I know the Japanese release date set some of the GT5 fans out there to drooling. And why not? March is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the western release date for the game isn’t set, and the only approximation is “Summer 2010.” As you know all too well, that could mean virtually anything.

If you think you’ll get the game in June, think again. Chris Hinojosa-Miranda told Destructoid that Polyphony Digital hasn’t even started thinking about DLC yet. That might not seem like a big deal, but that’s one of the primary ways developers have been monetizing games today. The fact that Sony isn’t even talking about it yet says to me that they have to focus 100% on just getting the game out the door.

The good news is that when the game finally releases there will be plenty to do. The roster includes something on the order of 1000 cars. Then again, it’s tough to look at that number without wondering just how long until we get to see any of them.

Today, Sony said we’ll get a look at their next-gen racer before year’s end. There’s just one small hang up: it’s not really GT5. Not by name anyway. Well, not in the US, anyway. The new content, available as a download on December 17th, will be called “Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Challenge” in the US and “GT Academy 2010” in Europe.

So why not just a demo? Why not a racetrack from the game, like we saw for Forza 3? As things are, it seems like Sony is just trying to tease us along, reminding us that GT5 exists. The whole thing feels like some really poorly done GT5 marketing, where no one goes home happy and everyone wonders what the hell happened last night.

The worst part is…this is GT5! Come the hell on, Sony! This is the game that pioneered serious racing for console gamers. The game that created the Forza franchise. The be-all-end-all of racing sims on any console. Looks like we’ll be waiting a few weeks to see anything remotely inspiring about the franchise.

As you might expect, the Gran Turismo team was on site at the SEMA car show in Vegas to promote the game. Creative director Kazunori Yamauchi was there running demos and talking to the press. He dropped a big bomb on a small audience when he estimated the cost of Gran Turismo 5 development at $60 million.

The massive price tag mostly came from the need to develop a new engine for the game. “We threw away the legacy code from GT4 and started from scratch … It’s been five years [since the release of] GT4, and that’s the same amount of time it took to develop the first GT4,” he said. Yamauchi also deferred the issue of release dates outside Japan to Sony marketing, claiming it’s their decision when the game will get a date. Most people, myself included, are anticipating a first half (though probably second quarter) 2010 release.

Source: VGChartz

According to VG247, SCEE president Andrew House said there would be news on GT5 “very soon.” The comment comes after Sony was quiet about the famed racing franchise during GamesCom this year.

“I am not going to make a prediction on that but I think you will see something on GT5 very soon,” said House. Could that mean the Tokyo Games Show? Seems like an ideal spot to unveil some serious news about the game everyone’s been waiting on for years now.

The weird part about the whole thing is that GT5 was actually playable at GamesCom this year. Sony has also apparently released screens of a few menu and options changes. So why not talk about it? Why not give some inclination that you even care the game exists? I try not to puzzle these things too long because often the logic of the scenario just eludes me. At any rate, hopefully we’ll have some actual news regarding Gran Turismo soon.