2010 Nissan GT Academy Time Trial Reaches 1M Downloads

GT Academy Time Trial has been downloaded by over one million players, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) announced yesterday. The competition runs across 15 European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand, trying to find a real-world racing driver. The overall winner of the competition will get behind a real Nissan 370Z race car to compete for a full season in the European GT4 Cup.

The Time Trial stage of GT Academy offers gamers a preview of the new Gran Turismo 5 due for release this year. The download features the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, new to the Gran Turismo series. The Time Trial closes at midnight GMT on January 24.

“We created the Time Trial purely as the mechanic to run the first phase of GT Academy 2010. The massive interest is testament to the strong GT Academy concept that offers the chance to make a dream come true,” explained the creator of the Gran Turismo games and president of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi.

“Nissan has been very positive about GT Academy 2010 since the beginning, but to hit one million downloads of the Time Trial this early has exceeded our high expectations,” Nissan’s European Vice-President of Marketing, Vincent Wijnen, said in a release.

“Over one million people have been driving the fantastic Gran Turismo versions of the 370Z. That is impressive exposure for the brand and the car. Ultimately, GT Academy will be judged on the success of our winner driving the real 370Z GT4 car in the European GT4 Cup. But with such a huge pool of talent I am confident that we will again find a very special driver.”

“With a few weeks still to go until the deadline, it is not too late for anyone who has not yet tried to get onto their PS3 and give it a go,” added Wijnen.