At a recent presentation, Polyphony Digital showed off a special version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, running simultaneously on four Playstation 3s.

The combined computing power has been used to run the game in breathtaking 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution, which equals four times of the regular HD resolution, using a special projector. Another option the four console-pack offers is running the game with 240fps instead of the regular 60.

There are no technical details on how this combination of four console works and if PD plans to ever offer this technique to regular customers. Considering the hefty price tag on the Playstation 3, it would not be the most affordable solution anyways.

Via GTPlanet.net

Jeff Staple was lucky enough to be allowed to lurk around the Polyphony Digital headquarters, watching the creators of the Gran Turismo series at work.

Even better, he brought a camera, bringing us a very interesting and rare inside look on the people behind one of the most popular gaming series. The photos below show some very interesting things such as 3D artists at work, desks packed with reference material and employees who love their work so much - they don’t even go home to get some sleep!

Furthermore, the PD team can be seen taken reference photos and sound samples, a process that’s done with every car in the game. It still is unknown when Gran Turismo 5 will be released for Playstation 3, the dedication of the creators is very much apparent though.

Via Jeff Staple

Various mainstream gaming websites report that, according to British Car Magazine, Gran Turismo 5 for the Playstation 3 is due to be released as early as spring 2009. Various added features such as vehicle damage have pushed the release date as far as 2010, making this rather surprising news.

Even though Car Magazine might be lacking a gaming-background, their information is somewhat backed by a recent interview with Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, who hints that the game will be available earlier than people would expect.

While Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was already a huge success, Gran Turismo 5 is expected to be a new benchmark for racing games in terms of graphics and content, making it the most anticipated Playstation 3 title so far.

Here’s a rather amusing story on how photoshopped shots can make headline news really quick. The whole Gran Turismo community is waiting for first previews of the game’s damage system and to shorten the waiting time, GTPlanet user Jantsu92 has photoshopped a Gran Turismo 5 Prologue shot to give others an impression on how it could look.

Since news websites and blogs frequently copy off each other (something I´m guilty of from time to time too), the shot quickly made it into headline news on various sites, causing lots of people to take the shot for real. Sadly, it’s nothing but quality artwork, leaving us waiting for GT5 damage shots again…..

Via GTPlanet

Shaun and Darin of InsideSimRacing have made another special report video, reviewing Codemaster’s Race Driver GRID racing game.

The guys have an in-depth look at the game on both the PC and the Playstation 3, so make sure to check out the extensive 20-minute review.

The October-update for Polyphony’s Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is available now, bringing a bunch of new cars and features to the Playstation 3 racer.

Star of the update is the Citroen GT concept car, a virtual design study only available in Gran Turismo. Other cars include the Ferrari California convertible and the Lotus Evora. Like the Citroen, both cars have been promoted by appearing in the GT world prior to their real-life sales start.

Other features include bugfixes and new car physics, all Gran Turismo Prologue owners can download the update for free now.

Citroen and Polyphony Digital are working together on including an exclusive Citroen GT concept car in Gran Turismo Prologue for the Playstation 3.

A while ago, first teaser shots of the virtual design concept have been uploaded to Flickr. More revealing pics have been added now, showing a very modern and sleek looking sports car concept. Furthermore, an official teaser video has been released to wet our appetite for the upcoming car.

Codemasters has announced a car pack for their Race Driver GRID racing game. Xbox360 & Playstation 3 users will soon be able to download eight new cars.

The car selection includes famous race cars such as the Mclaren F1 GTR, the Nissan GT-R and the Volvo C30 as well as supercars such as the VW Nardo:

• TVR Cerbera Speed 12
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
• Honda S2000
• Nissan GT-R (S-G2008)
• VW Nardo
• Pontiac Firebird Trans AM
• Volvo C30

The pack will also include two new multiplayer events. Details on pricing have not yet been announced, information on if and when pc racers will be able to get the package is yet to come too.

Here’s another story in the growing list of car manufacturers using Gran Turismo to promote their cars. After Nissan, Ferrari and Lotus, French car maker Citroen has announced that a virtual design study will be making it’s way to Gran Turismo.

The car will be exclusively to Gran Turismo, first teaser pictures have been uploaded to Flickr. Even though the car can’t be seen completely yet, the virtual design studly looks quite aggressive already. It seems like racing games are becoming a really important marketing vehicle for car manufacturers these days.

Kotaku managed to get their hands on an early version of Simbin’s RACE Pro simulation for the XBOX 360 and released the screenshots you can find below.

We get to see a variety of cars, from F3000 to GTs with some noticeable details. Macau (as seen in the F3000 screenshot) looks a lot more stunning with the Lizard engine, especially the skyscrapers in the background.

The car models seem to have been pretty much straight converted from GTR Evolution though as the Audi R8 cockpit still sports the same ugly door handle texture - Not very next-gen like.

Good news is that Simbin is planning to expand the game’s content after the release, there has been no word on if the additional content will be free or not. Rather bad news is that the game has been pushed back to January 2009 in order to give Simbin more time to make sure that the game will make an instant impact on console gamers.

A demo should hit Xbox Live in time for Christmas, giving us something to shorten the waiting time.

Some days ago, I´ve already posted that Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez and German Lars Schlommer have won Sony and Nissan’s GT Academy competition. They will be making the transition from the virtual to the real racing world, driving a Nissan 350Z race car at the 2009 Dubai 24 Hours.

Now, GTPlanet has an interesting story on how and why these two were chosen at the Academy’s final stage on site at Silverstone.

GTPlanet reports that the two winners of Sony’s GT Academy competition have been announced. Spaniard Lucas Ordoñez and German Lars Schlommer will be driving a Nissan 350Z race car at the 2009 Dubair 24 Hours.

The competition started at home where thousands of racers submitted their time in a GT5 Prologue time trail. Via several finals, the six quickest drivers ended up in Silverstone where they had to prove themselves behind the wheel of a real car….and meet former Formula One driver Johnny Herbert. Lucas and Lars were quickest of them all, earning them a drive in a professional 24 hour racing event on a very challenging modern race track.

Those of you speaking Spanish will surely enjoy Lucas Ordoñez’ detailed report in the official Playstation Forums where the photos below have been taken from.

Below is a new video of Simbin’s upcoming RACE Pro simulation for Xbox360, showing the BMW 320si at the Dutch Zandvoort circuit. The video was made by Game fan on the Games Convention 2008 where fans were able to try Simbin’s newest simulation.

In similar news, Eurogamer reports that a demo of RACE Pro will be available within three weeks on Xbox live.

Race Pro GC day 2 BMW Zandvoort from Game fan on Vimeo.

Below is the first pure gameplay video of Simbin’s upcoming RACE Pro simulation for the Xbox360.

We get to take a ride in the Saleen S7R around the British Brands Hatch circuit, looking very sharp due to the all-new Lizard engine.