E3 2009

When we saw Gran Turismo 5 for the first time last month, there was quite a bit of discussion about the impressive graphics from the trailer.  It was certainly in Polyphony Digital’s visual style, but was it “real”, or had it been rendered independent from the game’s visual engine?  That’s what IGN editor Chris Roper got to ask Kazunori Yamauchi during a recent interview, to which he answered “of course it’s real”.  To verify that answer, Chris began a frame-by-frame analysis of the trailer to see what he could find for himself -discovering some interesting imperfections that support Yamauchi’s comments.

Some people were quick to lament that no “hard facts” regarding Gran Turismo 5 were released at last week’s E3 show, but now that we’ve had some time to carefully pick through the HD trailer, you can see we’ve actually learned quite a bit.  Much like we did with Gran Turismo PSP: What You Need to Know, let’s put the pieces of the puzzle together and find out exactly what Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital told us…

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…

Thanks to an excellent new interview with Kazunori Yamauchi, we’ve just learned a lot about the progress of Gran Turismo 5 – and it sounds like it is further along than anyone may have imagined.  When asked about “how development’s going”, Yamauchi-san responded:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn5rBftQ1b0

We knew it wouldn’t be long before more detailed information begins trickling out of Los Angeles – and sure enough – the first interview with Kazunori Yamauchi from E3 does just that!  He sat down with automotive news site Edmunds.com shortly after Sony’s E3 press conference and shared a few interesting things about GT Mobile and Gran Turismo 5.  Here’s a quick summary of what we learn:

Polyphony Digital’s president, Kazunori Yamauchi, just announced Gran Turismo PSP at Sony’s E3 2009 Press Conference.  This “little” game is going to pack quite a punch, including 800 cars and 35 tracks!  It’s also going to let you trade and exchange cars with each other, which Kazunori warned will probably be the only way to acquire them all.  Up to 4 people can also race head-to-head via the PSP’s ad-hoc connectivity.

Welcome to GTPlanet’s live coverage of Sony’s E3 2009 press conference!  After months of anticipation – and complete silence out of Polyphony Digital – expectations are running high for some type of major announcement regarding the Gran Turismo series.  We already know that Gran Turismo Mobile is going to be announced, but questions still remain about Gran Turismo 5.  What’s going to happen?  Watch this box below over the next few hours to find out!

This is it – the day Gran Turismo fans around the world have been waiting for!  At 11:00 AM PST, Sony will announce many of their upcoming games to the world at E3 2009!  GTPlanet will be providing exclusive, live coverage during the event – focusing only on new information regarding the Gran Turismo series. Watch our home page for a continually updated blog post, providing up-to-the-minute announcements as they hit the showroom floor.  Of course, our forums are sure to be quite busy throughout all of this – pay special attention to our dedicated Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo Mobile sections!

Just when we thought this roller coaster ride was about to come to an end, we find there’s one more scary drop: Sony is reportedly telling everyone interviewing Kazunori Yamauchi “to not mention Gran Turismo 5“.  So…what does this mean?  Obviously, it’s not good – presuming that Gran Turismo 5 is announced at Sony’s big press conference tomorrow, why couldn’t he talk about it?  It may, ultimately, come down to Sony not wanting any GT5 announcements to dwarf GT Mobile and the new PSP Go hardware, in which case, we may be waiting several more months for news about the big game.

After years of waiting, we’re about to get a deluge of Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo Mobile news from E3 2009. To help you keep up with it all, I’m happy to announce GTPlanetNews on Twitter – featuring breaking GT-series news from the E3 show floor.  Start following us now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1FF8_0mAOA

It’s been quite a roller coaster as we wait for confirmation regarding Gran Turismo 5‘s appearance at next week’s E3 2009.  Things started out good, when our own Amar212 shared some cryptically optimistic information regarding an E3 announcement, but hopes were dashed when Sony’s biggest franchise was missing from their lineup for the show.  Today, we’re back up again, with encouraging words from an apparently reputable French PlayStation magazine, PSM3.

A rumored list Sony’s list of games to be presented at E3 2009 has popped up, and it has a lot of people talking – not for the games that are on the list, but for the game that is not: Gran Turismo 5.  We have anxiously been waiting for what Sony has called one of their “biggest events in the past 11 years“, and many legitimiate sources have hinted that GT5 and Gran Turismo Mobile for the PSP would both be making an appearance at the show.  Of course, it makes sense, given the fact that it has been so long since we’ve heard any news about the development from Kazunori Yamauchi, and the next big game show (Tokyo Game Show) doesn’t hit until September.

The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place!  Heavy rumors about the PSP2 were just released today by gaming site 1UP, and Gran Turismo Mobile popped up on their radar.   Hardware details will remain sketchy until the system is announced at E3, but we do know that the original PSP’s UMD media format will be dropped in favor of software downloads.  From 1UP’s article:

Earlier today, Amar212 dropped an odd bombshell on the GTPlanet Forums, posting a cryptic message full of hidden details about Gran Turismo 5.  Before you continue, have a look at Amar’s post for yourself.  It’s an exciting, well-crafted read that you are sure to enjoy.  If you’re still lost, keep reading for our careful analysis of each main point – and why you should believe them…