Gran Turismo 4 blasts onto shelves

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[b]Gran Turismo 4 blasts onto shelves[/b]

Sydney, 10 March 2005 - The legendary Stanmore McDonald\'s was last night part of the most exciting game launch this year, bringing to loyal Gran Turismo fans the latest instalment in the real driving simulator series: Gran Turismo®4 (GT4). Always abuzz with young Sydneysiders and their most prized automotive counterparts, the atmosphere at the 24/7 McDonald\'s store was electric as people waited to be the first to get their hands on a copy of the game.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, electrical goods retailer JB Hi-Fi and Stanmore McDonalds gave local customers an unforgettable \'drive through\' experience with GT4 being available from the McDonald\'s car park at midnight.

\"We wanted to take GT4 to the streets in a way that would be as memorable as the game\", commented Giampaolo Maddaluno, Games Product Manager for JB Hi-Fi. Maddaluno continued, \"GT4 has been much anticipated by our customers, and the considerable turn out at last nights launch events proves just how much Australian\'s genuinely love the Gran Turismo franchise.\"

GT4, the latest addition to the high profile franchise, is part of the Gran Turismo series which has sold over 36 million copies worldwide. Recognised by industry and motoring enthusiasts as the cornerstone of the modern racing genre, GT4 is the biggest title of all, packing in over 700 cars, 50 tracks and innovative features such as Photo Mode (where you can take and print photos of your car on track or en-tour) and B-Spec Mode (take on the manager\'s role and direct the artificially intelligent driver through the track course).

GT4 pushes virtual racing to the edge of reality. Tracks such as the Nurburging in Germany, are reproduced down to millimetres of detail and the GT4 cars\' advanced handling simulation provides the sensation of every bump and bend in the circuit.

Setting it apart from its predecessors, GT4 has an all-new physics and artificial intelligence engine. Combined with revolutionary technology, GT4 delivers enhanced, if not perfected, game physics, graphics and feel, acting as a near-realistic automotive driving simulator. In fact, during on and off road tests by genuine team drivers, a time difference of only ± 1% was noted by the games development team.

\"GT4 is a real driving simulator that recreates the world\'s most popular racing tracks inch by inch, turn by turn. 700 cars, from the 1920\'s to modern day speed machines, behave and sound as they do on real roads. This game is pure quality, and will exceed every fan\'s expectation of the Gran Turismo series. It\'s great to see Polyphony continuing to push the boundaries on the PlayStation 2 and demonstrate that there\'s much more to come from Australia\'s favourite games console,\" said Michael Ephraim, Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia / New Zealand.

Gran Turismo 4 is available from today at all leading retailers for RRP $99.95.

Word on the street
People waited til midnight to be one of the first to buy a copy of the game.

\"I have to be at work by 5.00am but I can guarantee I\'ll be playing this right until the last minute,\" said Chris Constandinou, Gran Turismo fan. \"I have every GT game in the series and this is by far the biggest release yet - this is going to be awesome,\" he added.

Check out some snaps below of the launch party and midnight sale of GT4.


[url=\"http://au.playstation.com/news/gt4_launch.jhtml\"]Source[/url]