Sometimes, the PlayStation 3's famed horsepower just isn't enough. When the systems aren't being linked together to make supercomputers, they apparently get connected to have some fun, as the Gran Turismo team did last month.

In celebration of the racing series' tenth anniversary in October, the crew from developer Polyphony Digital threw a party in New York City in which some Sony displays let players try out versions of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in 2160p resolution and at 240 frames per second. Read more »

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue has been updated to include three head-turning cars from the ongoing Paris Motor Show and a number of tweaks to the core of Polyphony Digital's PS3 racing sim.

It's an update full of "grand touring" cars, as the game gets the "GT by Citroen" concept, Ferrari California, and the Lotus Evora for free, as announced on the PlayStation Blog. Read more »

The fifth full-fledged entry in Polyphony Digital's racing simulation series Gran Turismo may not hit PlayStation 3 until 2009 or 2010, according to studio founder Kazunori Yamauchi.

"There's no plans in the works for GT5 yet--that might be 2009, or it might be 2010," Yamauchi told IGN. "But we're totally focused on getting the updates through for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and that's all we're focused on." Read more »

Sony today offered new details on the Gran Turismo TV portion of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

Available August 1, Gran Turismo TV will use the game to deliver "loads" of pay-per-view original video content from developer Polyphony Digital as well as a number of licensed television shows, such as Top Gear.

Programs promise reviews of the world's newest sports cars, details on their development, and a look at the inside of Ferrari headquarters.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that Polyphony Digital's driving simulation series Gran Turismo has shipped over 50 million units across the world.

The franchise debuted in 1997 on the original PlayStation, and made the shift to PlayStation 2 with Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec in 2001. The series' first PlayStation 3 retail release recently arrived in the form of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which is meant as a sample of the eventual Gran Turismo 5. Read more »

The vehicles of Polyphony Digital's driving simulation franchise Gran Turismo won't be invincible for much longer, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has revealed.

Speaking with IGN, Yamauchi confirmed that the team will be adding vehicular damage to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3) through a downloadable update, possibly later this year. Read more »

Sony announced today that the North American version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will include a host of localized music tracks when it is released on April 17.

Weezer's "Automatic," The Mars Volta's "Goliath," and DJ Shadow's "LOVE LOVE" will provide some of the background music for Polyphony Digital's racer. Artists such as Kavinsky, Justice, The Earaches, and Thin Lizzy also made the cut. Read more »

Sony has revealed the full feature list of Polyphony Digital's PS3 racing title Gran Turismo 5 Prologue this morning, along with a new batch of screenshots.

The game is set to include six tracks for its 60+ vehicles to race on, including Suzuka Circuit, Eiger Nordwand, Fuji Speedway, London City Track, Daytona International Speedway and High Speed Ring. Read more »

Update: Sony has officially announced that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be released in North America on April 17, with a price of $39.99 for both the Blu-ray and online PlayStation Store versions. The Blu-ray disc will feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes video titled "Beyond the Apex."

Original story: Looking for another reason to get excited about your PS3? How about a new batch of screenshots for the upcoming Polyphony Digital racing title, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue? Read more »

For some Gran Turismo 5 Prologue impressions, head over to GameSpot, where they nabbed a copy of the Japanese version of the PS3 racer.

In an unusual marketing tie-in, Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it will make available full episodes of hugely popular BBC automotive television series Top Gear, syndicated in North America by BBC America, to PlayStation 3 owners through PlayStation Network starting some time next year. Forty episodes of the show will be downloadable worldwide through Gran Turismo TV, a new PSN channel named for Polyphony Digital's long-running racing series. No prices were given, although reports on a recent issue of Japanese publication Famitsu indicate that in Japan the episodes will be sold at a relatively low cost. Gran Turismo 5 is not set to release until at least mid-2008, but this year will see the release of the appetite-whetting downloadable-or-retail Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, recently revealed as supporting up to 16 players online. A demo is currently available through the Japanese PSN. The game's full release, set for December in Japan, will include a virtual version of Top Gear's well known test track, Hammerhead turn and all (playable The Stig likely not included). "We at Polyphony are great fans of the world's best motoring programme, Top Gear, so we're delighted to be collaborating with BBC Worldwide to deliver Top Gear content via Gran Turismo," said Polyphony founder and avid motorist Kazunori Yamauchi.

A demo of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the latest in Polyphony Digital's long-running driving simulation series, is now available for download from the Japanese PlayStation Store. Though it is not yet available in North America and Europe, PlayStation 3 owners in those territories can simply create a Japanese PlayStation Network account to get their fill of the most graphically intensive racer on the system. The 736MB sneak peek includes one track and seven cars, but does not feature the online multiplayer of the full version. The demo will be offered through the Japanese PlayStation Store until November 11. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, itself basically a tease of the upcoming Gran Turismo 5, is slated to be released through traditional retail outlets and as a PlayStation Store download. North American release and pricing details have yet to be announced, though they are expected to fall in line with those of the Japanese edition, which arrives in December and will sell for approximately $40

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Here's the latest Gran Turismo 5 Prologue trailer, described as a "Concept Movie". It runs for three minutes. Stream it below, or grab the HD version from FileShack. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is scheduled for an October release in Japan; no North American release details are known.

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A preview version of Polyphony Digital's upcoming PlayStation 3 driving sim Gran Turismo 5 will be available for download from the Japanese PlayStation Store this October. Titled Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the sneak peek will feature online play in addition to a number of different vehicles, including some currently unrevealed concept cars. First announced last week at Sony Computer Entertainment America's E3 press briefing, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue follows Polyphony's tradition of providing an advance look at the franchise's next iteration. This legacy began with the Japan-only Gran Turismo 4 Prologue (PS2), which offered five courses and 50 of the final game's 500 cars months before the proper Gran Turismo 4 arrived, and continued with last winter's free release of Gran Turismo HD through the PlayStation 3's online PlayStation Network. Sony Computer Entertainment has yet to make any decisions regarding the pricing of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Shacknews has contacted SCEA for North American release details. For more on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, check out our screenshots.

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