PRESS RELEASE June 4 2012: Polyphony Digital Inc. – the developer behind PlayStation’s popular Gran Turismo driving sim – has made GT Academy 2012 available for download in several countries not a part of GT Academy. The game can be downloaded for free until June 25.
The content has been described by creator Kazunori Yamauchi as “a path between GT5 and GT6″, and will be available for everyone with a PSN ID. You do not need Gran Turismo 5 to play. The game has 8 laps og takes players on a journey through progressively complex challenges, ultimately improving driving skills. Players who succeed, receive gold on all levels, and the prize can be exchanged for Grant Turismo 5 content when the campaign is over. The GT Academy demo’s finale is a time challenge, with a scoreboard showing the fastest players.
The demo includes several cars from Nissan. PlayStation’s partner through the innovative GT Academy program teaches players to become real racing car drivers, and is represented by the electric Nissan Leaf in the first lap. The competition continues on different Gran Turismo-courses, and players get to choose from cars like the classic 1994 Skyline GT-R and even the modern classic 2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition.
The GT Academy 2012 demo has racing action suitable for anyone; whether you’re playing the award-winning Gran Turismo for the first time, or you’re a experienced PlayStation-driver. It’s not just about competing against the best GT5 driver, you will also be able to compete against family, friends and colleagues by keeping an eye on the built in PSN friend list.
The demo was originally made as a qualification process for PlayStation and Nissan’s innovative GT Academy-competition. GT Academy 2012 er open for 14 European countries (including custom versions for Germany and Russia) and USA. The competition, where the winner will participate in the 2013 Dubai 24H endurance race, is open until June 24. Since the demo was launched in these countries, in addition to Japan, early in May, more than 800,000 players have downloaded it and driven a total of almost 100 million kilometers!
“The response to the GT Academy 2012 demo has been very positive, so we wanted to make it as widely available as possible; the title is very accessible to everyone. Veteran Gran Turismo players enjoy the challenges, but then it is also a very good starting point for players who have never tried a driving simulator before. They can experience the depth of race driving, as well as the fun and excitement of time trials.”
– Kazunori Yamauchi
