GT Academy-themed GT5™ special edition includes exclusive in-game competition

GT5™: Academy Edition, a new, special edition of Gran Turismo®5 due for release on 26th September, will offer buyers the chance to enter an exclusive competition(1) - the GT Academy Challenge. The prize will be for seven gamers to follow in the footsteps of the GT Academy alumni for a day of intensive driver training at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit, home of the GT Academy Race Camp. The best driver on the day, judged by Silverstone’s top team of instructors, will then be invited for a VIP trip for two to the famous Le Mans 24 Hours race in June 2013 - a race in which two former GT Academy champions, Lucas Ordoñez and Jordan Tresson, raced in 2012.

GT5: Academy Edition was created to celebrate the success of GT Academy. In 2012 over 830,000 PlayStation®3 owners across Europe downloaded the Qualification Demo to enter the competition. After national finals across the 11 participating countries, 36 gamers went to Silverstone in August for the famous Race Camp. Wolfgang Reip, a 25-year-old Belgian student, emerged victorious from the European competition and has now embarked on an intensive three-month Driver Development Programme alongside GT Academy champions from the USA, Germany and Russia. All four will race in the Dubai 24 Hours in January, following in the footsteps of the illustrious previous GT Academy champions, Lucas, Jordan and Jann Mardenborough, who are all now enjoying successful racing careers with Nissan.

The GT Academy Challenge competition will be exclusively open to purchasers of GT5: Academy Edition from 00:01GMT on 01 January, 2013 and will run until 23:59GMT on 31 January. One winner will also be chosen from a live competition being held on the Nissan stand at the Paris Motor Show from 29 September to 14 October, 2012. The six winners from the in game competition and one winner from the Paris Motor Show will then travel to Silverstone in March. One eventual lucky winner of the Silverstone competition, and a guest, will then travel to the Le Mans 24 Hours in June as VIP guests of GT Academy partner Nissan.

As well as the exclusive competition, purchasers of GT5: Academy Edition will receive a 25% discount voucher for the online Gran Turismo® Boutique.(2)

GT5: Academy Edition will be priced at €29.99/£19.99. It has been re-mastered from the original game to include all functionality updates since launch as well as bonus DLC – including more than 30 extra vehicles and 3 new courses plus paint packs and racing gear. The DLC comprises – Complete Pack (Car Pack, Course Pack, Special Paint Pack, Racing Gear Pack), Car Pack 2, Car Pack 3 and Course Pack 2 – individually valued at over €25.96. The game will also include a special new Nissan GT-R driven in the Nürburgring 24H race by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi with team-mate Lucas Ordoñez, the first GT Academy winner.