Sony is hosting today a special event at the Silverstone circuit to mark the 15th anniversary of its Gran Turismo racing sim, where it has just announced that the sixth installment of the series, Gran Turismo 6, will be launched for the PlayStation 3 this holiday season.
It was widely known that the new game would be available before the year was out, due to the inadvertent posting of a November 28 release date by an Italian electronics retailer earlier this month.
However, now the game’s release has been made official.
The Silverstone circuit will be one of seven new locations added to the series, bringing the total to 33. There will also be 71 different layouts available, 19 of which are new.
There will be plenty of downloadable content available, too, and new connectivity features that will allow players to participate in social and community groups using smartphones and other mobile devices.
The big news is the availability of 1,200 different cars at the game’s launch, including historic models, concepts and race cars, in addition to the regular production models.
"It's amazing to think that 15 years have passed since the first launch of Gran Turismo," the game’s creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, said in a statement. "Things have changed a lot since then and now Gran Turismo 6 is a further evolution of my dream.
If you’re wondering why Sony chose to launch the game on its PlayStation 3 when a PlayStation 4 is just around the corner, Yamauchi explained that the current console already has a very loyal community.
Not much else is known about the game, though we know that a pair of unique muscle cars will be among the lineup of cars offered. The cars, a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 40 custom as well as a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, were handpicked for a virtual appearance in the latest installment at previous SEMA shows by Yamauchi himself.
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