Gran Turismo 5 Prologue may prompt some to argue it's little more than a glorified extended demo designed to milk a few dollars from the franchise before the full retail product ships some time in 2009--but the proof will be in the sales when Prologue burns its way into homes across Australia on March 27.

　　Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is the first GT title to appear on the PlayStation 3 console, and will be available at both traditional brick-and-mortar retailers as well as digital download through Sony's PlayStation Network for A$59.95 (US$55.74). Fans of the series looking to pick up a Blu-ray version on launch day will be able to get off the line slightly faster, as Sony has said the download option will be available on March 28--the day after discs hit shelves across Australia. There is some suggestion, however, that downloads could come online as soon as the afternoon of March 27, timed to overlap with the game's European launch on the same day.

　　To coincide with the launch of the latest instalment in the highly anticipated racing series--which has sold almost 50 million copies worldwide since launching a decade ago--Sony today also announced a new hardware bundle for the Australian market which would include a 40GB PlayStation 3 console, a single Sixaxis controller, and a copy of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for A$699.95 (US$651.36).

　　Although Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is only the precursor to 5's full launch sometime next year, the game will give players the chance to thrash 71 different cars across six tracks (one more than the five tracks found in the Japanese version of the game launched in December last year), take part in 16-player online racing, and experience full high-definition 1080p resolution. European and North American gamers will also see the inclusion of four new features: Drift Mode, which tracks and measures the driver's drifting technique; In-Depth Car Tuning for power, tyre, and suspension tuning o -the fly; new online race events; and offline two-player split-screen multiplayer.