Gran Turismo title due out on PlayStation 3 this year

Sony plans to launch a new Gran Turismo title on PlayStation 3 before the end of the year in Japan, but it will not be the next-generation sequel Gran Turismo 5.

Instead the company plans to release a smaller title split into two distinct modes, one of which will showcase the standard of content expected to make up GT5, due out in 2008.

The other, an online multiplayer element, will be more akin to the demo content seen at E3, which was based on PlayStation 2 title Gran Turismo 4, but presented in high-definition resolutions.

Speaking to Famitsu Weekly, creator Kazunori Yamauchi said that both elements would offer premium downloadable content - and in the "Classic" version's case, that would be the main way to play.

In other words, GT HD Classic will ship with virtually no content, and Japanese consumers will be expected to pay between 50 and 100 yen for each car they want, and between 200 and 500 yen per track.

GT HD Premium, meanwhile, will ship with two tracks and around 30 cars to begin with, although some 30 cars will also be available to buy.

Although the strategy has already met with sharp rebukes from several commentators, Sony has yet to comment on whether it will apply to Western releases for the titles.

The company has made it clear that it sees downloadable content as a serious revenue stream in the next generation, however, devoting a section of its E3 press conference to demonstrations of in-game interfaces for buying playable content.

And one of its proposed launch titles, karaoke-based game SingStar, will be based largely on the idea of buying and downloading new music to sing along to.