Polyphony Digital has announced today that Gran Turismo 5 has sold over six million copies worldwide.
Specifically, the game has sold slightly more than 6.37 million units since its release in December.
Europe is responsible for the bulk of sales, accounting for 3.97 million. The US claims 1.58 million sales, Japan 600,000, and Asia Pacific 230,000.
Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed via Twitter that Gran Turismo Anywhere will launch in February.
Anywhere will allow Gran Turismo 5 players to participate in the game’s management simulation mode, B-Spec. They can start races via the gran-turismo.com website, monitor its progress and check results.
The much-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 was released late last year. Gameplanet’s Dan Cheer wrote, “If you're only interested in a single-player, or perhaps split-screen co-op, then there's a huge amount to like about Gran Turismo 5. The core attributes remain unchanged, the game is a triumph for pure racing aficionados, and is without doubt the best racing simulator available on the PS3.”
Sony has released a gargantuan patch for Gran Turismo 5. According to the publisher (via Eurogamer), the patch includes:
Polyphony CEO Kazunori Yamauchi has told Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu that standard cars in Gran Turismo 5 will eventually receive premium upgrades.
Currently, only about 20 percent of the cars in Gran Turismo 5 are highly detailed. 881 of the 1031 cars in the game lack definition and do not have interiors, an issue that many critics – including those at Gameplanet – took exception to.
Kazunori didn’t say how many of the standard cars would be upgraded, nor did he give a timeframe for update.
Sony has announced that as of December 6th, driving simulator Gran Turismo 5 has sold 5.5 million units worldwide.
These latest figures bring total sales of the nine game Polyphony series to 61.2 million.
Gameplanet’s Dan Cheer had high praise for Gran Turismo 5, declaring it the best racing simulator available on the PlayStation 3.
After four rounds of intense virtual racing against some of the nation’s best-known motorsport names, celebrities and media, BMX champion Sarah Walker has been crowned Queen of the New Zealand Gran Turismo 5 Charity Cup.
Walker was up against 15 other rival drivers at Auckland’s Giltrap Prestige showrooms, which were turned into a virtual motorsport arena for the launch of Gran Turismo 5.
After rigorous competition and a few surprise knock-outs, Walker came out on top in the final against TV3 sports presenter Shaun Summerfield. She took home not only bragging rights but also a $2,000 cheque for her chosen charity, the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust which is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal injuries.
Polyphony CEO Kazunori Yamauchi has said the newly released Gran Turismo 5 will receive an update on Sunday NZDT that will address the game’s crippled online component.
Speaking with website Eurogamer, Kazunori said, “We received a lot of demands for having more regulations placed on the online play. We're going to perform an update on the 27th that will include things like max power restrictions and weight restrictions.
“It's like a living creature, dynamically growing as we speak.”
UPDATE: Sony has advised us that Gran Turismo 5 will now be available on the 25th of November.
ORIGINAL: Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 5 will be on shelves from the 24th of November.
As we've mentioned in the past, the game will ship in three different editions, standard, collector’s and “signature.” The signature edition comes with the chance to win a real-life Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in ‘Obsidian Black.’
This is no demo or spin-off, this is the game every car enthusiast has been waiting for as the legendary real driving simulator finally rolls off the production line. The result of four years work by a team of hundreds, this is the game the PlayStation 3 was made for.
It goes without saying that the new game looks astonishing - far better even than Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - but as ever the beauty of Gran Turismo is that it drives as realistically as it looks. With the 950 different cars modelled to a higher degree of accuracy than ever before this also features more manufacturers than any other game - including, for the first time ever, Lamborghini and Bugatti.
Other fan demands that have finally been met too, including fully realistic damage-modelling, a 16-player online mode, dynamic weather changes and night racing. Any more realistic than this and you'd be knocked out by the petrol fumes.
My Home
Features:
Simple Everyday Communication Through the Friend List
A major feature of the Community in Gran Turismo 5 is of course the private online racing between your PlayStation®Network friends, but there is also a variety of communication features including a message board, mail, and sharing of photographs and user-made courses.Online Racing Between Friends
- Your very own personal message board is created, that can be used together with your friends.
- You can also give parts or cars to your friends as gifts.
- Your favorite photo’s taken in the game can be shared with friends.
In the "My Lounge" set inside the Community, up to 16 friends can gather to hold online races.
"Rent" AI Drivers to Others, to Gain Experience
There is also a special mode in the Community, called "Remote Races". In remote races you can race in B-spec mode by selecting an AI driver and a car you own, and by selecting an AI driver and a car set "public" by your friend. This also means that in turn, any AI drivers that you set to be public may be called out to race by your Friend, and participate in their remote races even without your knowledge. You can watch the races that you host, but you will not be able to give commands as a race director like you can in the standard B-spec mode. This is to keep the races with your friend’s online AI driver fair.
Dynamic Weather System
Environmental Changes Due to Rainfall Have Been Implemented (And of course, the windshield wipers do work!)
In addition to the Time Transition visual effect announced at E3 in June, Gran Turismo 5 will also have real time weather changes on some of the tracks.
From factors like temperature, pressure and humidity, the system will simulate a weather condition that will change dynamically. The rainfall will alter the course scenery and race conditions, and combined with visual effects of time transitions and tire smoke, a richer visual expression was made possible.
The early evening sky turns purple as the rain starts to sprinkle. The rain drops are lit by the headlights, and there is dust being kicked up from the car in front of you. The windshield wipers wipe away the raindrops rhythmically; you can look forward to racing in dramatic scenes like this.
* Please note that not all courses will incorporate these visual effects.
* Please note that windshield wipers will only operate on premium models.
Tracks
Popular Tracks From the Past, Rebuilt Completely in GT5 Quality
In addition to the new courses appearing in Gran Turismo 5, you can also expect to see the legacy tracks familiar to the fans of the series.
While maintaining the allure of the courses, they were rebuilt from scratch to drastically improve their quality. Even those familiar with the tracks will be able to enjoy them as if they were seeing them for the first time.
Trial Mountain Circuit
Total Length: 3982.8m
Longest Straight; 401.0m
Elevation Variation: 50.8m
Number of Corners: 15
Laguna Seca Speedway
Total Length: 3601.7m
Longest Straight; 265.0m
Elevation Variation: 55.0m
Number of Corners: 15
Course Maker
Make an Original Surprise Course and Invite Your Friends.
In Gran Turismo 5, you can finally generate your own original tracks. This is the "Course Maker" feature.
In the "Course Maker", you will select the base theme (terrain), and select a variety of parameters such as the length of the course, to easily create a track which matches your parameters. If you come up with a good track, you can also give these original tracks to your friends online, and use them in the races with your friends in My Lounge.
Now with a massive number of course layouts available, the never ending world of "Gran Turismo" awaits your presence.
Racing Karts
Make New Discoveries on the Tracks through Kart Racing
Racing Karts are now appearing for the first time in the Gran Turismo series. Karts are a popular way to get into motorsports in real life, and even a beginner player of Gran Turismo will be able to enjoy racing in one.
The dynamic characteristics of racing karts have been thoroughly recreated through the experience and technology amassed at Gran Turismo. The size, ride height and dynamics of a Kart are totally different from that of a normal car. Witness the moment when the familiar world of Gran Turismo transforms into a whole new world
The Most Exciting American Motorsport: NASCAR
For the first time in the series, Gran Turismo 5 will contain NASCAR. You can drive the modified Stock Cars, while star NASCAR drivers like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stuart, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. appear with their real life names.
Another scene of interest in NASCAR is the incredible pitwork. The lifting of the car, the lightning fast tyre changes and refuelling performed by the elite pit staff, have all been recreated in detail.
Excitement and Sensations Only Possible in stereophonic 3D
A Richer World of Gran Turismo Awaits Through Two Very New Features
One of the new features added for the very first time in Gran Turismo 5, is support for 3D and face tracking
Using 3D compatible televisions such as the Sony 3D BRAVIA series with 3D glasses, you can experience an ultra-realistic sensation like never seen before.
The other major feature is a unique face tracking function using the USB camera, PlayStation®Eye camera for PlayStation®3. By using facial recognition with the PlayStation®Eye, you can move your face to the left and right to move your field of vision while you are driving in a race.
3D and face tracking are both innovative features by themselves, and combined together, an even richer, high quality world of Gran Turismo 5 is made possible.By moving your face parallel in front of the screen, you can change your field of view. This makes possible a sensation as though you are actually inside your chosen car.
