Codemasters is offering a demo of Race Driver: GRID via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

Already tested the PS3 demo and there is no wheel support. The game its self isn't looking to bad at all. Its running on the updated (NEON?) DIRT engine. It has 3 events. One is a mustang race, the other is a BMW race and the last one is a drift event. The drift event is done well if you like that sort of thing but it didn't do much for me.

Race Driver: GRID is due for release on PS3, 360, PC and DS in June.

Does anyone have it? I never bother with pre-orders, so I'm going to head to one of the local stores sometime today to hopefully grab a copy. From what I've read over at gtplanet, a very few people were able to get the game yesterday, with most retailers reporting today as their street date. I believe the PSN version comes online tomorrow, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $40 USD for something I can't hold in my hand.

EDIT
I found it after work at Game Stop.

Vehicles, Tracks and Additional Features Confirmed for Gran Turismo(TM)5 Prologue in North America

Famed Racing Franchise's 5th Installment Will Include Over 60 Vehicles, Six Tracks
and a Host of Additional Features for North American PLAYSTATION(R)3 Users

FOSTER CITY, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) announced today the robust vehicle
roster, track list and a host of additional features for the April 17 North
American availability of Gran Turismo(TM)5 Prologue, exclusively on
PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)). Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is the latest
installment of the billion dollar selling racing franchise and intense
precursor to Gran Turismo(TM)5. Headlining the roster of over 60 vehicles
and 14 additional tuned cars is the Ferrari 599, the Nissan GT-R and the
Audi R8 4.2 FSI R Tronic. Players can race these cars and many more around
six meticulously rendered tracks, including Daytona International
Speedway(R), London City track and a series favorite, High Speed Ring.
Furthermore, additional features will be available to North American
consumers, including a Drift Mode, Car Tuning, two-player split screen
racing and a new set of offline and online Race Events.

"This impressive vehicle lineup and the additional features that cater
to North American racing fans are great compliments to Gran Turismo 5
Prologue's stunning 1080p graphics and revolutionary online features," said
Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "Fans are sure
to be pleased with the first Gran Turismo product for sale on PLAYSTATION
3."

Vehicle Roster

Acura NSX '91
Alfa Romeo 147 TI 2.0 TWIN SPARK '06
Alfa Romeo Brera Sky Window 3.2 JTS Q4 '06
Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo
Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS
Art Morrison Corvette'60
Aston Martin DB9 Coupe '06
Audi R8 4.2 FSI R tronic '07
Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro '07
Blitz Dunlop ER34 '07
BMW 135i Coupe '07
BMW 135tii '08
BMW M3 Coupe '07
BMW Z4 '03
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6) Tuned Car
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 '06
Citroen C4 Coupe 2.0VTS '06
Clio Renault Sport V6 24V Tuned Car
Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02
Daihatsu OFC-1 '07
Dodge Viper GTS
Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe
Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe Tuned Car
Ferrari 512BB '76
Ferrari 599 '06
Ferrari F40 '92
Ferrari F430 '06
Ford Focus ST '06
Ford GT '05
Ford GT Tuned Car
Ford Mustang V8 GT Coupe Premium '07
Honda Integra TYPE R '04
Honda NSX Type R '02
Jaguar XK Coupe '06
Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione '91
Lexus IS F '07
Lexus IS F Tuned Car
Lotus Elise 111R '04
Lotus Elise 111R Tuned Car
Lotus Elise '96
Lotus Elise Tuned Car
Mazda Atenza Sport (2007 Tokyo Motor Show reference exhibit)
Mazda RX-7 (FD) Special Tuned Car
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) Tuned Car
Mazda RX-8 Type S '03
Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG '02
Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 base '06
Mini Cooper-S '06
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR '05
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Premium Package '07
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Tuned Car
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR Tuned Car
Nissan Fairlady Z Version S '07
Nissan GT-R '07
Nissan GT-R Proto '05
Nissan Skyline Coupe (V36) Tuned Car
Nissan Skyline Coupe 370GT Type SP '07
Nissan Skyline Coupe Concept '07
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nur '02
Nissan Skyline Sedan 350GT Type SP '06
Peugeot 207GTI '07
Peugeot 307cc Premium AVN '04
RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7
Renault Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00
Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STI spec C Type RA '05
Subaru Impreza WRX STI (18inch BBS Wheel Option) '07
Suzuki Cappuccino '95
Suzuki Cappuccino Tuned Car
Suzuki Cervo SR '07
Suzuki Swift Sport '07
Suzuki Swift Sport Tuned Car
TVR Tamora '02
TVR Tuscan Speed 6 '00
Volkswagen Golf GTI '01
Volkswagen Golf V GTI '05

Track List

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will feature six tracks, each with two track
layouts.

Suzuka Circuit Eiger Nordwand
Fuji Speedway London City Track
Daytona International Speedway(R) High Speed Ring

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Additional Features for North America

-- 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.
-- In Depth Car Tuning -- Players have the ability to adjust the
vehicle's performance, including power, weight, tires and suspension.
-- Two-player Split Screen Racing -- Allows players to race head-to-head
against friends and foes offline.
-- New Race Events -- New racing events and time trials are available for
players to race both offline and online. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
supports up to 16 players racing online simultaneously.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will feature various innovative and
revolutionary modes to harness the PS3's capabilities while further
developing an automotive lifestyle and global community. Among them is Gran
Turismo(TM)TV, a new dedicated online channel available exclusively from
PLAYSTATION(R)Network that delivers worldwide motorsport programming and
manufacturer content. A new in-cockpit view features real-time gauges and
human animations that accurately represent the true performance and
handling of each vehicle. More dynamic and adjustable Artificial
Intelligence, a user homepage called My Page and a new physics engine round
out some of the other features players can expect in Gran Turismo 5
Prologue. To extend the realistic driving experience, Prologue is also
compatible with the new DUALSHOCK(R)3 wireless controller, which has
vibration functionality.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be available for $39.99 SRP on Blu-ray
Disc(TM) (BD) and as a download via PLAYSTATION(R)Store. The BD version
will offer added value with an exclusive behind-the-scenes High Definition
(HD) video feature called "Beyond the Apex".

So do any of you tweens sit up at night wondering with that prepubescent innocence what an old fashioned video arcade looks like? I know there's a ton of you, and you're in luck. I found this site today which is about this guy's arcade full of restored game consoles from the 70's and 80's. For those around at the time, there's some really choice games in there. Apparently he does all of the restoral work himself. Impressive. One of my favorites was the cockpit version of Star Wars. Check it out.

http://lunacityarcade.com/photos.htm

I came across this short yet informative video at The Onion which talks about the strategies used to win NASCAR races...


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

It's been a long while since I've introduced any new features here on GTVault. One of the more useful things I've seen in the past couple years has been AJAX based suggest or autocomplete on text fields. I've added autocomplete to the Quick Car Search form to streamline the process of finding setups. It's real simple:

• Type at least a couple characters into the Quick Car Search form (look up!).
  
• Any cars matching your search string appear in a drop down list below the form.
  
• Keep typing more characters to narrow the results list.
  
• You can search for basically anything: Make, Car Name, even Year.
  
• Click an item to go directly to that car's setup list. (You're redirected to the car's info page if no setups exist)
  
• If you don't want to use the autocomplete feature, click the "Go" button as you normally would to view the search results page.
  

Give it a try and let me know what you guys think!

Browser compatibility note - I've tested in various browsers, including IE6, IE7, Firefox 1.5 & 2 and Safari Win 3 beta. This covers over 90% of the user base here, however I don't have access to Safari on Mac, so Safari Mac users let me know whether the autocomplete works.

PSP Users - I've noticed about 3% of site traffic is coming from visitors using the PSP browser. Due to time constraints I haven't developed a WAP or small screen version of GTVault. I am curious how "browseable" GTVault is on the PSP, so feel free to sound off if you're one of those users.

I was stumbling around the web the other day when I happened up on a website detailing the history of video games from the mid 1960's through the mid 1990's. I consider this required reading for anyone who has a passing interest in video games, regardless of whether you are old enough to have been gaming in that era.

Today we enjoy a market with three successful consoles and a substantial PC element. This breadth of product and intense competition breeds innovation and keeps prices somewhat in check. This was not so for two extended periods in gaming history: the reigns of Atari in the late 1970's and early 1980's and Nintendo in the late 1980's and early 1990's. In both cases consumers eventually demanded more powerful systems and games after playing their existing systems for a number of years. Due to their virtual monopoly of the market, at the height of their power both Atari and Nintendo basically said that gamers weren't ready for such advances. While there wasn't an heir apparent to Atari's throne in the early 1980's, Sega is largely responsible for handing Nintendo their ass and ushering in the 16 bit era with the Sega Genesis.

All in all, the website was very entertaining and interesting. I can remember playing the Atari Pong machine, so for me it was all the more entertaining reading about the systems that consumed a fair amount of my youth. I personally read every page on the site, but I found these to areas the most interesting:

The chronological tour - This starts out at the beginning when video gaming was nothing more than a war project at the Pentagon and finishes up in the 64 bit era.
Gender And Racial Inequality in Video Games - An essay that strives to explain the true reasons behind the preponderance of white male characters in video games.

EDIT

A couple days after my original post, I came across this t-shirt over at bustedtees.com that I thought was funny and apropos. Any NES gamer knows this was the first thing you did when a cart wouldn't boot.



Enjoy!

I'm not a huge Nintendo fan. I had the original NES and that was the last Nintendo system I personally owned. But anyway, I keep hearing that playing Wii Sports is like working out but have always found that to be a bit on the optimistic side. I came across this post over at ArsTechnica that basically backs up what I was thinking. Now games like DDR or the small amount of dedicated workout titles are a different story, but it doesn't appear you're going to get in shape playing a round of bowling or a set of tennis in front of your TV.

MasterGT posted this in a thread and, per his request, I am putting it up on the home page here... Kerr

Are You Ready For GT5 Prologue?

As I mentioned earlier, I recommend for any GT player who has not raced on-line before, to get some experience now and to make sure all of your hardware is working, etc, to make getting up to speed with Prologue as uncomplicated as you can.

You all are probably wondering what each of you at this forum are like as opponents, too, right? So, here is your chance to find out. Kerr gave the OK to invite you to the US PlayStation GT forum (link on the right), to join in with a couple of groups who are doing just that - using ToCA 3 to learn about on-line racing before you get Prologue. There are two threads to pay particular attention. One is the original GT5 Prep Racing League and the other one is my Intro To On-line Racing thread.

The host game being used is the closest on-line PS2 sim to GT that is available. It is a good game, but just like GT, it has its flaws**. If you don't have the game and you want to join the fun, start looking for one early because it may be difficult to find in your area. (** A bug hits randomly when using a wheel with a PS3, so if you still have an on-line PS2, use it. If you have a PS3, try using the controller if the wheel bug annoys you.)

Racing with the Prep League is ongoing and a new group using small cars, focused more on beginners to the game and to on-line play, will start on Monday 19th. Please let the hosts know if you plan on joining because rooms only hold 8 players and additional hosts may be needed, etc.

Eventually, from these small groups, you will probably be able to get as much racing as a student or working person can handle. I will have beginner "small car" races on Monday evenings (practice nights to be determined) and the Prep League runs its races Wednesday and Friday nights (plus practices). I am planning on around 15 weeks before Prologue is available in North America (ignoring the Japanese release), but the series can be shortened or drawn out until Prologue is available.

Rest assured that, if you are holding back from going on-line because of bashers and crashers, you will have nothing to fear. While beginners with this game don't have the same control they would have with GT (almost all of the tracks will be new to you), anything deliberate will not be tolerated by the hosts. All of you are welcome to come and test the on-line waters, to meet each other as friends and to have a good time doing it.

Are you ready for GT5 Prologue? Come have some fun while you all learn together if you really are.

Thanks to MasterGT for this news post that I found on the GT5 impressions thread. I've re-posted it below -- Kerr

40GB PS3 Coming Nov. 2, Price Reduced For 80GB Model
Originally Posted by Jack Tretton // President & CEO

With all the speculation and buzz out there regarding the 40GB PS3 announcements in Japan and Europe, I am very excited to confirm that the new $399 PS3 model will be coming to North America on November 2nd, making that particular configuration available worldwide. In North America, the 40GB PS3 comes bundled with the block-buster movie Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray. Also, effective today, we’ve lowered the purchase price of our 80GB model by $100 to $499.

This move has been part of our longer term business strategy for PS3 since early on and we believe this lower priced model, combined with our broad line-up of content will appeal to a great many of you who want a lower entry price without sacrificing any of the core components of PS3. With today’s news, we’re strengthening our position approaching this holiday season and beyond with the intent to provide you with a choice and an excellent entry point into HD games and movies.

Adding to the appeal of the new retail pricing is the great PS3 lineup that will help further drive our momentum this holiday, including Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, THE EYE OF JUDGMENT, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Heavenly Sword, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed, Haze and Rock Band. And that’s just the beginning: This holiday lineup will be followed in 2008 by highly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and, of course, PlayStation Home.

Our goal this holiday season is to make PS3 even more affordable and to offer you greater choice to suit your gaming and entertainment needs. Again, I want to thank all of you for your continued support throughout this past year and I look forward to the months and years ahead.