Sony’s press conference was a stark contrast to Nintendo’s, but unlike Microsoft’s it lacked the ‘megaton’ and highlight point which would send fanboys into a frenzy.
It was easier to watch thanks to the lack of embarassing casual gaming demonstrations. Regardless, they didn’t showcase anything too grand to make it worth watching live. Thus, if you missed the live showing, here’s the breakdown
In another interview with Gran Turismo father, Kazunori Yamauchi, reconfirmed his intentions for car damage in Fall of 2008 and surprisingly, the continuing development of Gran Turismo PSP.
Many believed, Gran Turismo PSP was just a pie in the sky and nothing more than an pretty screenshot on a PSP. Apparenlty, not.
I’m not sure if I should be excited or not. Do I really need or want a driving simulator on a portable?
One of the few “realistic” features missing from the Gran Turismo is car damage. In the past, the reason for its absence was supposedly due to ‘licensing agreements’, but since Forza 2 and other games feature car damage; that excuse isn’t valid anymore. These days, Polyphony Digital are delaying car damage until they can model it realistically. It’s an understandable desire which I support wholeheartedly. Let’s just hope it doesn’t hinder the full game’s development when they have to implement their damage model to the hundreds of cars they are hoping to include.
In the meantime, Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi was quoted saying, “Maybe by Fall we’ll be able to implement it” referring to car damage.
On April 17th, 2008, North American PS3 owners will finally be able to pay $39.99 USD for their very own copy of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. I know there are some hardcore Gran Turismo fans out there, but $40 for what is essentially a “glorified” demo is a bit too much. I believe GT5: Prologue is coming out 4 months too late and $10 too expensive — I’m opting out.
I have tried the PSN demo (of a demo) from the Japanese PSN Store and I came away very impressed. It definitely has the potential of being a fantastic instalment in the Gran Turismo series. I just hope they squeeze in some car damage and amped up artificial intelligence into the final product.
Thanks to GamerSyde for the screenshot and many more screenshots which can be found here.
