Gran Turismo HD Dies! PS3 left without a GT until 2008?

Mike Bantick
Saturday, 02 December 2006 09:29

Your IT - Entertainment

Sony has announced that development effort on the project to beef up racing simulator Gran Turismo for the High Definition PlayStation 3 has been redirected.  What does this mean for the extremely popular franchise, as well as its platform?

Well the headline might be slightly dramatic; GT HD will now be released in Demo format only, with only 10 cars, one track with two layouts and featuring the Time Attack and Drift Trial modes.

This is a step down from the original plan to provide a 1080p definition racer with 750 cars and 51 tracks, most of which, along with other features would have been available as downloadable content - for a price!

GT5 will now be the focus of the Polyphony Digital development team. Most of this development time seems to be spent simply in nailing down deals with automobile companies keen to be part of the series.

A couple of things still not clear are the actual planned release date, which has to - happily for fans - come forward, now that resources have been redirected, and whether the game will feature car damage.  In the past, car manufacturers have been reluctant to sign a license to game developers if it means seeing their beloved creations harmed, even in a virtual way.

Times have changed, and most racing simulators now feature dents and all pursuits - GT really ought to follow suit to keep up with the likes of Forza Motorsport  et al.