Sony Bundles Gran Turismo with PSP

Plus, an early release for the ultimate in portable racing. [Updated with High Res Hardware Images]

2009-08-19 09:25 / Anoop Gantayat / Comments

This is the official packaging for PSP Gran Turismo, as revealed last week.

Coinciding with announcements at Germany's Gamescom event today, Sony made a couple of Japan-specific announcements for Gran Turismo's long awaited PSP installment.

First up, some good news for those who can't wait another week to get their portable race on. While Gran Turismo was originally scheduled to hit the PSP here on October 8, Sony has bumped the launch date up to October 1.

As previously detailed, the game will be available in retail and download forms. Today, Sony shared pricing. The UMD version will go for ¥5,480. The download version will be priced a bit less at ¥4,400. Sadly, Sony hasn't provided specifics on download size.

In addition to the date and pricing, Sony announced today the Gran Turismo Racing Pack, a bundle that combines a retail UMD version of Gran Turismo with a special PSP-3000.

The special PSP is known as the PSP-3000 Gran Turismo Edition. Based off the system's current Piano Black color offering, the new model features R and L triggers that are colored to look like "Black Titanium." The GT series symbol is also printed on the front of the system.

Sony is also looking into including accessories, such as an original strap and pouch designed by Gran Turismo series production house Polyphony Digital. Specifics will be detailed in a future update.

Pricing for the bundle pack has yet to be announced, but it will arrive opposite GT on October 1.

If you're based outside Japan, you might be wondering why Sony is bundling Gran Turismo with the PSP-3000 instead of PSP go. Here in japan, PSP go won't launch until November 1.