The official wheel of Gran Turismo

[Nodz86]

Logitech Driving Force GT - the official wheel of Gran Turismo

 

25 Jun

Today Logitech announced the launch of Logitech Driving Force GT - the official wheel of Gran Turismo. The wheel connoisseurs amongst you will be excited to hear that the 11 inch Logitech Driving Force GT can turn 900 degrees from lock-to-lock, features a 24-position real-time adjustment dial for on-the-fly control of brake bias, traction and damper settings, and (perhaps most importantly) has a horn. It also has full-size accelerator and brake pedals, sequential stick shift gears and wheel mounted paddles. Read more on the GT fan’s dream wheel in the official press release below.

 

Logitech Unveils Official Wheel of Gran Turismo™ for PLAYSTATION®3

Logitech Driving Force GT Wheel Delivers Powerful Force Feedback, Brake Bias and Traction Control Adjustment

Today at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI), the world’s leading developer of force feedback gaming wheels, announced the Logitech® Driving Force™ GT racing wheel, the official wheel of Gran Turismo™. Featuring powerful force feedback and an innovative 24-position real-time adjustment dial for on-the-fly control of brake bias, traction and damper settings, the Logitech Driving Force GT gives gamers the most accurate and authentic PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) racing experience.

 

“We’re excited to be working with Polyphony Digital again to deliver a wheel that will satisfy the needs of car enthusiasts, like me, around the world,” said Ruben Mookerjee, Logitech’s director of product marketing for gaming. “People who love the striking realism of the Gran Turismo racing series will discover that Logitech’s latest wheel will allow them to experience the cars the way they were meant to be driven. With the Logitech Driving Force GT, you’re not playing games anymore - you’re racing!”

 

Logitech’s latest racing wheel was meticulously designed by Logitech and Polyphony Digital, Inc., the developer of the Gran Turismo series. The companies worked together to add the unique real-time adjustment dial, a first for force feedback wheels, allowing people to fine tune the car’s balance by adjusting the brake bias, traction control and damper settings. Now Gran Turismo drivers can have precise control over the car’s setup to achieve maximum performance.

 

“We have always designed the Gran Turismo series for driving enthusiasts. Realistic graphics, a technologically advanced physics engine and authentic sounds for every car in the game make Gran Turismo 5 Prologue a true driving simulator,” said Kazunori Yamauchi of Polyphony Digital. “Now, with the Logitech Driving Force GT wheel, drivers can have unparalleled control of their car, extending the realistic racing experience.”

 

Logitech’s newest force feedback wheel simulates understeer, oversteer, and traction loss with frightening accuracy. While the full-size gas and brake pedals deliver precise throttle and brake response, racers can use either the sequential stick shift or the wheel-mounted paddles to race through gears. The wheel also features a large 11-inch wheel with rubber-overmould rim, providing exceptional comfort and control.

 

The Logitech Driving Force GT turns 900 degrees lock-to-lock allowing drivers to navigate hairpin turns with greater accuracy. And with anti-backlash gearing, there is no slack in the steering response, making any race a smooth, realistic experience. In the centre of the 11-inch wheel, the Driving Force GT features an illuminated horn button with the official Gran Turismo logo. Using the authentic sounds of the car being driven, racers can quickly alert other cars when they are approaching fast. Or when playing online, people can simply use the horn to taunt other players as they speed by.

 

The Logitech Driving Force GT wheel is engineered for use with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on PS3, which will be available on Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) and as a download on the PLAYSTATION®Network in North America on April 17 and in Europe on March 28. The Logitech Driving Force GT wheel is also compatible with Gran Turismo™3 and Gran Turismo™4 on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.

 

Source - threespeech

[Car Freak]

Nice... I wonder if it would be possible to hook up the G25's H-gate shifter and 3-pedal arrangement to this thing...

[Car Freak]

Review time! This was completely by chance, since I came across one at my local shopping mall. Turns out they only brought this out cos the G25 they were using for promo was broken. Too many 7 year old kids wrecking it I suppose...

 

Anyway, it works a lot better on GT5 than the G25. The weighting through a corner is more accurate, and the real life/in-game turning ratio is different. The best draw for me is that the paddleshifts actually work this time, although the paddles are more like buttons (Think SLR buttons rather than F430 paddles). The gearknob is practically useless for me cos 1) it's placed on the wrong side for all us Commonwealth drivers and 2) it's simply too far a reach. The buttons on the wheel are a thumbs-up. Now it's a breeze to press O for handbrake and do some spectacular drifts on the Alpine track in a Evo X! But the 900deg lock-to-lock thing is practically useless, since you can't turn more than 90deg in the game anyway :rolleyes:. Finally, the pedals. Spacing is much better, since there's no need to make room for a clutch pedal, but it's quite a bit harder to modulate throttle inputs as compared to the G25. This led to some spectacular but frustrating spins in the Corvette ZO6.

 

Conclusion: Better than the G25, but some may find it hard to justify the extra cost if they already have the former.

[Nipper]

OR, get a G25 for £200 and an LFS S2 License for £24. Much better gaming experience, oh and you are saving a shedload on the cost of that thing they call a wheel up there, a PS3 and GT5....

[DriftNismo]

Watched the video for this on GT5:P a few weeks ago. Looks quite good, but no H-Shifter or Clutch? There is no way in hell i could go back to a wheel without clutch :p. I'm more than happy with my G25 thank you very much :D.