Official word has finally come down on the North American release plans for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. As announced by SCEA this morning, GT5 Prologue is now set to hit the PS3-exclusive road on April 17th, launching simultaneously in physical Blu-ray Disc form at brick-and-mortar retailers and in digital download form via the PlayStation Store at a $39.99 price point.
Purchasers of the BD version will get an exclusive “Beyond the Apex” behind-the-scenes video on the creation of the game, but otherwise the two versions are identical in content, which will include over 60 rides, 16-player online play running at 60 fps up to 1080p, the Gran Turismo TV online channel, the brand new in-cockpit racing view, DualShock 3 support, and oh so much more. Hit the jump for a fresh batch of screenshots.
“Ten years following the introduction of Gran Turismo(TM) on PS one(R), Gran Turismo 5 Prologue delivers the most realistic and technologically advanced racing experience on any platform,” said Jeff Reese, director, software marketing, SCEA. “With 1080p graphics, revolutionary online features like Gran Turismo(TM) TV and the new in-cockpit racing view, the world’s best-selling racing franchise will once again set the standard for racing games.”
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Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
