To make Gran Turismo 5 even more awesome than it should be, Polyphony Digital and SCEI have partnered with BBC’s Top Gear show to be made downloadable through Gran Turismo TV (GT TV) that will be included in the PS3 game.

GT TV will be an online dedicated channel that will offer the latest news and content from the motoring world. It will launch worldwide on the PlayStation Network sometime next year. BBC will offer 40 episodes from their revered Top Gear show for download.

Additionally, the Top Gear Test Track - the track featured each week on the show, where the show’s team test the latest cars - will be digitized and made available in Gran Turismo 5.

“We at Polyphony are great fans of the world’s best motoring programme, Top Gear, so we’re delighted to be collaborating with BBC Worldwide to deliver Top Gear content via Gran Turismo,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, President, Polyphony Digital, “We’re sure that players will be as thrilled as we are when they get the chance to put their own driving skills to the test on the Top Gear Test Track in GT5, as well as enjoying classic episodes of Top Gear via GT TV.”

Below are some images from the Top Gear integration in GT TV.

Sony has from the beginning pushed the PlayStation 3 as a computer instead of just a gaming console. They will be staying true to their word if this Japanese PC Watch article is correct: the company is planning on releasing an “AV-centric” version of the PS3 that will see the console being upgraded, breaking the chain of fixed-configuration systems in the gaming industry.

As per the record, the third version of the PS3 will feature anti-vibration mechanism on the Blu-ray drive, 512 MB of XDR memory, two HDMI connectors and an advanced power supply unit. The system will also have a new design, matching other electronic products; it is very unlikely to be similar to other PlayStation products. Although the configuration may be different, the system will still be able to play PS3 games flawlessly.

Comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment’s executives indicate that the machine will very likely be sold under a different Sony brand than them. It will be sold at a premium price, with statements from an executive saying that the price range could be from 200,000 to 300,000 yen – that’s around $1700 to $2500 US.

No release date or other details were revealed.

SCEE has announced that it plans on releasing Forbidden Siren 2 in Europe this June exclusively for the PS2.

Don’t turn the lights out - Forbidden Siren 2 is coming to get you! Set on the island of Yamijima [the island of darkness], the story begins when a group of characters are washed up on the deserted island’s shore after their boat is caught in a violent storm. Unbeknownst to them, twenty-nine years earlier, all the inhabitants of the island mysteriously disappeared in a blackout when an underwater electric cable snapped, cutting the power…

To this day the island is shrouded in mystery. Little do they know - the unfortunate visitors are not alone on the island as the Shibito [living dead] are everywhere. Join Mamoru Itsuki and a young girl named Kishida, as the unlikely pair embark on a frantic fight for survival - and unearth the secrets of the island.

To survive, players need to use light to their advantage. Both the Yamibito [people of the dark] and the Shibito are sensitive to light in different ways. Either turn lights on or smash street lights to plunge them into darkness, or hide in the shadows and throw objects to distract your enemy. And if stealth tactics fail, pick up one of more than 30 weapons or use vehicles to ram enemies and obstructions and access remote parts of the island.

And for extra chill factor, the trademark Siren sight-jacking has been enhanced - so players can now see the game through the eyes of animals as well as through the eyes of the Shibito and the Yamibito. Watch the enemy hunt you with the tracking capability of the sight-jacking, and, only if you dare, switch and watch yourself be the victim!

Cult director Keiichiro Toyama is heading up the development team at SCEI for the game. Movie news on the game had been announced recently: Ghost House Pictures (The Grudge and Boogeyman) has acquired the film rights to the original SIREN game and will be bringing it to the big screen sometime soon.