Gran Turismo 5 Release Date of 24th November Confirmed for the UK

It’s become rather a contentious issue predicting just when we’re likely to see the public release of Gran Turismo 5. I remember sitting down with the Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) team back in 2008 discussing the launch of GT5 Prologue and figuring on a 12 month delay until the full-fat GT5 was in our hands.

Just in case you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, Gran Turismo is the biggest selling driving simulator game for the Playstation console, having shipped more than 56 million units worldwide since it was first launched in December 1997. It is widely acknowledged as the best and most authentic driving simulator created so far, praised for its true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and ergonomic design – although the Xbox-only Forza Motorsport 3 has gained many devoted fans for its great selection of cars and tracks.

Gran Turismo 5 ups the ante in every regard, now offering over 1,000 in-game cars and the choice of 71 tracks. This is not a game you’re likely to finish playing in a weekend.

GT5 has been in development for at least five years, it’s creator Kazunori Yamauchi, President of Polyphony Digital Inc, being determined to wait until he was certain his team had used every last bit of potential available in Sony’s Playstation 3 console – however Kazunori it seems still isn’t satisfied, his vision has been restricted by hardware limitations of the PS3, “With Gran Turismo 5 we’ve made it as clean and beautiful as possible within the confines of the space we’re given – but of course there’s a lot more that we want to put in.”

Whilst you wait the final 2-weeks before getting your hands on a copy of the game, you can take a look at the complete (and final) list of cars and tracks that will be available in GT5 – it will quite simply blow your mind..