GT5 Prologue confirmed for Blu-ray

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Aug 29, 2007 11:10 am PT

Retail edition of Gran Turismo prequel to join downloadable version this year in Europe; US release plans still unclear.

At the Leipzig Games Convention earlier this month, Gran Turismo fans received a few morsels about the next installment in Sony's renowned racing series. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves confirmed that Gran Turismo 5 would be released in 2008, while franchise creator Kazunori Yamauchi told attendees that the downloadable prequel appetizer to his next full offering--Gran Turismo 5 Prologue--would be available for free.

Today SCEE added another bit of information on its Prologue release plans, announcing that the game would be available in Europe as a download or on a Blu-ray disc. SCEE promised that Prologue would be available by the end of the year, with the full Gran Turismo 5 arriving in 2008. No pricing was announced for the Blu-ray edition.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be the first time the franchise gives gamers the chance to race against one another online. Prologue will also feature more than 40 cars, tracks with reverse and alternate routes, and Gran Turismo TV, an online video channel for the PlayStation Network.

As of press time, representatives with SCEE and Sony Computer Entertainment America had not responded to GameSpot's request for clarification on the pricing and distribution of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

114 Comments

  • Mueez321

    Posted Oct 24, 2007 8:57 am PT

    I have always been a GT and PS fan and i am very sure that Grand Turismo 5 will be way better then Forza motorsport and i love the games which we can drive from inside. its gonna be a superb game. ugghhh i want to have that game as soon as possible.

  • specr87

    Posted Sep 9, 2007 12:15 am PT

    I'd have to disagree with Grimbee on his statement that GT4 lacks personality whereas Forza doesn't. That's completely untrue. I've played Forza (2) for awhile now and I don't have the same feelings as I do for GT4. In GT4, a civic feels like a civic and a s2000 feels like a s2000. My friends and I have these get together where we hook up ps2's and race eachother, and during those times, we can definitely feel the honda exuding from the s2000 or the nissan flowing out of the 350z. In Forza, I don't get that feeling. Plus, Forza lacks so many important cars that I, as a car enthusiast, is just completely turned off from playing the game. If you are a person who knows what an EK is, a kouki S14, a 180sx, a R33, and an AP2 is, then you'll not want to get this game. Forza doesn't have them. If you love supercars and know that there is more than a regular Zonda, that there is a Zonda S and a F, then you'll be sadden that Forza does not have them. If you know that there is a Koenigsegg CCX, CCX-R and CCR, the fastest cars up there next to the bugatti veyron, then you'll be disappointed that Forza only has the Koenigsegg CC8.

    To me, the only thing that made Forza better than GT4 is the online play and the point/class system. If GT5 is able to come up with something similar (hopefully better) then GT5 will undoubtly be a good game.

    For all car enthusiasts who knows about Top Gear and Best Motoring, then you'll understand what I'm saying. I want to play a game that'll allow me to prentend that I'm Jeremy Clarkson or that I'm Keiichi Tsuchiya. GT4 allowed me to feel like I'm Tsuchiya, but I only felt like Clarkson some times. I feel that if GT5 can allow me to play the role of Keiichi Tsuchiya and Jeremy Clarkson, then that will be the ultimate driving simulation game, period!

  • Ricksterlau

    Posted Sep 4, 2007 3:32 am PT

    GT 3 on the PS2 was one of the best racing sims I have ever played. But when GT 4 came out, it turned out to be very similar but with slightly improved graphics and more content. You kept on racing bots which were so predictable that it becomes a matter of time before you put the controller down. One very important thing was lacking and that was online play. Hopefully GT 5 prologue can master this. Good luck!!

  • shinspikes

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 3:16 pm PT

    I love GT, I have all of them, but GrimBee is right. Almost everything he said, I have the same feelings and thoughts. GT needs more (not just cars and tracks and graphics). Or it will be the same as the previous versions (online mode doesn't count, cause it should have been in it already, and many other racing games already have it).

  • rasterror

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 7:55 am PT

    Unless it's better than Forza than count me out. GT4 was a very boring sim offering nothing new and being a huge let down by not offering online play. I agree with GrimBee it was all about car collecting and the lincense tests just became an annoyance. But when Forza came out, oh man what a game it nearly blew away GT in every way. No needless cars, no boring test and menus. Real car damage that also effected game play. Better car options and tuning (a Lingenfelter Vette and engine swapping, beat that Polyphony). And best of all online play. Plus it was fun and not overly serious like GT4. I hope Polyphony took some serious notes and played Forza for inspiration, if not for fun.

  • kappareign

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 6:16 am PT

    sweeeeet. ive always enjoyed the GT series, and that prologue download is icing on the cake!

  • Rumben

    Posted Sep 3, 2007 5:52 am PT

    I like GT, because of the unique handling, whether or not realistic. I spend more time on GT Concept than on Resistence or Motorstorm, though it is all about one small track. I unlocked all cars, but I especially have fun by optimizing my time with the cappuccino car. My best time is like 1:27:3(not really good I know, but I'm trying ). Really looking forward to get Prologue.
    And btw, too bad I never had the chance to play Forza.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Sep 2, 2007 3:25 pm PT

    I can't prove that I have played the GT games. But I have - whether you take my point of view or not.

    GT games are all about car-collecting. You can do liscences (over and over until you get it right) and begin with a low-powered car, but then the game just lacks character.

    The first one was great, it offered more than most racers have. The second one was bigger and slightly better.
    The third one showed us what the ps2 could do whilst offering a good car-collecting challenge.

    The fourth one was where I thought the series had lost its potential, and it would take a serious face-lift and personality change for me to think anything more of it.

    As I said, the series has lost character over the years. The cars look fantastic, and the game proclaims - in each series - that its the "REAL" driving simulator.. but when you can pinball around the tracks to your hearts content, you have to realise just what else is left to do except collect cars in your garage and tune them up.

    Since racers like Burnout 3, I have seeked out other things from racing games. Racing games are not just about pretty graphics anymore, or even inside-views. Its about the whole package.

    Burnout made a good racer, but it lacked a certain depth for most gamers, there were no slow paced sections, no true skill involved.

    This is where the GT series has its merits - from taking liscences to tuning up your ride, the series was good at that stuff. But next generation, especially from an industry leading developer, should be a bit more "next" than things that have ALREADY been offered by other racing games.

    The day I lost faith in the series was when I got Gt4, the third race and after being at near half speed - I break, ending up screeching onto the grass and taking about 20 seconds to get off of it, and then failing the race altogether.
    From then, I went through the options, see what the game had left to offer and there wasn't much except learning how to master those stupid breaks and spin-outs.

    With no damage modelling, straight-playing A.I and only tuning up to raise the bar - there wasn't much left in the game for me. After all, I spent nearly half a year with the last game collecting the cars that I had.

    I found, personally, the subtle tweaks with Forza 1 (I have yet to play 2) gave the game a bit more personality, and if you got bored there was always something for you to change or aim for. The whole points system, the way you can train your own drivatar and things like that gave the game its own personality.

    And with damage modelling, clever A.I, no two races were the same and I found myself actually looking forward to using the next car - because the way things moved, sounded and reacted were something to look forward to - driving at full speed into an A.I car causing quite a wreck gives the game that subtle depth that makes you react.

    In GT, I could successfully drive right into a flat wall at 160mph and have NOTHING happen to the car, except maybe lose a position or two.

    I was hoping that the GT 5 game would truely define the genre and beat everything out of the box. But somehow they have finely tuned the car-collecting and viewing - but not so much improved the heart of the game, which is the driving itself.

    It's the subtle details that count here for me, whether you think this is the best looking game on earth or not. What I mean by "shed on wheels" is that to give the game a bit of character, you would start out with a regular car (not shiny in the slightest) and then you realise just how much work you have to do to race against the beasts.

    Instead of making beasts out of the cars, they make them all shiny and untouchable and almost sacred. Since games like burnout 3 (etc) racing games have a different edge about them, and with things like CONSEQUENCES after driving into stuff - this sort of thing should be a normal thing to have in games today.

    I would expect no damage from a Wii racing game - but with the ps3 I thought that it could deliver ENDLESS possibilities.
    In-car-views... tv replays (etc)... surely there is something more to be added to this series which hasn't really evolved with the times.

  • ta1snake

    Posted Sep 1, 2007 8:52 pm PT

    Again, the game will be the most expensive prologue game ever made. But i don't really care.

  • swyg

    Posted Sep 1, 2007 12:40 pm PT

    Awesome news for GT5.

    This is amazing, Brendan Sinclair actually posted something positive about the PS3. *gives Brendan a pat on the back*. Now let's see if he can keep it up. That wasn't sarcasm btw, he has been known to post articles which are not only negative on Sony, but are not even considered news worthy for gaming.

  • RXHELL

    Posted Aug 31, 2007 8:33 pm PT

    Free!? hot damn!!

  • wenbin09

    Posted Aug 31, 2007 6:37 pm PT

    cool

  • SonicTonic22

    Posted Aug 31, 2007 12:43 pm PT

    Grimbee has obviously never played Gran Turismo like he says he has. My favorite quote is "Starting with a shed-on-wheels and working your way up to the good cars" WOW. just WOW. yea that totally isnt what gran turismo is even about right? you dont ever have to take license tests or acquire money to get better cars right? i dont mean to dignify you with an answer, but at the beginning of your post you did have dececnt comments, but your ignorance at the end just through it all out the window.

  • alberto2045

    Posted Aug 30, 2007 7:56 pm PT

    dude I dont get it does that mean that the Blu-Ray version of my Warhawk game is far more better in graphics then the PSN version

  • ctg867

    Posted Aug 30, 2007 3:44 pm PT

    This needs to come this holiday, the PS3 have three new(ish) IPs early this holiday: Warhawk and Heavenly Sword, both of which are reviewing well, along with Lair. Side note, the reviews for Lair are of the early copy, the one that would of come out in late Aug. Since the better, redefined version is coming early Sept, it deserves a re-review, but that's a totally different story.

    Then later in the holiday they have some other good exclusive and non exclusive games, but GT5 Prologue would be a megaton imo. Best looking game ever, hands down. That alone has got people talking. Not to mention there is a huge GT and racing sim following.

  • snipe2004

    Posted Aug 30, 2007 1:48 pm PT

    *sigh*
    this is only super awesome. lol.

  • SonicTonic22

    Posted Aug 30, 2007 12:55 pm PT

    a "Gears" killer? the thing that killed Gears of War months ago was it's own game. it has nothing innovative, nothing impressive besides graphics (hey, i can make Pong look like Grand Theft Auto 4 if i spent 90% of my time worrying about the visuals of a game rather than its gameplay) and thats all the company did. they focused on making tiny, cookie cutter levels and allowed you to play with a ground breaking amount of 7 other players. Same exact thing goes for PGR and Forza. how many cars on the track at one time? 8. yes, eight. i want to know how many people have gone to a race in their lives that had 8 cars in it. Gee, i hope they included the 14 mile nurburgring track in those games, since it is the track that hosts a 200 car (yes, 2-0-0) 24 hour race every year. hmmm i just love the idea of wondering to myself while playing Forza 2 "will i see a car this lap" but you know, leave it to a 360 fanboy to join in on PS3 news and give his typical "i have 70 IQ points, my mommy said so" speech.

  • callumohare

    Posted Aug 30, 2007 12:43 pm PT

    Grand Trismo 5 > Forza/PGR4 in every way possible.
    GTA4 is getting the insuperior version on the 360.
    MGS4... Splinter Cell? come on. MGS4 > Slintercell- Any day.
    WarHawk owns. simply put...
    Heavenly sword is getting amazing reviews dumbass. not to mention, they diddnt even play the full game.
    you honestly think Mass Effect can take on God Of War 3? ...your a dumbass.
    much more on the way- go to IGN and read the list of games... that should tell you.
    and, not all games need to be violent FPS's. they are getting so damn old now its retarded. LittleBigPlanet anyone?
    Gears also sucked in most peoples opinions- aside from 360 fanboys making an excuse to why its better.
    I've played it. invisible walls, horrible camera, etc.
    Thanks!

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