Mainstream Assimilation -- The 2008 New York Auto Show

Though strange and possibly hard to believe, the auto industry and the videogame industry in America are tied together in a variety of ways -- whether it be Pontiac paying homage to Spyhunter with their newest commercial (as seen above), Dodge hosting Wii Sports and Guitar Hero 3 kiosks on the edge of their 2008 New York Auto Show floor displays or Lexus sponsoring a massive Gran Turismo 5: Prologue area for showgoers to check out (all seen below), this year's New York Auto Show was intricately permeated with nods to the videogame industry it has repeatedly collaborated with. We scoured the floor and were there to play GT5:Prologue (in stupid automatic only, unfortunately.) It's quite possible there was a brand new Nissan Skyline GTR, also...

As you see above, one excited security guard was left to insure no one tried making off with these huge metal contraptions that housed GT5:Prologue -- foiled again! These wonderful looking machines came equipped with a go and stop pedal as well as a non-force feedback wheel. This should be read as, "These machines were excellent at showing GT5: Prologue and nothing else." We here at QP appreciate the fact that these machines were open to the public and thus need as few barriers to entry as possible, however, it's goddamn Gran Turismo. The game is meant for racing/car enthusiasts and is damn near worthless to play in automatic, none the less with no force feedback. We digress...

That's right. Pictured above is certainly Guitar Hero 3, surrounded by a line all day. Though tempting, we didn't bother melting the faces of all within the Jakob K. Javits convention center with our ridiculous shredding abilities. We can't stress enough how intelligent it was of Dodge to sponsor this kiosk on the edge of their event, especially given the amount of children nipping at the ankles of their enraptured parents.

We spotted this bad guy wondering around the Mercedes-Benz show floor, throwing out koopas and kidnapping squeaky-voiced strawberry blond ladies...errr...looking at a classic Merc -- fiiiiiine. Though you'd think a Bowser sighting would be the scariest encounter one could have here, you'd be mistaken...

Unfortunately, there was no removable gatling gun, but this complete ripoff concept Hummer is "modeled after" the legendary, multiple Halo-traversing, Warthog. The Hummer floor rep noted this model is most likely not headed for production, though it was hard to hear him given how completely full of shit his mouth was. Yeah, we don't like Hummer or PR reps (and no, we refuse to make the obvious joke.) Below is one more shot of the Hummer concept, provided for your viewing pleasure -- though if you're really looking for something amazing (and completely non-videogame related, sorry), scroll down a bit further to see a little sample of the (finally in America) Nissan Skyline GTR.

(No joke)

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Cars/Tracks Detailed

Alright, seriously, the reasons are stacking up to purchase a PS3. Though I haven't played any Gran Turismo since numero tres, after seeing the recently announced car list, the gearhead in me aches to tune the hell out of an old Mazda RX-7 until it's a spirit crushing, fossil fuel decimating, 700hp beast. Yes folks, the details, they are a-spillin' from across the Pacific regarding Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. Sony didn't just tell us about the cars though, we also got the names of the six tracks included upon purchase.

Among the notable tracks, Daytona International and Fuji Speedway are most recognizable. Furthermore, some features were discussed in the press release...

"Drift Mode -- The player's drifting technique is measured based on drift angles, racing lines, and speeds within evaluation zones located at various turns on the course."

And the ever popular...

"In Depth Car Tuning -- Players have the ability to adjust the vehicle's performance, including power, weight, tires and suspension."


Let's be clear: This is still, for all intents and purposes, a very nice and somewhat polished, tech demo. It's not the first time Polyphony Digital and Sony have released a "prologue" version of the Gran Turismo series and betting on them, most likely not the last. In fairness, this doesn't seem like a cash-in so much as something to hold over fans who would otherwise be left waiting for what seems like eternity while Polyphony finishes work on Gran Turismo 5. At $40 (and that's real bucks, not space bucks), we ask you, QP'er: Who's buyin'?