Autoblog

If you love racing games, have a PS3 or PC, and have no problem parting with a hefty $349, Fanatec's wireless steering wheel is right up your alley. Sure you can get a gaming steering wheel for a lot less money, but it won't come fully equipped with a 6+1 shifter, three working pedals, and an official seal of approval from Porsche. Fanatec spent seven years coming up with a setup that was worthy of the Porsche name, and the end result is pretty damn sweet. The steering wheel is adorned with real leather, it has three feedback motors, a key-shaped 1GB memory stick for storing settings, and both the wheel and pedals are completely free of wires.

There is no question that $349 is probably too much to spend on a gaming wheel, considering a PS3 only costs $399. But if you spend as much time in the virtual world of video games as you do out in the real world, this may be as close as you'll ever get to driving a Porsche, and it costs a lot less than the real thing.Thanks for the tip, Rick!

[Source: Engadget]

With things like cheap gas and the value of a dollar slowly being taken from us, it's good to see that somebody wants to give us something. For the US release of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Polyphony has thrown in features the Japanese version didn't get.

There's a drift mode that judges drivers on three parameters, there's two-player, split-screen racing and there are new events and challenges for racers online and offline that can support up to 16 racers simultaneously. Plus, there's a new track, bringing the total to six. And for us, that means there's a new list of excuses we're going to need to come up with when people start asking "Where have you been?" and "You look tired -- were you up late last night?"

In case the cars, tracks and gameplay aren't enough, Winding Road has a new trailer video of the GT5 Prologue featuring a fair bit of Ferrari action -- and that's never a bad way to start the week. Follow the jump to see the complete list of tracks, and check out our updated hi-res photo gallery of the prologue below.


[Source: PS3 Fanboy]

Alex just bought a PS3, John already has one, and I'm trying to convince the Misses that after Blu-Ray won the war against HD-DVD we're due to replace our aging console with a new unit from Sony. Logitech just upped the ante with the release of its new Driving Force GT Wheel, but I highly doubt that it's going to help my case.

Regardless, the new wheel carries over all the features we loved about the outgoing model, including 900-degrees of rotation, steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters and a separate stick to swap cogs when we're sliding sideways through turn 11 at Laguna. But Logitech hasn't stopped there. The new wheel was designed in collaboration with Gran Turismo's developers at Polyphony Digital, and features a new force-feedback system that supposedly recreates the feeling of understeer, oversteer and all-out traction loss, along with new controls on the wheel that allow you to adjust brake bias, traction control and damper settings on the fly. Plus, the horn lights up.

The Logitech Driving Force GT Wheel will go on sale sometime in early May, carrying a price tag of around $150. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be released on April 17th on both Blu-Ray and through direct download, but for those of us that can't convince our significant others a new PS3 is worth the cash, the new wheel is compatible with both GT3 and GT4 on our existing PS2s.


[Source: Joystiq]

Click the image above for a hi-res gallery of the 1960 Corvette from GT5

GT5 will come with a 1960 Corvette, and we heartily applaud the inclusion. The car looks like it's had an afternoon session at a tuner shop -- nothing fancy, just a slight drop, some rims and wider tires. The rims could be a bit questionable, not in themselves, just on this particular car. However, if the physics have kept up with the tires, then the car will be much easier to drive on the track as opposed to the pencil-thin whitewalls the car wore on the showroom floor. Not that you're going to be flying past any GT-R's, but a nice wind-in-your-helmet lap in a car that requires true finesse to get the best out of it will still be a lot of fun. Click the gallery below for hi-res images of the classic 'Vette.

[Source: PS3 Fanboy]

If current driving games have left your pulse cruising in the slow lane, then Codemasters, the company behind the well-received DiRT rally game, believes it has the racing game for you: Grid. Using an evolution of the engine from DiRT, Grid is all about racing. And if you think "racing game" means spending hours adjusting damper settings and orange-peel-metallic-fade-to-lilac paint jobs, then prepare to be shocked. Says Chief Game Designer Ralph Fulton, "This is not a game about collecting cars or spending all of your time in the front-end tuning suspension settings or designing liveries. We want to make racing exciting again." Well, for some, adjusting dampers is exciting, but we digress.

Grid says it will be a "step-change" in the racing game world, offering tracks in Japan, Europe, and America that highlight local racing flavors: drifting and underground in Japan, classic race tracks in Europe, and street venues in America that include Detroit. Cars will run from Koenigseggs and Astons in Europe to Camaros and Challengers in the US. We aren't sure how much more focused you could be on racing than in the driving games currently offered, but we're always up for a new player. Grid arrives in the middle of next year.

[Source: Joystiq]

As previously reported, the demo of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be available to download October 20th through November 11th for those of you lucky enough to be PS3-equipped. Now, we've got the details about what vehicles you'll be able to virtually flog while battling out with 16 other contenders around Suzuka.

Seven vehicles are available, including the BMW 135i, Daihatsu OFC-1 (?), Lexus IS-F, Mazda Atenza (Mazda6), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR, Nissan GT-R and the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. As mentioned, only one track will be available: Suzuka.

Also of note, Sony has plans to unveil a new car between the 23rd and 25th, but it's anyone's guess what that could be. The maker of our favorite electronic crack will also be showing off its new free news service geared towards auto coverage and motorsports.

[Source: GTChannel]

In a perfect world, everyone who wanted a car like the Porsche 911 Turbo S would get one. In the real world, sadly, not everyone can afford the six-figure price of admission. Fortunately there's virtual reality in between, where enthusiasts can toy with cars like the Turbo S in video games. To bridge that ever-narrowing gap for game-playing Porschephiles, Stuttgart has licensed this super-realistic force-feedback gaming wheel package.

The Porsche 911 Turbo S Wheel from Fanatec is a proper replica of the wheel found in the actual car, complete with hand-stitched leather, authentic metal badge on the hub...the works. But while a real Porsche has one engine, this wheel has three belt-driven force feedback motors to perfect the feeling. The wheel is accompanied by a three-pedal set, gas, brake and clutch likewise calibrated for an ultra-realistic feel. Fanatec even provides two interchangeable gearsticks – six-speed manual H-gate and Tiptronic sequential. Two versions are available, for Playstation 3 or PC, the former with lap braces and the former with table clamps. It even comes with a special 1GB USB drive in the shape of a Porsche key.

In addition to the manufacturer's online shop, the wheel package is available through Porsche dealerships and will set you back $350, who can hook you up with the only thing more realistic for about 200 times that.

[Source: Fanatec via Motorpasion]

Fans of Electronic Arts' "Medal of Honor" will be pleased to know that life will become a little more exciting in the follow-up game, "Medal of Honor Airborne," thanks to the power of product placement. Jeep's Overland-Willys vehicle, revisiting its World War II roots, will act as a mobile attack platform as well as a driveable vehicle that can access more areas of the game than other available vehicles in the game, which is due to launch in January of 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, XBOX 360 and PC. Jeep's past video game involvement also includes "Tony Hawk's Underground 2."

[Source: ClickZ]