GT Academy Starts in the US

So, Gran Turismo 5 is still not on the market, even if it should have been for some time now. We hear the game will be launched later this month, but that too is a relative estimate. Luckily, while you wait to play the game (which, judging by the time we had to wait for it, had better worth our while), you can toy around with the Sony/Polyphony/Nissan GT Academy.

The three partners announced the program will expand to the US starting December 15. As it happened elsewhere, the GT Academy will give the chance to whomever proves himself playing GT5 to get behind the wheel of a real car and, who knows, have a chance of becoming a real-life racing legend.

The virtual racing competition will take place using virtual Nissan vehicles. 32 of the best gaming racers will be selected to enter the live national finals in March 2011. 16 of them will go even where no American has gone before, competing in a series of challenges, including behind the wheel of real Nissan race cars for their chance at motorsports stardom.

"This is a great opportunity for Nissan to bring GT Academy to the U.S. and support the launch of Gran Turismo 5," said Jon Brancheau, Nissan Marketing vice president.

"Gran Turismo 5 provides an amazingly realistic racing experience and we're taking that to the next level by putting 16 finalists behind the wheel of a Nissan race car with the chance to become a race driver with a professional team. Nissan vehicles are known for innovation and performance, so this is a perfect way to demonstrate and deliver on that promise."

Before we forget: additional details about the GT Academy can be found at the following link.