14 DAY TRIAL // The main element in the new patch is the addition of Gran Turismo TV, an in-game media channel focused on providing fans with car related television programs. There will be both free content offered through the channel and some programs that are pay-per-view. The latter category includes the much loved Top Gear television program and the video magazine Best Motoring which hails from Japan.
The new content channel is accessible from within the game at any point through the in-game menu. The player has full control over the playback, with option to fast forward and move between chapters of all shows. Initially all the pay-per-view content will be offered for just 0.99 dollars, but after a two week period of promotion the content will be priced beginning at 1.99 dollars. Sony says that in time more video content will be added to the channel.
The additions to the actual gameplay of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue are rather slim. There's an overall improvement in the implementations of the physics system in the game, focusing on collision detection in online racing, and there are more tire choices when it comes to Time Trial races combined with some fixes to penalty judgments in races.
Seeing how much space in the update is devoted to Gran Turismo TV it makes me wonder if the monetization train has not gotten a little out of hand. It's nice that Sony includes an option to watch car related TV programs in a racing sim, but I suspect fans of the Gran Turismo franchise would like to see more resources and more time devoted to the development of the game and to the launch of the full Gran Turismo 5 rather than to side projects like Gran Turismo TV.
The developers are promising more details on another update for the game soon, so stay tuned for more news.