-side.  Can you tell what’s real and what’s not?  I’ve intentionally left these shots unlabeled, to make it a bit more fun.  If you’re confused, just ask around in the comments below.

It’s not unreasonably pessimistic to say that just because a car is in Gran Turismo PSP, it may not be in Gran Turismo 5.  It’s been debated in our forums at length, and we won’t have a definitive answer until we can directly compare the car list from each game.  However, things look a bit brighter when you consider this recent interview with Kazunori Yamauchi by French gaming site JVN.  When asked about the “interactivity” between GT PSP and GT5, he responds:

Pricing for Gran Turismo PSP in Japan is raising a few eyebrows after a German website connected the dots, revealing the PSN download version is considerably cheaper than the UMD disc.  The UMD will cost ¥5,480 (€40, $57), while the download will be just ¥4,400 (€32, $46).  Curiously, the game is also going to be released one week later (October 8th) in the Land of the Rising Sun than the rest of the world (October 1st).  Of course, there is no guarantee if the variable pricing structure will also be applied to the United States and Europe, but it just might explain the unusual pre-order promotion which revealed Lamborghini and Bugatti’s arrival to the series.

It’s a great day for Gran Turismo fans around the world, as it has just been revealed that the both Lamborghini and Bugatti are bringing their cars to Gran Turismo PSP and, presumably, Gran Turismo 5!  The news came as Sony announced a special pre-order promotion for GT PSP, which entitles you to some type of code that gives you access to one of the following cars from “day one” in the game:

In an apparent effort to capitalize on the popular reception of the Corvette ZR1 on the cover of Gran Turismo PSP, Polyphony Digital have released 19 new screenshots showing off the detail of the game’s 3D model.  Check out the full gallery right here, and if you missed last week’s shots, see them here…

Here it is, folks: your first look at the official box art for Gran Turismo PSP.  As you can see, it features Chevrolet’s hottest Corvette ever, the ZR1.  Kazunori Yamauchi himself selects the car to appear on each game’s cover – what made him pick the ZR1 to receive such prestigious recognition?  As it turns out, he’s spent quite a bit of time hanging around the ‘Big 3’ in Detroit, taking a particular fondness for American muscle cars in the process.  His latest interview with Motor Trend revealed his new-found fascination with the culture of the U.S. automotive industry:

Here’s a few more Gran Turismo PSP screenshots, showing off the Saleen S7, Mercedes’ SLR McLaren, Ferrari Enzo, and Ford GT.  No doubt, the shots look exceptionally good for any game – but are they too good?  As with the previous batch, these will no doubt spark lots of debate as to their “legitimacy”.  You be the judge!

When the Nurburgring Nordschleife was first revealed in Gran Turismo 4, it was hard to complain about the missing GP circuit.  However, you’re lying to yourself if you haven’t wished to drive through those tire barriers separating the Nordschleife from the rest of the track, and everyone has been anxiously hoping for it to appear in Gran Turismo 5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV4L5GZ_1B4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHycFocaOA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hiczWWlsJw

In a dash of bittersweet news, we can all collectively stop hoping for an “Update Available” message to appear one day when we fire up Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.  The game’s “US Producers”, Chris Hinojosa Miranda and Taku Imasaki confirmed that the team is now completely focused on getting Gran Turismo PSP and GT5 out the door in this Q&A session on the official PlayStation Blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrfTr6rBusk

This little game just keeps looking better!  Take a closer look at the Ferrari Enzo and the Nissan GTR V-Spec in these impressive new screenshots.  For the skeptics, take a look at this gameplay video footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0vcFE7Ezg

Since the big announcement at Sony’s E3 press conference, two things have happened: lots of journalists got their hands on the demo at the show, and Kazunori Yamauchi has released more tidbits of information in a flurry of interviews.  It’s difficult to keep up with everything, and all the excitement around the Gran Turismo 5 trailer hasn’t helped, but we should be able to clear up a lot of the confusion by aggregating the pieces of the puzzle right here.  Keep reading to find out what we know, what we don’t know, and what everyone else actually thinks about this long-anticipated title…