Players of the hit PlayStation 3 game Gran Turismo 5 will have the chance to win a real-life Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG worth €180,000, thanks to a new competition announced by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The competition is open to owners of the Gran Turismo 5 Signature Edition, and will go live at 9:00 GMT on Monday 27 December 2010.
The limited release 'Signature Edition' included a range of exclusive items, with a voucher code included in the GT5 leather wallet the key to entry into the competition. Signature Edition owners will need to ensure they have downloaded the latest updates to the game, redeem their voucher code via the PlayStation Store on their console and then register their details on Gran-Turismo.com.
Gamers who have completed these steps will then be able to access the Signature Edition Challenge from within Gran Turismo 5. The challenge takes place in the game's B-spec mode, in which players take the role of team director with their own AI drivers doing the racing, and will be held over a series of five races on different circuits.
The entrants who have the fastest total time from each of the competition's regions at the closing time (23:59 GMT on 31 January 2010) will then be invited to take part in the second phase of the competition – the Mercedes-Benz Driving Event. Here each of the winning entrants will compete against each other in a series of driving challenges, where they will be judged by a panel of judges, who will award points for each challenge. The winner will take home the SLS AMG.
Gran Turismo 5 has shipped 5.5 million copies worldwide since launching on 24 November. Limited copies of the Signature Edition were made available throughout the 22 countries participating in the competition, with the majority being snapped up on launch day.
Commenting on the Signature Edition Challenge, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi said: “We have enjoyed a brilliant working relationship with Mercedes-Benz throughout the production of Gran Turismo 5 and the stunning prize that they have offered for this competition is a testament to that. I am particularly happy that we have developed such a balanced challenge which both newcomers to the Gran Turismo brand, and more experienced racers, will find equally enjoyable.”
Entrants to the competition must be aged 18 or over, resident in a participating country, hold a full driving licence and be in good general health. To see the full terms and conditions, visit www.gran-turismo.com.