I wasn’t sure whether it was as a joke or not at first, but it looks like one person with enough cash to spare could be getting what will be the most expensive special edition of a game ever (and probably will not be topped any time soon). Codemasters revealed today that they will be releasing one version of their GRiD 2: Mono Edition. What is included with this special edition?

• PlayStation 3 Console
• Specially packaged PlayStation 3 version of GRiD 2
• Branded racing suit and gear
• A factory tour of the BAC plant, where they make:
• A 170mph BAC Mono supercar (in GRiD 2 livery)

How much will this special edition set you back? $190,000 (£125,000). Like I said, it will only be available to one customer, and will also go into the record books as the most expensive, commercially available game as a special edition. So, anyone going to gather up the cash to get it?

Earlier today at the Silverstone Circuit, Polyphony Digital held its Gran Turismo 15 year anniversary event. It was expected that the next addition to the franchise, Gran Turismo 6, would make its debut. That it did. It was said some time ago that it was going to remain a PlayStation 3 title, despite the announcement of the PS4 and that piece of hardware releasing in the same window.

Personally, I think that it would have made more sense to release on the PS4, as it would be a definite system seller, but I regress. I have been following GTPlanet throughout the announcement, and some nice tidbits of information came out of it:

• The core has been renewed; new engine provides more realistic and natural handling, with new tire, suspension and aerodynamic physics. The graphics engine has also been renewed and is said to be more streamlined and future-proof, allowing for more flexibility and expansion (suggesting that it could be retrofitted onto a PS4 title as well).
• The game will launch with over 1200 cars with ongoing DLC. The cars can be fully personalized, and there are more aero mods (a reported several thousand pieces) and wheels. Does this mean, however, that we’ll see custom liveries akin to that of Forza, arguably the best editor on a console?
• There will be 33 track locations at launch, with 71 variations. There is also a promised new track through monthly DLC.
• There is also a new course maker, using a new algorithm and will have rendered scenery for tens of square kilometers.
• Online will be expanded quite a bit, with support for more community features, including the ability to start racing clubs, create your own racing series, and being able to set up championships.
• The game will use a new user interface, with a focus on quick response and short load times.
• Some GT6 features will be compatible with other devices, including PC, smart phones, and tablets.
• More information will come out at both Gamescom and E3 this year. I’ve also heard that there may be a demo available this July.

Source

Gran Turismo®6 is coming!
Event Report , Gran Turismo®6 , 15th Anniversary

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. today announced Gran Turismo®6 (GT6™), the latest version of PlayStation®’s best-selling franchise, will be released in Holiday, 2013. The news was revealed today by legendary Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi at an event held to celebrate 15 years of the 70-million-selling series.

GT6 for PlayStation®3 will bring new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’ as well as introducing stunning new tracks and cars and a revised user interface. A new compact game engine will improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content. Meanwhile, the game is also set for expanded connectivity with other devices such as smart phones and tablets and increased social and community functions.

All of the cars and tracks from Gran Turismo®5, which has sold over 10m copies since launching in 2010, will be retained in GT6. But notable new additions to the already impressive line-up of historic cars, road cars and the latest race cars, brings the total car list to 1200 at launch, with new cars set to be continually added online. Several thousand aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars, and players can personalize their own custom cars in game to the greatest ever level possible.

The UK’s famous Silverstone Circuit will be just one of seven new locations in Gran Turismo 6, taking the total to 33, with 71 different layouts available, 19 of them brand new. There will also be regular additions of new tracks set to be made available online. The improved course maker function will provide gorgeous scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers including the magnificent backdrop of Andalucía.

The theme of Gran Turismo’s innovative collaborations with partner companies will increase with the inception of GT6. A number of exciting new projects that blur the line between the virtual and real will be announced in the run up to the game’s launch. Not least of these is GT Academy, a collaboration with Nissan to unearth real racing driver talent that first ran in 2008. It was announced during the event that the competition returns for its biggest ever year in 2013, with the entry mechanic set to take place on an exclusive GT6 demo in July.

Other notable partnerships in the development of GT6 have been with tyre manufacturer Yokohama Rubber and suspension company KW Automotive. Both companies are active in the commercial car industry and in racing, and they have acted as technical development partners for the game’s new physics engine, for its tyre and suspension kinematic modeling, creating an even more realistic experience for GT fans.

“It is amazing to think that it is 15 years since we first released Gran Turismo,” explained Kazunori Yamauchi, during the announcement at Silverstone Circuit. “Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream. We’re pleased to deliver GT6 to PlayStation 3 as we have a very loyal community on that platform. However, we have refactored the game to make it very flexible and expandable, with a view to making many future developments. I am very pleased with everything about the new game and the new additions, but the launch will be only the beginning for GT6. The game will continue to develop throughout its life. I already have many ideas for things I want to achieve in the next 15 years of Gran Turismo!”

The celebration of 15 years of Gran Turismo event at Silverstone included a demo of GT6 featuring the famous circuit. Guests were able to play the game in the familiar circular Gran Turismo race pods before having a chance to take to the real track in cars provided by Audi, Ford, Jaguar, KTM, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota.

Further news about Gran Turismo 6 will be revealed at the forthcoming E3 and Gamescom events.

Cars featured on the GT6 Silverstone demo (* denotes new to Gran Turismo):

Acura NSX ’91
*Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale ’11
*Alpine A110 1600S ’68
*Audi Sport quattro S1 Rally Car ’86
Ferrari 458 Italia ’09
*Ferrari Dino 246 GT ’71
Ford GT ’06
*KTM X-BOW R ’12
Lamborghini Countach LP400 ’74
*Light Car Company Rocket ’07
McLaren MP4-12C ’10
*Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 ’11
Nissan 370Z (Z34) (GT Academy Version) ’08
Nissan 370Z Tuned Car (GT Academy Version) ’08
Nissan GT-R Black edition (GT Academy Version) ’12
*Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 N24 Schulze Motorsport
Nissan Leaf G (GT Academy Version)
*Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance ’12
Toyota 86 GT ‘12

Summary of new Gran Turismo 6 features announced by Kazunori Yamauchi:

New Game Engine
• Refactoring
• Compact, nimble operation
• Flexible expandability
• A new rendering engine that pushes the limits of the PS3

New Physics Engine
• New suspension and kinematics model
• New tyre model
• New aerodynamics model
• Technical partnership with Yokohama Rubber and KW Automotive

1200 Cars, abundant custom parts, and on-going DLC
• From historic cars to the latest racing cars, the game contains a total of 1200 cars.
• Multiple aerodynamic parts and custom wheels will be available for almost all cars.
• Players can create their own personalised custom car in the game.
• Cars will be continually added online

33 locations, 71 layouts
• 33 Locations and 71 layouts will be provided from day1 (7 more locations and 19 more layouts than GT5)
• More new tracks will continue to be provided online

New Course Maker
• Massive scenery spanning several tens of square kilometers
• A new course generation algorithm

Community/Club/Race Organizer
• Players can form their own communities
• Various community levels from local and domestic to global
• Players themselves can create and manage their own online events

New User Interface
• Balancing directional key operation and touch operation
• Quick response
• Shortening of loading times

Multi Device Compatibility
• PlayStation®
• Smart Phone
• Tablet
• PC

At the same time as the PS3 version of GT6 the “Real Driving Simulator” launches, a mobile version and web application version of GT6, will be created to enjoy Gran Turismo’s massive community space.

Real/Virtual “Edge Effect” Activity
A variety of “Edge Effects”, the chemical reactions between the real world and the virtual world for which the Gran Turismo series is famous, are also planned for GT6. Exciting collaborations between various automotive manufacturers and collaborations with brands crossing different industries will be revealed gradually across the next six months.

The Corvette line has been a staple of the American sports car industry since its debut in the 1950s. There have been six generations in all, and every one of them has made an appearance in the Gran Turismo series in one form or another. The next generation Corvette, the C7, will be no different.

Yesterday, at the Detroit International Auto Show, the Corvette team at General Motors unveiled the C7 Corvette, while also reviving the ‘Stingray’ moniker. Some of you may remember Polyphony Digital giving us a downloadable version of the camouflaged car as a teaser back in November (which has gotten nearly 500,000 downloads), a couple months prior to yesterday’s reveal. To tell you the truth, I was rather excited. Being a fan of GM, and cars in general, I watched the reveal.

With the base model getting an estimated 450HP engine (and GM underrates their projected HP numbers and the real numbers could be as high as 500, but 450 is almost 20 more horsepower than the current C6 base model anyway), about 450lb/ft of torque, better aerodynamics, and the car being about 124 pounds lighter, it’s a bit of an upgrade on most of what matters on a racetrack.

Well, Polyphony has announced that the official un-camouflaged version of the car will be available for free on the PlayStation Store tomorrow. Here are a few other details provided by Polyphony:

During the creation of the virtual Corvette Stingray, careful attention was paid to the tiniest details of the new design inside and out, as well as to the enhanced performance driving characteristics – down to the shift schedule for the 7-speed manual transmission.
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The Corvette Stingray will produce an estimated 450 horsepower and 450 ft. lbs. of torque, is capable of accelerating from 0-60 in less than four seconds and will achieve more than 1g in cornering grip. It will also be the most fuel efficient Corvette ever, exceeding the EPA estimated 26 mpg of the current model.

Another thing of note, some keen-eyed folks over at GTPlanet.net have noticed that some of the shots in the trailer take place on a track not currently available in any Gran Turismo titles: Willow Springs Raceway. No word as to whether this track will soon be available on Gran Turismo 5, but it’s hard to imagine that they would go through the trouble of designing an entire racetrack to simply promote one car.

What I’m most waiting for now is how cool the C7.R will look, since the current C6.R looks like a beast.

Here’s the new trailer for the highly anticipated, humongous sequel to the GTA franchise. If you remember my last article, Game Informer has ‘informed’ us of a ton of new features and a bit of the story. The first trailer was shown over a year ago, and today, we finally get a glimpse of the second one, as the Spring 2013 release looms in the not-too-distant future.

In this trailer, we get a glimpse of some of the crazy antics in the game. Planes, trains and automobiles. The action in this title looks pretty intense, from driving out of an airplane, to seeing two trains run into each other head on (in what results in a wicked wreck on a bridge). This looks like it could very well be the GTA sequel we’ve been waiting for since San Andreas released all those years ago. There’s a lot to take in on this trailer, that’s for sure.

Alright folks, we’re finally at that point where we will be handing out the codes for The Walking Dead giveaway. In total, we had a very respectable 151 entries by 26 unique users. The total number of ticket purchases amounted to 67, which in its own right is pretty notable. Anyway, after a random drawing, the two winners are:

• chadril - Ticket
• crazy88 - Facebook Like/Comment Entry

Congratulations to the both of you! I will be PM’ing you guys in a bit!