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Gran Turismo HD gets release

Old and new, with lots of DLC.

Gran Turismo HD will be available for PlayStation 3 after all, according to reports from the latest issue of Famitsu Weekly, but it'll be more of a "Prologue" title than anything.

In fact there are going to be two separate game elements on one disc, released in Japan this December, one of which will use the E3 "Gran Turismo HD" demo as a basis for an online multiplayer showcase, while the other will offer a sample of content built to the Gran Turismo 5 spec.

Gran Turismo 5 won't be out until 2008, according to translations of the Famitsu piece, which features an interview with creator Kazunori Yamauchi. Sony has yet to comment on the details in the West.

The Gran Turismo HD "Premium" element will be the GT5 sample, and will include two new tracks and 30 cars that fully utilise the PS3's power. You'll be able to race both tracks using any car you like from the get-go, with arcade style races available.

One of the courses is Eiger Nordwand, while details on the other are scant, but Yamauchi reportedly says he'd like to experiment with changing weather conditions - rain halting halfway through a race, and so on.

Apparently the GT HD "Classic" element will be very bare bones to begin with - the idea being to buy downloadable cars and tracks to race them on, with some 750 cars and 50 tracks reportedly set to be made available.

Costs will be 50-100 yen for a car, or 200-500 yen for a course. That's about 22 to 45 pence per car and 90p to £2.25 for a track. Photo mode might also be made available as a downloadable.

Edit: cleaned up some mistranslation. Hopefully. [Fires self.]