Hello Blog Readers and GT Fans! I enthusiastically return to the blog with very good news. Hitting on our promise to continue to evolve the GT series, a new update for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is NOW available. This update adds three new vehicles to the game’s line-up, plus a number of gameplay and performance enhancements we think you’ll be excited about. Here we go…

New Vehicles
All three vehicles and manufacturers have special ties to Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital. They will be added to their respective Dealership areas in GT5 Prologue.

GT by Citreon - The “GT by Citroen” concept car is the result of a groundbreaking collaboration between French automaker Citroen and Polyphony Digital. The formal debut of the vehicle took place yesterday at the Paris Motor Show, coinciding with the release of today’s update to the game. A video of the “GT by Citroen” can be viewed in HD within Gran Turismo TV.

Check out the screenshots below and for photos, follow this link.

The two other new cars are the Ferrari California and the Lotus Evora. They are a lot of fun to drive. For a look at these sexy vehicles, check out the images below.

The GT by Citroen is available for 1 Million credits; the Ferrari California will go for 300,000 credits the Lotus Evora for 100,000. Piece of cake, right?!?

GamePlay Enhancements
We’ve also added some great new gameplay enhancements to continue to improve the racing experience in GT5 Prologue. This includes changes to the penalty system; specifically, during Time Trial events, speed penalties have been removed, and instead incurring such a penalty now invalidates the lap time for that particular lap. Race events are also being updated, with tweaked difficulty levels and increased earnings for winning a top spot. Additionally, improved responsiveness when using the wireless controller, and improved sound volume balance for sound effects and music for a better racing experience. Drift Trial races have also been changed to feature a rolling start.

Disclaimer Note Here: Rankings, arcade time trial times, drift trial records, as well as vehicle-specific quick tune settings and custom key layouts will all be reset with the new update. Replay data created before the second update will no longer be viewable after this update. To confirm the version you have before updating the game, check the in-game manual.

That’s it for now, folks. I’ll see you on the track….

** UPDATE: More details added

On Friday, August 1st, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue owners will receive a significant update that will take their racing and automotive experience to a new level.

The heart of this update is a new line-up of exciting automotive programming for “Gran Turismo TV”, our in-game automotive media channel. Gearheads will enjoy a host of new free and pay-per-view programming, including “Top Gear“, UK’s premier car entertainment program, and Japan’s “Best Motoring” video magazine, dedicated to the pursuit of the pleasure of driving.

Whether you’re in the mood to tour Ferrari’s factory in Italy with Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, or to be insulted by Jeremy Clarkson talking trash about your favorite cars, or even sitting down to watch some mad Japanese race drivers play ‘car soccer’, there is a variety of choices for all types of car fans. Gran Turismo TV is housed within Gran Turismo 5 Prologue so access and videos is all in-game!

A few other notes about Gran Turismo TV for you to keep in mind:

• For the first two weeks only, we are providing all pay-per-view content for at a discounted price of $.99! It’s a good way to get a taste Gran Turismo TV. The HD content we shoot for our exclusive stuff looks pretty amazing. Following the initial two-week period, content will start at $1.99. So start downloading away!
• Be sure to check the full content list for a full content list, as we will be adding new programs on a regular basis.
• Gran Turismo TV will also include new features that allow viewers to fast forward, rewind, and move between chapters when viewing video content.
• Viewers can download up to 8 episodes simultaneously and pause individual downloads.

Personally, I would like to find some American content to beef-up the roster. What do you think? We welcome any suggestions you may have.

In addition, other gameplay enhancements come with this update, like fixes in penalty judgments, more tire choices for Time Trial and improved physics during collisions between cars during online races (YES! We’ve been carefully monitoring players behaviors online and all your comments on the forums.)

Stay tuned for more updates on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in the future. See you online!