Polyphony Digital

A new study by CIS Insurance and endorsed by the British government has uncovered a remarkable link – people interested in automotive video games and television shows like Gran Turismo and Top Gear are much more likely to break the speed limit.  It accuses such media of creating a “cachet of excitement and glamour around speeding”,  which presumably translates into death and destruction:

This is a little far-out, but it’s worth mentioning that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has filed a new patent which demonstrates the PSP being used to remotely control a car.  As you can see, the RC vehicle has a camera attached to it, and the images are sent wirelessly back to the PSP.  According to the patent, ““a user may control the car […] so as to spy on their friends… then upload the stored video images to a website.”  Of course, this is an idea we’ve all probably had since we were little, and it’s been done many times before.

It’s not much, but the image above is our first look at the Gran Turismo Café at Twin Ring Motegi circuit which just opened a few weeks ago.  Thanks to Johnny for sending this in – he managed to dig it up from a random Japanese blog.  This picture helps the original sketch make more sense – now we just need a peek at the inside…  If you can take pictures of the café yourself, or if you can find some other shots, please send them our way!

There may be a hint of sensationalist link-baiting in VG247’s latest headline about Gran Turismo 5 – indeed, you can’t help but wonder why they didn’t mention these comments by SCEA Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller in their article last month.  Regardless, his additional comments reinforce the important notion that the GT series is coming to platforms other than the PS3:

Don’t bother checking your calendar – this isn’t another April fool’s joke!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_66KyeyfI4

In a revealing statement from last week’s Game Developer’s Conference, SCEA Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller mentioned that Gran Turismo 5 will be released across “all platforms” when it “makes the most sense”.  The comments came from a Q&A session and were just picked up by VG247:

You know exactly what features you want in Gran Turismo 5, but how many people out there actually agree with you?  It’s easy enough to peruse our Gran Turismo 5 forum, but even the most popular ideas get lost in the sea of discussions and opinions.  That’s why we’ve launched ideas.gtplanet.net, a new type of forum that lets you submit and vote on the features, cars, and tracks that you most want to see in future updates to the Gran Turismo series.  The ultimate goal is to efficiently utilize GTPlanet’s large audience to communicate what we, the fans, are most looking for from Polyphony Digital.  To keep things organized, the GTPlanet Ideas site is divided into three categories, or forums:

Since the Logitech Challenge cheaters were exposed, many of you have spread the word and contacted Sony/Logitech, expressing your anger with poorly-skilled drivers who were bending the rules to get ahead.  Now, we’ve got official word from Logitech on exactly what is (not) going to happen.   Chris Pate, Logitech’s Global Product Marketing Manager, stopped by the GTPlanet Forums:

If you’re a regular GTPlanet visitor, you already know about the Citroen GT.  It’s a monumental and unique achievement for a video game production company – the one and only Polyphony Digital.  However, you may be surprised to learn how many “real world” projects the Gran Turismo master minds are responsible for.  Tucked away on their Japanese website is a fascinating timeline of  collaborative projects, from the Nissan GT-R concept in 2001 to the Citroen GT today.

Aside from a few seconds of screen time in the rolling credits at the end of each game, few people aside from Kazunori Yamauchi get much credit for the countless hours of hard work that goes into each masterpiece of the Gran Turismo series. True, Polyphony Digital is a very secretive company – that’s just a fact of life in their industry – but there are hundreds of brilliant people getting their hands dirty (and sleeping on cots under their desks) who deserve more credit for what they do.  A single web page on Polyphony Digital’s corporate site offers the rare opportunity to place faces with names.  Thanks to the magic of online translation, let’s take a closer look at who they are.  GTPlanet wishes all of them well – keep up the great work, guys, we are looking forward to what you have in store for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeXaKFWg9NE

We reported last December that Polyphony Digital’s Citroën GT may actually be headed for production.  That’s now confirmed thanks to Citroën Product Manager Vincent Besson‘s recent comments to Autocar.  Of course, no pricing or official specifications have been released, but we do know that it won’t contain the futuristic fuel-cells that we’ve played with in GT5 Prologue.  Instead, the French company will enlist V8 power from a GM or Ford motor, much like the one found in the concept that the car magazines have been playing with.  As was originally speculated, production will be limited to no more than 20 units, so you’d better get those orders in right away…  Thanks to Alex P. for the tip!

The Guinness World Records releases annual “Gamer’s Edition” books, which rate and document some of the more dramatic feats in the world of video games.  However, Guinness is branching out from the objective realm of records and numbers into the subjective world of opinion and “expert judging panels”.  One of the products of this ideological shift is a ranking of “The Top 50 Console Games of All Time“, and the results are raising a few eyebrows.

If you’ve spent any amount of time playing GT5 Prologue, you’ve surely noticed the “Tuned Nissan Skyline Coupe (V36)”.  It offers just enough modification to the standard car’s shape without going overboard, and the result is beautiful.  Of course, much like the GTbyCitroen, it was designed entirely by Polyphony Digital, and it was not until last year at SEMA that we learned this car will be brought to the “real world” by Japanese tuning shop Zele Performance. We’ve now got the full details – Zele is actually offering up the official body kit for Skyline Coupe/Infiniti G37 owners everywhere, but it doesn’t come cheap.  For the rest of us, though, it provides an interesting look at yet another car that made the jump from our TV screens.  Take a look at the photos below or visit Zele’s website for all the details.

Polyphony Digital teamed up with RC car company HPI Racing to bring the Ford GT LM Spec II to life.  We know the Ford GT is one of Kazunori Yamauchi’s favorite cars (he actually owns two of them), which is probably the reason it was featured prominently in Gran Turismo 4’s box art and the game’s epic video intro.  The 1:10 scale car looks to be very well put together, and much more powerful than anything you will find at your local Wal-Mart.  Pricing has yet to be announced – check with your nearest HPI distributor (Europe/North America) for local availability.

In something that probably won’t come as a surprise to most Gran Turismo fans, a recent study has shown that driving a vehicle of a particular make in a video game makes the player “50% more likely” to consider purchasing a car from that company in the future.  The study, conducted by Dr. Kyle Murray and Robin Ritchie, placed one person in a room with Project Gotham Racing and another in a room with a video feed of the game.  The result:

GTPlanet’s inbox has been filled over the past few days with reports that Kazunori Yamauchi is interested in developing a game outside of the Gran Turismo series.  The news apparently comes from an interview with Japanese gaming magazine ‘GeMaga‘, where he also supposedly stated that he ‘would have wanted GT5 to come out in 2009‘.  So, what’s the problem with this story?  Many other news outlets have picked up and ran with the news, but their only reference is this article from PS3Center.net – a site which lost a considerable amount of credibility by participating in the recent rash of misinformation.  PS3Center’s lack of hard details about the source leaves a lot to be desired, and GTPlanet cannot endorse or verify the integrity this information.

Christmas is just around the corner, and with ‘Black Friday’ already behind us, the shopping season is in full swing.  But what do you get for that discerning GT fanatic in your life who already has everything?  Have no fear – GTPlanet is here to help, with a list of unusual, inexpensive, and unique Gran Turismo gear from eBay that they would never expect under the tree.  If you’re the fan in question, email your friends and family a link to this post to make your not-so-subtle suggestion…

We’ve finally got some official photos from the 2008 Gran Turismo Awards held at SEMA last week.  Apparently, the JR Rocha’s winning G37 was painted black since he posted pictures of the vehicle on his blog.  We also have the winners from the other categories – all of which were in the running to be included in the next game.  Here’s how the awards break down: