After a not-so-great year, Sony’s PlayStation 3 finally seems ready to catch up with its main competitors.

Besides its initial price tag, which was considered too high, by gamers and analysts alike, the lack of exclusive games was seen as another factor that determined PS3’s disappointing sales.

But as Howard Stringer, Sony CEO, stated in various occasions, Sony is ready to conqueor the gamers’ hearts with some new, exclusive titles.

One of them, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, is ready to debut in US on April 17, as a Blu Ray disc or as 2,2 GB download from PlayStation 3. Sony also announced the price of the game: $39,99.

In my opinion, the racing fans will choose the Blu Ray disc over the download version, as the first one includes also an exclusive behind-the-scenes High Definition (HD) video feature called "Beyond the Apex." The video is in fact a making of, in which the developers speak about how they develop the game.

GranTurismo, a franchise developed by the Japanese gaming company Polyphony Digital, is a real station in the PlayStation world. The initial game was the best-selling title for PlayStation and all the other games have had a tremendous success among the racing fans and not only.

So far, Gran Turismo franchise has sold 47 million units worldwide and it is considered it helped PlayStation2 to sell 100 million units.

As the other games of the franchise, GranTurismo 5 Prologue’s main attraction is its realism and Sony said that Polyphony Digital has gone one extra mile to take advantage of all technical capabilities of PlayStation 3.

GranTurismo 5 Prologue runs in 1080p High Definition and the players will be able to choose from sixty meticulously detailed cars, such as Ferrari, Audi and Nissan.

Also, for the first time in the history of the franchise, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will offer to the racing fans a an in-cockpit view, providing a unique perspective for racers and featuring real-time gauges and human animations that accurately represent the true performance and handling of each vehicle. The game includes five stunningly realistic tracks, including the Eiger Nordwand, the London City Track and Suzuka.

With its new game, Sony also hopes to attract the gamers to play online, as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will support up to 16 players racing head-to-head online, complete with community events and leaderboards, to quell any question of who is the best driver in the “World of GT.”

In order to promote the game Sony Computer Entertainment America is also launching Gran Turismo TV, a PlayStation Network channel "that delivers worldwide motorsport programming and manufacturer content."

Unfortunately for the European gamers, Sony didn’t said anything about the possible launch date of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in Europe.

Anyway, until the game will be available you can check the official trailer here. Enjoy!