TGS '07: GT5 Prologue mounting two-pronged attack Dec. 13 in Japan

  • By Hirohiko Niizumi, GameSpot UK
  • Posted Sep 23, 2007 6:40 pm PT

Polyphony Digital experiments with dual distribution strategy with its forthcoming PS3 racer.

TOKYO--At Polyphony Digital's press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, president Kazunori Yamauchi announced that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be released in Japan through two methods of distribution on the same day.

On December 13, the game will be hitting Japanese retailers, and will also be offered for purchase via online download. Like the PS3 exclusive Warhawk, which was also distributed via downloads and boxed game discs, GT5 Prologue will have a two-tiered price point: 4,500 yen ($39) for the downloadable edition and 4,980 yen ($43) for the retail version. More details can be found on the game's official Web site.

GT5 Prologue's ship date comes after the announcement that a free downloadable demo for the game--which is itself a preview of 2008's Gran Turismo 5--will arrive on October 20 via the PlayStation Store. The demo will be part of a tie-in campaign with the Tokyo Motor Show, which takes place four days later. One of the drivable cars in the game will be revealed via a grand unveiling on the show floor of the automotive event.

74 Comments

  • Alcotamaysees

    Posted Jan 2, 2008 11:16 pm PT

    i hope it's that cheap when it comes out here.

  • bihboy69

    Posted Oct 10, 2007 6:23 pm PT

    so there will be a demo, of a prologue, of a full game....right? :S

    anyway, the car they will unveil is the Nissan GTR 2009 model

  • marco245

    Posted Oct 5, 2007 4:13 pm PT

    We don't need to hear EVERY detail of your opinion. Jutst a general round-up. I will get GT5P, but if the "$40" rumors are true, than wth?

  • eetz

    Posted Oct 1, 2007 12:45 pm PT

    oooo i think the game has very fun jajajaja

  • squirtle4

    Posted Sep 27, 2007 1:41 pm PT

    experimentation... that's good
    the more gmae developers experiment, the more fresh, innovative games us gamesrs can expect and enjoy

  • stevenhiggster

    Posted Sep 27, 2007 7:12 am PT

    I'm really starting to wonder about the tight fistedness of gamers, all everyone does is moan about the price of this and that, seriously if you dont want to pay x amount for whatever, dont! but just dont bother telling us about it!!!

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Sep 26, 2007 1:56 pm PT

    That's pretty cheap.

  • 2percentmilk

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 4:05 pm PT

    Check out the definition of the word prologue

  • mrfrieze

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 3:45 pm PT

    Then dont, everyone else that does will enjoy it frist plain and simple, I would not expect the full game till 09 some time, they are putting crazy detail into the cars and the way they are doing it is going to take a bit of time, Beside whats and extra 40 on top of the game almost 2 years down the road are you really going to care. I doubt it.

  • lanista

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 3:26 pm PT

    "arent they both demos/previews to the real GT5"

    in a word... yes

    you pay now to get an advance try of a fair portion of the game, but then you'll have to pay again - full price - to get the game when released

    or you wait

    I guess it's the choice we all have

    I've got all 4 GT titles, but I won't pay for a prologue - simple as

  • ddskater828

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 9:13 am PT

    so whats the dif between demo and prologue...arent they both demos/previews to the real GT5? :-/

  • artanisxvi

    Posted Sep 25, 2007 1:38 am PT

    well they said it was gonna be free now it's gonna cost money... I probably won't get this... (but I definitely will get the full GT5 when I get a PS3)

  • Pete5506

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 5:19 pm PT

    wtf

  • mrfrieze

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 4:37 pm PT

    It's a game and not a demo! People need to stop complaining about things that they think should be free in there own little twisted world. Im will to be they will give out more tracks later down the road some for free and some you'll have to pay for. But lets face it this short version of GT is going to be better than any other racing game out so stop crying. Oh to all the xbots I will enjoy my photo realistic racing game thank you very much.

  • twashington9737

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 4:21 pm PT

    I will enjoy the demo, myself, free of charge on 10/20. Not that big on GT anymore and really don't agree with an odd pre-buy situation. I will spend money on things I feel are worth the results and if I like what I play in the demo and word of mouth is good, GT5 will be bought in 2008. Otherwise, eh.

  • Some_One_Plays

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 1:55 pm PT

    I'll be getting this for sure and surprised people are complaining for paying for a game on the PlayStation 3. I find that very interesting yes it isn't the full game yet it isn't really a demo.

  • GR33DY83

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 1:52 pm PT

    RIP OFF

    this is a joke, i'd rather just wait for the game to come out in 2012.............................................FINE I"LL BUY IT ! ! im dying to play

  • Hotwad

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    Ill pay, but i wont be happy about it. Seems rediculous to pay for a demo, granted it does have quite a bit of content, of a game.

  • haesuse

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 1:08 pm PT

    my god, can you please stop the whining. Prologue, with its content is a bigger game than vast majority of the racers that sell for full price. Take for example Dirt, or motorstorm or even most of the NFS game, which i am a HUGE fan of. All of these game either have a shortcoming in vehicles, or number of game modes, tracks, and quality, and some even all those catergories tied-in, and they all cost $60, vs the discounted price of Prologue and the convenience of a download of PSN!

    also, yes it is a marketing and economic gimmick and it will make them a whole lot more money than they would have by releasing all at once.
    dont forget however, this is bar none the no.1 all time racing franchise and giving us, the gamers and owners of a PS3, a taste now, in addition to reinforcing the PS3 lineup to an extent, will have multiple positive effects on Sony. so a little support here wont hurt anyone!

  • barom

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 12:30 pm PT

    Ya know they gave us GT HD for free. Ya should stop expecting stuff for free and start supporting the devs a bit. GT5: Prologue is a fully functional game and should not be regarded as a demo. To compare Warhawk is a multiplayer only and it costs 40$. So stop the poop and support them a bit. They haven't earned any money since GT4 and so it's only fair that we pay a little for GT5 prologue.

  • bysmitty

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 12:11 pm PT

    Kiaininja, please let me know what $60 racing game only comes with only 5 tracks because the only one I can think of that is even close would be another Sony backed game, Motorstorm.

    ...bysmitty

  • Kiaininja

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 11:48 am PT

    LEARN TO READ PEOPLE!

    The demo of the game is FREE. But the $40 full version of GT5rologue which has 50 cars, 5 tracks, and online races is a pretty sweet deal compared to other racing games that has similar features and cost the full $60 price. And besides every Prologue released was never free just reduced in price.

  • kinglink2

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 11:44 am PT

    Prologue is hardly a demo, and they've always been a purchase. But in the past they've been 20 bucks or maybe 30. 40 is getting too pricey.

    Come on Sony, get your head out of your butt, and start respecting the fans. You know those guys you think as pinatas that you can just mistreat and money falls out of them anyways.

  • Temmehkan

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 10:43 am PT

    alaindc oh i will have fun with uncharted, rachet and clank, Warhawk, still enjoying resistance, ninja gaiden sigma, folklore, Haze, SOCOM, and heavenly sword is good just short, so those are the games ima enjoy, THIS year

  • rbrignoni

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 10:41 am PT

    What a joke it's typical Sony, charging you for a demo LMAO. No thanks i'll just wait for GT5 in 2008. Forza 2 and DiRT will keep me plenty busy.

  • jatajata

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 10:33 am PT

    the 43$ version should come with a dual shock 3 =D

  • 007ybse04

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 10:32 am PT

    Paying 39 Bucks for a Demo , Great !

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 10:18 am PT

    DonutTrooper Digital distribution what Next-Gen really means in my opinion. For more than two decades games have come in either some disc or cartridge, and I think it's time for a change. It's going to be easier for Sony to pull that off, because of an HDD of any size you choose, while with Microsoft you will have to stick with either a 20 or 120GB hard drive.

    It might be some time before all full game downloads become standard, but there are some pretty good ways companies could pull it off. Like if you could download a game through Windows Live or PSN PC and stream it to your 360/PS3, you could have a whole library of games that don't take an inch of shelf space.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    That's the problem with companies like Sony.
    They always want to "standardize" something. That's the one things that confounds me about the PS3, the whole buy the game via download. My 1st question is....
    How long does one have to wait for a regular game download?
    This isn't a game addon, so it's gotta be a while to load even with a great connection.
    And 2, call me old fashioned but I think I speak for a majority of gamers when I say I'd rather have a hard copy any day than some download.
    Sure it's safe now and maybe some years later but what about a decade from now? No thanks, hard copy for me.

  • lamprey263

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:51 am PT

    A $4 difference?! Well, I guess the retail version makes more sense since it'd obviously save a lot of HDD space. Plus, if $4 is what it costs to produce a blu-ray disc, packaging, and retail shipping, I still think people are getting ripped off by paying $30 to $40 per blu-ray movie. They could sell it for $20 and still turn a profit. The same thing goes for HD-DVD.

  • DanC1989

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:44 am PT

    £20? Maybe, but it's a bit of a rip off though. (even with online)

  • bysmitty

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:37 am PT

    Ugh, why are they making all this so complicated?!? We have the demo released last fall. Now we'll have prologue and the prologue demo. Of course, the actual GT5 product is no where to be seen! Why not just have Polyphony work on GT5 until it's done and release it then. I don't want to play all these 'works in progress' and I sure don't want to pay for a 'work in progress'. I just want to pay for and play the actually damn game.

    ...bysmitty

  • deadkingdg

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:36 am PT

    The downloadable version is a rip-off. They save shipping, the share that the store picks from the sale, the box and the printing of the disc, and all that it cuts from the price is 4$? Rip off.

  • pinksandcocaine

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 9:03 am PT

    In many ways it's still just a demo. I can't imagine paying for these Prologue versions. Why not just release a second, much smaller demo to help tide things over? I really doubt those waiting for GT5 are going to forget about it and buy Need For Speed instead or anything like that.

  • adolfogomez

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:58 am PT

    only if I can download the rest of the game for 20US after it comes out... I'm not paying 40 now and 60 later

  • willthegreat

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:46 am PT

    Prologue does come with online multiplayer...I don't know if that makes it worth $40 but it would be difficult to offer for free.

  • lanista

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:45 am PT

    There are 2 things mentioned in the article

    The first is of a free downloadable 'demo' which is just that, a demo like any other demo released for a game

    The second is of a 'prologue' which will be available to purchase from (a) retail outlets, or (b) download

    GT prologues are basically something that lie between a 'demo' and the proper game when released. Here is some info on GT4 prologue and it could be assumed that GT5 prologue will be something similar. As seen, GT4 prologue is nearer the 'demo' end of the spectrum than the proper game:

    GT4 was intended to be released in time for the worldwide 2003 Christmas release but was delayed, in consolation, Polyphony brought out GT4 Prologue as a sneak preview (including a documentary bonus disc) to the full experience of GT4. Though it was necessary to limit the number of cars and courses included, this product still included some of the main features of the Gran Turismo franchise such as races, time attack and license tests. The sneak preview also expressed the latest technology Polyphony Digital had accumulated over the past two years. Featuring 50 of GT4's then-planned 500 cars as well as five courses, this expanded demo was designed as a stop-gap until the complete version was released.

  • alaindc

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:36 am PT

    they have so few good games on the PS3 that...they will release a demo of GT5...AND SELL IT $40 ?

    Lair and Heavenly sword were suppose to be the AAA title for ps3 the year...but they are avarage.

    Home...was also suppose to be the playstation big thing this year (a chat system, where sony will sell virtual item, and where sexual predator will play xxx videos)...and it's not coming.

    now...a $40 demo of GT5, sony biggest game...that many will buy, to say how good the ps3 WILL BE... have fun with your PS3

  • MoeSyslak

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:31 am PT

    think how much quicker GT5 would be on the shelves if they didnt mess around with all this prologue and GTHD rubbish.

  • Lordofultima

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 8:28 am PT

    A demo of a...demo? That costs money? Which is also going to cost money? What the heck are you doing Polyphony?

  • NinjaMunkey01

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 7:52 am PT

    right I;m confused is this a demo or a full game. cos people on the forum are saying it is/isnt a demo. could someone elso who KNOWS what they are talking about and has played all the GT games before tell me what is going on???????

  • kingtrewq

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 7:43 am PT

    i think gamespot was talking about the demo being free, prolouge is a game, not a full game but still might be better than most

  • AngelCage

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 6:45 am PT

    $40 for a demo? WAY TO GO SONY!!!!!!!!.... way to go to your doom.

    And where the hell is all the GT5-Prologue-FREE-CERO-NO MONEY-GRATIS crap?????

    Oh i know: Stupid gamespot, they messed up saying that crap. this is the only place where i read that.

    AND if prologue IS NOT a demo (like a lot of people are saying here) and cost 40 bucks, HOW MUCH will cost GT5 if prologue is just a PREVIEW of GT5?????

    I say: GT5=$100 O_o, or it will cost $50 (with will be kinda stupid)

  • stanleyCG1_2

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 6:08 am PT

    I must say, i think the whole download for free confusion was gamespots fault. every other gaming website has stated, and stated for a long time that it wasn't going to be free.

  • Tripwolf

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 5:25 am PT

    What a really stupid and confusing name. It's no wonder so many people are confused.

  • Windblade91

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 5:13 am PT

    digital distribution will become permanent when the standard HDD is 250GB...atm there is a limit to how many games u can get even with a 250GB HDD some PS3 games are 25+ and evtentually will be hitting 50GB...so that would be 5 games on 1 HDD...
    still a ways to go

  • Zell_Forever

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 4:47 am PT

    wtf. didn't they say prologue would be free for download?? And now its $40.. no thanks. :S

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 4:07 am PT

    Digital distribution what Next-Gen really means in my opinion. For more than two decades games have come in either some disc or cartridge, and I think it's time for a change. It's going to be easier for Sony to pull that off, because of an HDD of any size you choose, while with Microsoft you will have to stick with either a 20 or 120GB hard drive.

    It might be some time before all full game downloads become standard, but there are some pretty good ways companies could pull it off. Like if you could download a game through Windows Live or PSN PC and stream it to your 360/PS3, you could have a whole library of games that don't take an inch of shelf space.

  • toxicmog

    Posted Sep 24, 2007 3:57 am PT

    wee a bigger demo...why not just keep going with GT 5....

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