At the Tokyo game show press conference on Wednesday, Gran Turismo producer Kaz Yamauchi jumped on stage to give out new details on the anticipated PlayStation 3 (PS3) title. The biggest detail by far of course was the announcement of a March 2010 launch of the title in Japan. Unfortunately, it was not clear whether other regions would have to wait until later, or if it would be a worldwide release.
Gran Turismo 5 was originally speculated to ship in 2009. Kaz revealed that the game will include an impressive 950 cars to choose from (including all the newest hybrid and electric cars), along with 20 courses with 70 variations. A new physics system is included with car damage features and movable objects on the track.
Game modes include single player, split screen, two player arcade and GT Mode. In GT Mode there is a world map, My Garage, Car Dealer, Tuning Ship, Championship Race and License Test. An online replay album is also features, with the ability to export replays to YouTube. Text and voice chat is also included in online features, along with a photo album.
Result for: gran turismo 5
The large research company iSuppli has said that it believes the Sony PlayStation 3 console will see another price cut during the course of 2008 leading to a huge Christmas for the system.
Analyst Pamela Tufegdzic is quoted as saying, “We anticipate Sony will have another price slash on the PS3 this year, and come Christmas, consumers who originally bought the Wii will likely purchase the PS3.”
Continuing on, Tufegdzic reiterated that “2008 will be a turning year for the PS3 - Sony is offering a better forthcoming software pipeline with blockbuster titles like Gran Turismo 5, which will boost PS3 sales this year.”
Despite drops in manufacturing costs, Sony still loses money on each console sold, albeit it is less than when the console first launched in late 2006.
Sony has announced that it expects manufacturing costs to drop substantially again this year and that should prompt the company to either slash prices or at least consider it.
Result for: gran turismo 5
According to Chart-Track, GTA IV has shattered previous launch day sales records in the UK, selling 610,000 units on its first day. The data is based on EPoS data and retailer estimates.
The previous UK sales record was 501,000 units, following the launch of GTA: San Andreas in 2004.
The game also set a new record for one day Xbox 360 software sales, moving 335,000 units. The old record was set last September at 266,000 with the release of Halo 3.
The PlayStation 3 sales record was completely shattered with the PS3 version of the game selling 275,000 copies. The previous record was a lowly 80,000 set last month with the release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.
Chart-Track says the figures are very accurate but will not be completely official until the group “has analyzed the data in its entirety on May 6 following the UK Bank holiday.”
