Developer Polyphony Digital has completed the dynamic weather system reveals series boss Kazunori Yamauchi, but it might be left out.

It's about "whether it will improve" the experience or not. If those rain drops feel subpar then it gets ditched from the final cut of the game.

EA Games' Frank Gibeau admits the publisher "failed to put adequate resources" behind the racing franchise and it suffered in quality.

Need for Speed is on the road to recovery though, with Burnout developer Criterion's take on the series expected to release sometime next year.

Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 has a track editor, by the developer's own admission apparently, but Sony won't budge on the silence.

Allegedly it allows gamers to tweak or rebuild "from scratch" all the tracks included, but it's unclear the extent of user freedom.

The incoming 2.10 update for Wipeout HD Fury addresses some gameplay issues, a little of the "front-end functionality" and deals with pesky adverts increasing level load times.

WipEout and in-game ads have gone "hand-in-hand" since '96 say Sony, with "many brands and products" associating over the years. All the ads are embedded "sympathetically".

The collective might of the Need for Speed franchise cannot be denied as publisher EA reveals it has screeched past 100 million sales worldwide, topping $2.7 billion revenue.

EA Games' Frank Gibeau says it's "a huge honor" to have such a franchise, and thanks the millions of fans for "driving us to this milestone." Need for Speed began in '94, and now has 15 titles.

Kazunori Yamauchi, GT5's producer, has been seen in a promo clip of a Mercedes SLS AMG holding a boxed Gran Turismo 5 with space for three discs contained within.

It's likely those are just bonus discs in some limited or collector's edition being planned. The clip pans to Yamauchi-san who holds the box set for mere seconds. Our first glimpse.

Bit of a mouthful there, but it's true. The upcoming Sega Racing Classic to hit Sega's Ringwide arcade hardware is in fact a high-def remake of racing classic Daytona USA.

These arcade machines come with a 32" HD screen with 1280 x 720 resolution, and four cabinets can link up with a billboard leader display for old skool brags. No 360/PS3 port.

Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo, has confirmed they're wrapping up the last bits of development, but "daily progress is slow" due to its scale.

All Gran Turismo 5's basic elements are done, they just going over to give that "bit extra" right now. Polyphony could release "any time we want" but he wants that "classic GT-style".

Publisher Black Bean, along with developer Milestone, will be taking on DiRT from Codemasters as they've just inked a three-year deal for World Rally Championship.

They plan on turning it into an annual franchise with the first due in spring on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Milestone has "a lot of respect" for their rivals, will try to "match and possibly beat" them.

Gran Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsport 3 will be compared, it's inevitable. Frankly us mortal gamers will have a hard time of it according to Kazunori Yamauchi and Phil Spencer.

GT's Yamauchi-san declares that number 5 looks visually "better than reality," that real life has nothing on it. Microsoft's Phil Spencer calls Forza 3 the "only racing sim" coming out this gen.

Black Bean Games have announced that it's working on a new World Rally Championship game for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The game is being developed by Black Bean Games and its in-house studio Milestone, who brought us MotoGP and SBK Superbike.

Executive producer Gavin Raeburn has left publisher Codemasters after having successfully rebooted two racing franchises. He was "at the top" of his game.

Raeburn leaves "an incredibly talented team" behind at Codemasters that he put together. They include "key players" who will push their "racing portfolio forward." He's wished well.

Some blue skied artwork for Sega Racing Classic has caused fans to feel nostalgic for Daytona, Sega's old racing series that make up its arcade heritage.

Avid watchers of all things Sega spotted the very Daytona USA-like feel to the artwork. It's developed by AM2, and has all the same characteristics except for the RingWide symbol.

Polyphony Digital's boss Kazunori Yamauchi has hinted at Gran Turismo 5's release here in the west saying it will likely be around the time it's launched in Japan, he thinks.

Marketing is "still discussing their issues," and that is why no firm date has been made official yet. GT5 is pegged for March 2010 in Japan. This dispels PS3 bundle rumours for '09.

A bug has surfaced that caused one users Need for Speed: Shift to crash. It happened when his Xbox 360 copy of the game attempted to connect with the PlayStation Store.

Whoops. The gamer said when his "rage had subsided" from the crashes he noticed the cause, and was "pretty shocked" at his find. He noted Microsoft are "not going to be happy".

Electronic Arts has informed Strategy Informer that a demo for Need for Speed Shift will be available to download from the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace on 1st October.

Players will sample this year’s most intense authentic racing game by pushing one of four cars to its limits on the world-famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the tight city circuit of London River. Players that dominate each track and collect enough stars will also unlock the ultimate racing machine; the Pagani Zonda F.

The retail date for Gran Turismo 5 has been revealed at the Tokyo Game Show as sometime in March 2010 for Japanese gamers, with a Western release still unknown.

It's incredibly unlikely that it would arrive before the Japan debut, but given that PlayStation 3 games are largely region free, imports are an option for diehard GT fans. No '09 racing for you.

Activision announced today that Blur, the upcoming racing game by Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations, has been delayed until 2010. The game was to be released in November for PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

"We are committed to making Blur a great new racing franchise, and we are very encouraged by the game's design," said Mike Griffith, President and CEO, Activision Publishing.

The PSN-only title will soon be retailing this October when it achieves Blu-ray release, with the Fury expansion included. 14 race courses, 12 race teams and 2 campaigns in total.

It's to be price pointed at GBP 19.99 in the UK, which is a great deal for such a splendid sci-fi racer packing jumps, boosts and guns. It was thought as rumour but Sony quickly confirmed.

Developer RedSpotGames has come out with news that Dreamcast can expect a new title this October when they release Rush Rush Rally Racing through online retailers.

The racing game uses a retro style in a Micro Machines kind of way, with the studio releasing a trailer for Dreamcast fans. This is in celebration of the Sega consoles 10th anniversary.