[E3 2008] Gran Turismo TV
We take a peek at what's coming for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's video service.
Published: July 19, 2008
When Gran Turismo 5 Prologue hit mid-April, it marked the first proper step for developers Polyphony Digital toward getting a proper GT game on the PS3. Though Prologue was (and still is) very much a work in progress (patches for online features and more core updates for things like damage modeling are still coming), it helped them build a jumping-off point for some of the newer features of the franchise, chiefly among them the video programming that was a part of Gran Turismo TV.
GTTV hasn't really gotten a ton of attention, and frankly we understand why. Aside from the mention of being able to download episodes of Top Gear, one of the coolest TV shows on the planet, inside GT5P, there's been hardly a peep out of Sony our Polyphony about what else is on the horizon. Luckily, we finally got the reason for the period of extended silent, and it's a doozy: programming is coming, in full HD and produced by Polyphony Digital, and it's coming by the fistful.
Tucked into one of the corners of Sony lounge-like booth at E3 this year, we got the chance to take a look at a few snippets, and if you're even a closet gearhead, you're going to be very, very happy you own a copy of Prologue (you do own a copy, right?). In addition to, yes, having standard-def episodes of Top Gear, Polyphony has gone all-out to produce their own programming as well as taking on the unenviable task of providing tons of coverage of some of racing's bigger events like the marathon Nuremburgring races, the D1 Drift Races and more.
The idea is that they can deliver exclusive content not seen outside the game, while also plugging racing fans into worldwide competition coverage, all in an effort to provide more of that sweet, sweet car porn. It looks like all the hard work is paying off; one of the specials that will be available is a complete start-to-finish tour of Ferrari's factory and their test track. Apparently when Polyphony finally landed the Ferrari license, they went all-out.
Luckily, it sounds like the winners here are going to be car nuts. Though the videos are obviously a way for the developer (and, by extension, Sony) to make a little extra coin on top of the game's initial purchase price, the same nigh-ridiculous attention to detail and obvious love of everything about cars and racing seems like it'll come through beautifully. Specials on brand new cars, interviews with manufacturers and drivers, and plenty of coverage of some of the biggest events in racing certainly sounds like a solid step toward ensuring that racing fans that picked up the game won't ever turn off their PS3s.
After all, how awesome would it be to see a special about a particular car or a track and then flick from the footage to actually racing virtually on that track with that car? Yum. Check out the Screenshots/Videos sections at the top of the page to see new images and footage of the programming and sexy new interface for the download service, and as soon as we have more, we'll pass it along.
GTTV hasn't really gotten a ton of attention, and frankly we understand why. Aside from the mention of being able to download episodes of Top Gear, one of the coolest TV shows on the planet, inside GT5P, there's been hardly a peep out of Sony our Polyphony about what else is on the horizon. Luckily, we finally got the reason for the period of extended silent, and it's a doozy: programming is coming, in full HD and produced by Polyphony Digital, and it's coming by the fistful.
Tucked into one of the corners of Sony lounge-like booth at E3 this year, we got the chance to take a look at a few snippets, and if you're even a closet gearhead, you're going to be very, very happy you own a copy of Prologue (you do own a copy, right?). In addition to, yes, having standard-def episodes of Top Gear, Polyphony has gone all-out to produce their own programming as well as taking on the unenviable task of providing tons of coverage of some of racing's bigger events like the marathon Nuremburgring races, the D1 Drift Races and more.
The idea is that they can deliver exclusive content not seen outside the game, while also plugging racing fans into worldwide competition coverage, all in an effort to provide more of that sweet, sweet car porn. It looks like all the hard work is paying off; one of the specials that will be available is a complete start-to-finish tour of Ferrari's factory and their test track. Apparently when Polyphony finally landed the Ferrari license, they went all-out.
Luckily, it sounds like the winners here are going to be car nuts. Though the videos are obviously a way for the developer (and, by extension, Sony) to make a little extra coin on top of the game's initial purchase price, the same nigh-ridiculous attention to detail and obvious love of everything about cars and racing seems like it'll come through beautifully. Specials on brand new cars, interviews with manufacturers and drivers, and plenty of coverage of some of the biggest events in racing certainly sounds like a solid step toward ensuring that racing fans that picked up the game won't ever turn off their PS3s.
After all, how awesome would it be to see a special about a particular car or a track and then flick from the footage to actually racing virtually on that track with that car? Yum. Check out the Screenshots/Videos sections at the top of the page to see new images and footage of the programming and sexy new interface for the download service, and as soon as we have more, we'll pass it along.
