FRANKLIN, Tenn., July 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The wait is
almost over and the green flag is about to drop signaling the start
of a 26-day competition to identify the fastest Gran Turismo racers
in the U.S. On Tuesday, July 2
at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific), virtual racers can download a
brand new free demo of the upcoming release of Gran Turismo 6 (GT6)
for Sony PlayStation 3 and start laying down hot laps for a shot at
becoming the latest GT Academy U.S. winner.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130701/CL41514
)
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080506/NISSANWORDMARKLOGO )
This season, gamers will have a chance to preview a special GT
Academy demo version of the upcoming release of Gran Turismo 6 from
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) and Polyphony
Digital Inc. months before its official release. Virtual
racers can go to www.NissanGTAcademy.com to download the demo
version, sign up and get started.
"Nissan GT Academy and the Gran Turismo game make such a great
partnership between Nissan and Sony," said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Marketing, Nissan
North America, Inc. "It is gratifying to see our performance cars
showcased in an incredible new racing game, and I look forward to
partnering with Sony PlayStation for a third season of the Nissan
GT Academy series."
Last season more than 400,000 gamers signed up to compete in the
online competition that culminated in San
Diego with the 32 finalists and one Racer X play-in spot
racing against each other for one of the finalist spots. Finalists
then flew to legendary Silverstone Circuit in England to participate in the "Nissan GT
Academy" television show on the Spike channel for the chance to
represent Nissan in their motorsports programs.
Steve Doherty, from Illinois, prevailed over his peers in an
intense week-long Nissan GT Academy competition at Silverstone that
involved a variety of physical, mental and on-track driving
challenges.
"This past year has been a blur – and I mean that in a good
way," said Doherty. "Since winning the competition, I have
had a chance to drive top-notch 370Z and GT-R racing cars all over
Europe and I've driven in the 24
Hours of Dubai. The network of friends and racers I've built
up is amazing, and I'm looking forward to bringing the experience
I've gained back home to the U.S."
Kazunori Yamauchi, at Polyphony
Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo series, has set an
interesting challenge for Gran Turismo entrants featuring
stunningly re-created cars including the Nissan LEAF, 370Z and
GT-R. The GT6 demo will guide players through beginner
rounds of a GT Academy-themed race camp before unlocking the final
qualifying event featuring the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit,
making GT Academy equally accessible to Gran Turismo novices
and experts alike. Anyone who registers and submits a qualifying
time will receive free bonus content.
"GT Academy is testament to why Gran Turismo is the true
racing simulator," said Asad
Qizilbash, senior director of product marketing at Sony
Computer Entertainment America. "The PlayStation community has
proven time and time again that Gran Turismo's racing
mechanics translate to the real world of race car driving, with
racers who first cut their teeth racing in Gran Turismo now
competing on the world stage. We encourage gamers of all skill
levels to enter the contest, not just to be among the first to play
Gran Turismo 6, but also for a chance to turn their driving
passion into a career in the race world."
The checkered flag drops to end the online competition
Sunday, July 28 at 3:59 p.m. Eastern (12:59
p.m. Pacific). Owners of the top 31 best times in the system
at that time who are eligible* will join Racer X competition winner
Armen Aghakhan at the national
finals in August. Racer X was determined in a head-to-head
live competition at the E3 Gaming Conference in early June.
The demo version will remain open for online play until
GT6 becomes available to purchase, later this year. GT
Academy U.S. will air on Spike TV this fall at a time and date
to be announced. Learn more about GT Academy at
www.NissanGTAcademy.com
About Nissan Americas
In North America, Nissan's
operations include automotive styling, design, engineering,
consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution
and manufacturing. More information about Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan
and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and
www.infiniti.com. Visit the NISMO performance parts and accessories
site at http://www.nissanusa.com/nismo/ and Nissan Performance on
Facebook.
About Sony Computer Entertainment America
LLC
Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC continues to redefine
the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS
one® systems, the PlayStation®2 system, the
PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, the ground-breaking
PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system and its online and network
services the PlayStation®Network and
PlayStation®Store.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer
Entertainment America LLC markets the PlayStation family of
products and develops, publishes, markets, and distributes software
for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP and PS3 systems for the North
American market. Based in Foster
City, California, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Visit
us on the Web at
http://www.us.playstation.com
About Gran Turismo®
Gran Turismo® celebrates its 15th
anniversary in 2013, having first appeared internationally in 1998.
The multi-award-winning franchise has been the most successful ever
for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it also surpassed worldwide sales of
70 million units. Various iterations of Gran Turismo have been
created for PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 computer
entertainment system, PlayStation®3 and PSP
(PlayStation® Portable), and have always been regarded
as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever created due
to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and design.
Since the inception of Gran Turismo, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in
Japan have revolutionized the
racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the most
realistic driving simulation in the industry and a unique medium
for automotive manufacturers to showcase their products. Gran
Turismo®5, the latest iteration of the game, was
released in November, 2010 and has sold 10 million units
worldwide.
About Spike TV
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of
Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB),
Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of
programming and content across all media platforms. Spike
TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and
archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press
site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr
for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes
information and photos.
SOURCE Nissan Americas
