Time to play the Game

It was a dark day when EA Sports and NASCAR failed to reach an agreement that would allow Electronic Arts to continue producing officially licensed NASCAR video games. Granted, EA was not a leader in the racing simulation market, but any NASCAR video game is better than none. And EA's inability to secure the the rights left NASCAR without a presence in the mass media market that is video gaming.

That was until this afternoon when Sony dropped one of its biggest bombshells at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles. It was announced via the hot off the press trailer that NASCAR Sprint Cup has joined World Rally Championship as two of the newest series to be featured within Gran Turismo 5.

The E3 trailer opened with Jeff Gordon walking out of Daytona's tunnel and also featured the cars of Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Michael Waltrip.

Gran Turismo is without a doubt the longest running and most revolutionary franchise in the racing sim market. With over 50 million units sold, GT is the undisputed racing champion. Today's announcement only solidifies this claim.

So how about it? Are there any gamers here at Ranting and Raving and does this title interest you?

GT5 will most likely hit the shelves during the holiday season of 2009.