While it may seem seem like just yesterday that we first played Sony's love note to console gear heads in Gran Turismo, it was actually ten years ago ... a realization that made us feel incredibly old as Sony and developer Polyphony Digital announced that the sim, that first got its license in December 1997, has shipped more than 50 million units across the globe.

This figure, of course, includes the recently released Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which according to Sony has shipped out more than 2 million units. The company is playing coy, though, as to whether this number includes just physical products or digital downloads over PSN as well. We'd like to extend our hand and congratulate the series for making it this far, but unfortunately it didn't stop between the two yellow lines on the pavement so it's going to have to go back to the start and try again.

If you hadn't read about this from the live blogging earlier today, then better put on the seatbelts GT fans -- this one is going to be quite a ride. The PlayStation brand and Nissan car manufacturer are giving racing enthusiasts a chance to live out a dream with the introduction of GT Academy. GT Academy is a competition that'll earn two lucky gamers a four-month training program for a real racing license, and using it to race for team Nissan at the January 2009 24-hour endurance race in Dubai. Yes, you heard that right, a chance to race a real car (a Nissan 350Z) in a real competition. That doesn't come often. So, want to know how you can enter?

Well, to get into the Academy you'll have to register via the PSN with your copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. You'll be first entering into a special online tourney qualifier before going into real cars for a "series of elimination-based competitions on and off the racetrack" starting at the nation level. This will go on for eight months all across Europe (sorry, not for any other region). You'll be able to sign-up at the end of May when GT Academy goes live. Good luck! Godspeed!

[Via press release]

It's been over three years since we first sighed 'awwwe' to Polyphony Digital's plans to develop a kindly, gentler racing simulation with the kid-friendly Gran Turismo for Boys. Now series mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi has come forward about the project, and in a recent CVG interview commented that Gran Turismo for Boys is still coming, though perhaps as an included feature in Gran Turismo 5 rather than a standalone game.

Gran Turismo for Boys was first revealed in November 2004 by Yamauchi as a way to hook preteens on cars, sort of like candy cigarettes, but since then there's been little said about the effort beyond the occasional footnote to let the world know that the project hadn't been run over. Tykes shouldn't get too excited yet, however, as Yamauchi admits that his team is currently spinning wheels working on GT5, and have little time to spend on side projects. Still, with the game's release about a year off maybe he'll find time to include the child dedicated feature -- and keep us from throwing a tantrum.

Polyphony Digital is still working on the PSP version of Gran Turismo. No, really! Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed as much to us during last year's Tokyo Game Show, blaming the portable racer's vaporware status on the Gran Turismo 5 time sink. Don't expect much movement on the mobile front until Polyphony makes it through the post-Prologue development chicane.

"We had been developing the PSP version, but the problem was that the PS3 version took much more time and effort than we had first imagined," Yamauchi recently told Eurogamer. "So that's been delayed - I don't think we'll be able to make the end of this year for the PSP version, but we are working on it."

If and/or when the final product eventually arrives, Polyphony Digital hopes for it to have an online component "linked" to the PlayStation 3 version. As promising as that sounds, we're still going to file this one as a DNF until we see more.

No doubt tired of all the screeching that emanated from yesterday's delay of tire-screeching driving sim, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Sony has finally sorted out its "technical difficulties" and updated the European PlayStation Store. Our readers from across the sea can now cease sending us irate tips and reserve the gnashing of teeth for when they send an exorbitantly priced car into an unforgiving barrier.

Whether you opted for the downloadable Prologue or the Blu-ray version, we hope you enjoy it long enough for the full game to come hurtling around the corner.

If you were planning to speed past Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on April 17th because "it's just a demo," you may wish to rifle through your virtues and see if patience is among them. According to a PlayStation Blog comment made by SCEA associate producer, Chris Hinojosa-Miranda, the real real driving simulator is still "about a year away." It's no surprise to see him recommending a Prologue purchase in the meantime, but for automotive fans eagerly awaiting the PlayStation 3's premiere driving sim, the content offered in Polyphony Digital's $40 stopgap puts it well above the status of mere demo.

The news certainly shouldn't come as a surprise to them either, as the immense and laborious task of creating Gran Turismo 5 has been well documented. With so much time spent painstakingly modeling each luxurious vehicle, we often wonder if it wouldn't be easier just to fill that Blu-ray disc with interactive HD video. It would be just like Road Avenger, but classier!

After unveiling the cars and tracks for its upcoming too-good-to-be-a-demo PS3 racer, it seems only fitting that Sony let us know what kind of music we can expect to bop our heads too while navigating the twisty corners of GT5 Prologue. According to Sony, the North American version of the 'real driving simulator' will include "a dozen exclusive singles," including an "exclusive remix" of Weezer's song "Automatic" from the band's upcoming album.

In addition, the game, which drops next month as both a download and full retail release, will feature a new version of Polyphony Digital's Masahiro Andoh's series theme song, "Moon Over the Castle." Seventeen international musical numbers from such names as Goose and Nittoku Inoue are also included, giving us plenty of tunes to listen to while failing to pass that license test for the umpteenth time.

In the comments section of his most recent post on the PlayStation.Blog, SCEA producer Takau Imasaki mentioned that in-game voice chat and a private race setting will be available for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in later updates. Now this news comes in as semi-official as it was not part of the original post, but was made in response to a reader's question. Imasaki wrote, "Private races with buddies and in-game chat are all in the works... but will not be ready from day one. Will keep you posted on the progress!"

We're hoping Mr. Imasaki makes sure that promise is kept. While we won't be seeing these additions by the time Prologue drives its way home with us, we're still anxiously awaiting to hit the GT racing circuit nonetheless. These new features are definitely great, but we can live without them for just a bit longer.

[Via CVG]

Stylish elegance. That seductive red color. No, this isn't a TV commercial for some new car. We're just stating how much we've fallen in love with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's Ferrari F2007. Just look at those sleek curves. The detail on this baby is so life-like it's hard to believe that this is just a digital rendering.

Do you share in our excitement? Interested in seeing more? You can have a better look at the F1 car in the gallery below. Sony's Three Speech blog has even more pics to drool over, so be sure to check them all out.