It was 2006 when Gran Tourismo 5 was first announced. Italy had just won the World Cup, Jericho debuted on CBS,and Paris Hilton had a top 100 song. It was a simpler time. Four years later, a new World Cup is about to begin, Jericho is long gone, and Paris Hilton is… doing whatever it is Paris Hilton does, and still no Gran Tourismo 5! But rumors have been circulating for some time not that it will be out sometime this year (with an official release announcement at E3, hopefully), and that it will support 3D. A recent demo in Tokyo’s Roppongi neighborhood showed off a few playable levels, as well as confirming the game’s 3D support.
Sony has a huge stake in the 3D TV market, and they are betting that the gaming industry will be a factor in the overall acceptance of the new medium. So it is no surprise that more and more PS3 games are featuring the third dimension, especially after a recent update made the console 3D ready. At the recent demo, Sony took over a local coffee shop and turned it into the “3D Dot Café”. The website 1up.com managed to get some hands on time with GT5, as well as checking out 3D trailers for existing games that will be getting a 3D facelift: Wipeout HD, Motostorm 2 and Killzone 2.
1up reports that the 3D version looked similar graphically to GT5 demos released earlier. It also claims that the 3D manages to stay easy to look at, avoiding certain 3D tricks that can cause nausea or headaches. 3D images can cause the brain confusion when the viewer attempts to focus on images that are out of focus. GT5manages to avoid these pitfalls.
Whether it is in 3D or not, it is nice to hear that Gran Tourismo 5 is making progress, and will hopefully be out this year! Maybe.
