Over 1 million downloads made GTHD a success. So Sony is just going to tease us some more with a GT5: Prologue demo coming later. It will be more in depth then HD with online, more cars and hot new tracks.

Gran Turismo 5 is still on the distant horizon, but following the success of Gran Turismo HD as a free download on the PlayStation Store (over one million downloads). Later this year, Sony will tease GT5 with the release of a downloable demo called Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Prologue is going to be a full-featured demo that includes online functionality for multiplayer racing.

Sony unspoiled a brief demo of the game on the big screen -- it looks extremely promising, running in full HD. The demo trailer started with a pit crew poring over a Ferrari before it tore down a race track. The camera flies into the car as the driver squeals away. The camera swings behind the driver before swooping out to follow the car as it roars down the asphalt. Even from outside the car, you can see an incredible amount of detail within the racing machine, from the contours of the driver's helmet to instruments on the dash.

The trailer revealed several environments, from a nighttime city run to a traditional race track. Cityscapes, looking quite European in flavor, sported detailed architecture and texture work. There was a run through a lush landscape, too, with the sun poking through vegetation to create some fancy lighting effects. The trailer was short, ending with a static shot of a polished ride sitting in a city square.

Sayyed via ps3.ign.com »