Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide and Online League

Piggyback, Europe's leading official guide publisher and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe have redefined game guide development by inviting millions of players to compete in the Gran Turismo 4 Online League. The Online League will enable the most seasoned Gran Turismo 4 players to provide thousands of hours of driving experience and winning tactics, which will then be evaluated by the Piggyback authors and integrated into specific sections of the 310 page Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide. The end result will be the most complete game guide in the world.

From 11th March 2005, www.piggybackinteractive.com will open a new Gran Turismo 4 track daily for seven consecutive weeks. Contestants will compete, track for track against other Gran Turismo 4 players, gauge their own rankings and progress whilst evaluating the class of their challengers. The winners of each track will collect points, creating a league over the 50 tracks of the game.

Louie Beatty, Managing Director of Piggyback commented "The Online League is the first of its kind and offers strong technical and tactical benefits to all Gran Turismo 4 players and Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide readers". Beatty continued "Planned for release in May 2005, the Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide is being written by the largest guide editorial team ever assembled at Piggyback. Adding input from the Online League will result in a 310 page landmark book, the most complete strategy guide ever published."

Jason Fitzgerald, Product Manager of Gran Turismo 4 at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe added "Gran Turismo 4 is one of the largest videogames ever published. It is a monumental achievement to offer millions of Gran Turismo 4 drivers across PAL territories a 100% complete 310 page driver's manual. This book will guide players through all details of the vast Gran Turismo world." Fitzgerald continued "Putting Gran Turismo 4 drivers in touch with Gran Turismo 4 drivers online will enable all fans of the game to benefit from thousands of road-testing hours in the Official Guide and to fast-track to Gold."

Quick Facts:

Gran Turismo 4 - Online League: How To Play

The Gran Turismo^® 4 League presents 58 Challenges held over seven weeks: 50 Racing Challenges and eight Photo Challenges. The winners of the League will be the participants with the highest League Rankings as at the closing date, 6th May 2005. In the Racing Contest, participants compete to establish record lap times on over 50 different tracks with a vehicle of their choice. Each Racing Challenge will relate to a specified track, which needs to be raced in Gran Turismo Mode.

1. Start the game in Gran Turismo mode. Once you have followed the http://www.GT4LEAGUE.com instructions and are happy with your lap time, save the Replay of that Contest onto your Memory Card.

2. Go to the Rankings sub-menu and position the yellow arrow on your best time (Record). Push the Start button. A unique and personal 32-digit code will appear.

3. Go to http://www.GT4LEAGUE.com. Log-in with your username and password. Enter the 32-digit code and all other requested details of your performance (time / car /power / settings).

In each Photo Contest, participants must submit one image taken using the Gran Turismo^® 4 Photo Mode. Go to http://www.GT4LEAGUE.com. Log-in with your username and password. Enter your photo.

Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide Content

• All 726+ cars and all 52 tracks completely covered

• All winning formulae and tactics from the online champions tried, tested and presented in one book

• Each track presented over a dedicated two-page spread

In-game Marketing

• Millions of Gran Turismo 4 PAL gamers will be invited to participate in the Gran Turismo 4 Official League

Instant Recognition

• All Piggyback guides, including the Gran Turismo 4 Official Guide use official game cover art.

Quality Production

• Piggyback produces its first 310 page official guide, printed on high quality paper.

Free Demos

• Visitors to www.piggybackinteractive.com can download a sample free of charge in May 2005.

RRP: TBC

ISBN: 1-903511-74-7

EAN: 978-1-903511-74-9

Ship date: May 2005

For further information

Media only:

Caroline Stokes - Caroline Stokes Communications

T: +44 (0)7778 577770

E: caroline@carolinestokes.co.uk

Trade only:

Louie Beatty - Piggyback Interactive Limited

T: +44 (0)20 7313 9232

E: lb@piggybackinteractive.com

W: www.piggybackinteractive.com

About Piggyback Interactive Limited

Piggyback introduced the concept of premium game guides for high-profile videogame franchises in 1998. The company swiftly established a reputation for producing the highest quality Official Strategy Guides for the PAL region. In order to assure the highest level of quality, Piggyback focuses on just four game guides per year providing fans with an essential encyclopedia to get the most out of their game. www.piggybackinteractive.com

About Gran Turismo^® 4

The Gran Turismo series has sold over 36 million copies and Gran Turismo^® 4 continues where Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec left off. Fuelled by game designer Kazunori Yamauchi's passion for cars, Gran Turismo^® 4 has taken producers Polyphony Digital four years to develop and is the largest video game ever made. It would take more than 120 days of playing 24-hours non-stop just to sample each car on every track for just five minutes. More information about Gran Turismo 4 can be found at http://www.granturismoworld.com

PlayStation and the PlayStation logo, PS one, PS2, Gran Turismo and DUALSHOCK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

® 2005 Piggyback Interactive Limited. All rights reserved. Piggyback^TM, PIGGYBACKINTERACTIVE.COM^TM and the Piggyback logo are trademarks of Piggyback Interactive Limited. Gran Turismo^® 4 and "GT" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

® 2004 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this guide are trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. All rights reserved.