My Chemical Romance Playing Gran Turismo 5

GT5 at retail on November 30, 2010.

Gran Turismo 5 Production Kicks Off?

   The SEMA Trade Show kicked off yesterday in Las Vegas and runs until November 5. At the show, Kazunori Yamauchi stated that Gran Turismo 5 (retail) discs are being manufactured and stamped NOW. Really Kaz? You're not pulling anyone's leg are you?

   If the discs are really being stamped now, why hasn't Sony finalized the ship date in Japan after last month's delay announcement? Why haven't retailers gotten an inkling of the new date? WHY? Well, then again, aggregators like Rakuten still list the ship date as November 3. Feh.

   If Gran Turismo 5 only ships in Japan this year, I'm good with that. Importers will get to play the game before anyone else (legitimately). The early release in Japan also allows the Japanese gamers to basically road-test and bug-test the game for the other regions so that USA and Europe will get a bug-tested build that's been pored over by millions of Japanese gamers when it's time to release the game in the West.

Gran Turismo 5 Delayed

   Sony has delayed Gran Turismo 5 from November 3, 2010 to an ambiguous frame of "Holiday Season." I'm not going to bitch and moan because I would rather wait a few more weeks for a perfect game than a buggy and glitchy program that disappoints everyone.

   Sony and Kazunori Yamauchi are taking the right tack and making sure that the game is 100% or at least 98% before pressing the discs and shrinkwrapping the packaging. How about the perspective from the viewpoint of a retailer? Well, it's the same - we'd rather have a 100% product than deal with the ramifications of a potentially faulty game that bubbles up vitriol from the userbase. We just want everyone to be happy, play games, and enjoy their time with each game that they've invested in. Simple.

Gran Turismo 5 Cars

Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus

   I don't have the final Gran Turismo 5 vehicle list yet but Polyphony has released a sampling of the cars that are drivable in GT5. They include:

● Aston Martin Vanquish ('04)
● Bugatti Veyron 16.4 ('09)
● Chevrolet Corvette C5-R (Le Mans, '00)
● Ferrari California ('09) Premium Download
● Ford Mustang GT Premium ('07) Premium Download
● Honda NSX Type-R (2nd Gen, '02) Premium Download
● Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 ('07)
● Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 19" Option ('09) Premium Download
● Nissan Fairlady Z Version S (Z33-gen, '07) Premium Download
● Tesla Roadster Sport ('08)
● Zele Skyline 370GT Coupe Gran Turismo Edition (V36-gen, '09)

   Needless to say, those are some sweet rides and GT5's gonna be ruling the sales charts when it ships in November of this year. There's a bunch of cars that are premium downloads but Sony's gotta make their money somehow now that the Jailbreak is going to ruin a chunk of their PS3 software sales. New features for GT5 were also announced at the Tokyo Game Show yesterday and they include:

● Interact with friends, on and off the track
● Simple Communication Via the Friend List
● Online Racing Between Friends
● Lend and Borrow AI Drivers to Gain Experience
● Experience Real-Time Weather Changes with Realistic Rain
● Popular Tracks From the Past, Rebuilt to GT5 Quality
● Brand New Cars to the Gran Turismo Lineup (Volkswagen typ2(T1) SambaBus!!!!!)