The game is currently undated for North America, but Eurogamer reports that it'll ship on September 4th. Something tells me that the Bizarre team will make sure the game is ready to go before PGR4 goes gold. Or green. Or whatever.

Given that the game's weather effects are wowing gamers with their fidelity and realism, plus the fact that they've managed to squeeze motorcycle races into Project Gotham Racing 4, it seems likely they've got another hit on their hands.

"We're not letting go 'til it's done" - PGR4 developer [Eurogamer]

Apparently, someone over at the Sony Connect Web site, which features "downloads powered by Sony", doesn't know what the company's flagship driving game looks like. They mistakenly used a screengrab from their competitor Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3 to promote Gran Turismo HD Concept. Whoops.

Fortunately, someone got access to the PlayStation press site and updated the image before anyone noticed. I mean...

Thanks to everyone who sent this in. Michael McWhertor

A Gizmodo reader tipped us off to more bundles coming to the Great White North due to hit the great state of Canada this November. According to our retail insider, these bundles are:

• Core Package bundled with Project Gotham Racing 3 and Kameo: Elements of Power
• Premium Package bundled with Amped 3 and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter

No prices were given, nor were any solid release dates, but our tipster did let us know that we should expect more black Xbox 360 info very soon. Our northern neighbors may want to hold off on any rash Xbox 360 purchasing for a couple weeks until Microsoft or your local retailer provides more information.

Those of you in the continental United States? Ask grandma to snag you one when she crosses the border for her cheap prescription medication. Michael McWhertor

What. A. Surprise. Bizarre Creations is making Project Gotham Racing 4 according to of all people, car manufacturer Peugeot's website. It is currently running a concept car design competion, stating:

The winning concept car will be included by Microsoft in the Project Gotham Racing 4 game, exclusively on Xbox 360 that will be released towards the end of 2007 or first half of 2008.

The previous title was a hit on the Xbox 360, and this latest incarnation will most likely be as well. Expect obvious follow-ups like PGR 5 and PGR 6. Guess the real news bit here is that viral marketing now includes using an European car company to "leak" game info. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Peugot] via Games Industry

Tipster David "El Guapo" Silva let us know that the Mexican Xbox 360 site updated with details on the bundle this week.

The cost is $5499 Mexican Pesos, or around $505 USD. Add to that the hefty 10% sales tax and it rounds out to around $555 USD. The page doesn't say if it includes the three months of gold live or the points, though. It probably doesn't, we always get shafted.

You're getting shafted? What about us? Such is the plight of the American consumer. Gracias, David! Michael McWhertor

Bundle PGR3 Est s Preparado?

Gamespot followed up with a Microsoft rep who regurgitated the usual "No comment" but also provided its own reason for why a bundle like this makes so much sense.

My SKU-sense is tingling with a "very believable" vibration, so I say expect an announcement from Microsoft soon. Friendly Neighborhood Weekend Editor Michael McWhertor

Xbox discontinued, 360 Pro Bundle coming? [GAF]
$399 Xbox 360 bundle with PGR3, points, Live account cooking? [Gamespot]

We broke the story back a month back, but now you can download it: hit XBox Live and download Cadillac V-Series Collection for Project Gotham Racing 3. Obviously, it's sponsored by Cadillac.

Only the best of the best will be able to master these elegant cars and earn the coveted Cadillac Elite gamer picture. Any Xbox Live competitor who places within the top 100 on the Nurburging F1 racetrack in any of the three Cadillac cars will be awarded this elusive gamer picture. "PGR 3" will continue to reward the top players sporting their new Cadillac Elite status by enabling future gamers to earn the gamer picture only by breaking one of the top 100 scores for that car's specific leaderboard.

This is the sort of in-game advertisement we like to see: when the in-game ads in question are actually just more (optional) content for the game. Granted, this makes more sense for racing games than, say, FPSes... we doubt anyone's going to ask Smith & Wesson to develop a free content pack for GRAW. - Florian Eckhardt

All you have to do to get a chance to kick the snot out of Nacho Libre himself is go to XBox.com and fill out an entry form. A lucky few will not only Black's gamer tag and the ability to make him eat their dust, but a private screening of his latest film in their hometown. - Florian Eckhardt

Jack Black Ready to Race on Xbox Live [XBox.com]

A Cadillac marketeer sent me more details about the upcoming car pack that Cadillac will be giving to Project Gotham Racer 3 gamers.

The Cadillac V-Series Collection will be free and hits the Xbox 360 on May 22. The idea is that gamers get a free, cool add-on for PGR3 and Cadillac gets some exposure. Sounds like a win/win to me. I'd like to see all in-game advertising be free and optional. Part of me is still expecting the other shoe to drop and for Caddy to announce that there will be a ten minute commercial everytime you get in one of the cars or you'll be charged $5 for it.

I guess we'll find out on May 22.

Interestingly enough, Caddy's largess has extended into the real world. The company offered to loan me a V-Series car while I am in L.A. covering E3. The said they've selected ten editors for the offer, no strings attached.

The idea is that they want to build interest among "influential game editors about the Cadillac V-Series Collection." I've turned them down, but had I said yes they would have given me a car to use from May 8 through May 12 or 13 and paid for all of the expenses.

I wonder who among the ten will say yes?

Bizarre Creations, the developer responsible for Project Gotham Racing, is driving crappy cars across Europe. Ironic yes, but it's all to raise money for charity. Dubbed the "Scumball Rally 3000," the 4-day Vanishing Point-style drive will take fearless Bizarre staffers across Europe. Cool wheels, and the bullet holes are a nice touch. Check out more pics after the jump.

More Info Here [Bizarre] via UK Resistance
Donate Here [Just Giving]

It won't let you bypass region restrictions, nor has it been made available to the public, but it will allow certain Xbox 360's to play burned games.

Xbox360 DVD Firmware Hacked [Xbox Scene]
Xbox 360 Backdoor Discovered? [Kotaku]

Just in time for the 2006 North American International Auto Show, Nissan and Microsoft announced the details behind their beautiful blending of gaming and driving. The Nissan URGE concept car allows drivers to use the car s steering wheel, gas pedal and brake pedal to play Project Gotham Racing 3 on a flip-down 7-inch LCD screen through a 360 built into the vehicle.

That is freaking awesome. And no, you can t play while you re driving.

The car will be make its world debut at the auto show on Jan. 9.
Nissan Urge Gallery [Channel 4]

Game Insider is at their scanners again, this time providing a digital version of the Project Gotham Racing 3 manual.

If you must, you can read and view it here.

Project Gotham Racing Manual [Game Insider]

Project Gotham Racing 3 is nearly everything I expected a 360 game to be. It has amazing graphics, fantastic game play and introduces some new elements to gaming that you never would have imagined.

The first thing you notice about PGR 3 is its insane graphics, I'm talking slit your throat and put your head in the fridge insane. The cars are liquid, shiny things that move around like they have some real weight behind them.

PGR3 Is loaded with 80 cars, but getting them is just as hard as ever. You still have to earn kudos through stylish driving and by winning races.

Actually, almost all of the play mechanics are unchanged for the bulk of the offline portion of the game. But those stunning graphics and robust physics more than make up for that.

Online play is another story entirely. Bizarre Creations devoted a lot of time to turning PGR3 into a showcase for the Live experience, and they delivered.

Your online career uses cars from your solo career garage, but that's about it. To play an online game in career mode you have to choose a themed event (it will only let you choose the ones that you have cars for) and then wait for people to join you for the race.

The online career mode will automatically match you against players of similar skill, which is likely why I had such a hard time getting a race up I suck. All career races are broadcast live on Xbox Live. That's right, people can hop in and just watch you suck or pwn newbs.

It may sound silly to think that a stranger would want to watch you play a video game, but after hopping onto Gotham TV through the game I was a believer. You can switch between any of the cars racing and a multitude of camera angles. The game supports up to 30,000 spectators per a race, so you can bet Microsoft is a believer too.

If you're not up for the challenge of ranked and viewed races, you can go into a mode called playtime which allows you to play what amounts to quick pick-up races.

At first glance Project Gotham Racing 3 may seem to be a prettier, more robust version of its predecessors, but once you pop the hood you come to realize this is a game that has been redesigned from the ground up around the concept of online competition.

PGR3 is truly the first game designed for pro-gaming, I can't wait to see how the gaming world reacts.

I gave Project Gotham Racing 3 four and a half out of five.

A trailer of pretty pure gameplay footage from the 360's Project Gotham Racing is being hosted at FileFront for download. The 62 MB clip is a guided tour via the roads through New York, Tokyo, London, Las Vegas and Nurburgring. I spent most of the time trying to find repeating character models in the crowd. Is anyone else like that?

Have you seen the new Project Gotham Racing 3 ad on TV? Nice ad, but is it me or does that short clip that shows the red Ferrari grabbing some sweet air make you not want to buy the game?

PGR 3 Ad [Game Trailers, thanks Marcelo]

You ve got to love developers with a sense of humor. Thursday Bizarre Creations, creators of Project Gotham Racing 3, posted a story with the admittedly attention grabbing headline: Bizarre Creations in we are liars shocker.

The story stems from rumors, which have been swirling around the Xbox 360 game almost since it s announcement, that the claim that the game s cars are made of 80,000 polygons is a boldface lie. In other words, people couldn t believe that the game would look as pretty as Bizzare Creations has been claiming.

Well Thursday, BC admitted that they ve been stringing us along. The cars won t be made of 80,000 polygons each, they will be using closer to 100,000 (96,000 to be exact.)

Some cars have around 85,000 polygons, but many go as high as 105,000. The McLaren F1 LM (my favourite PGR3 car!) clocked in at over 100,000. Obviously these counts include the car interiors as well as the exteriors, but they don't include the extra geometry to display car damage, which can add between 10,000 and 20,000 more triangles per car.

Of course, polygons aren't the only things which matter in the next generation. We're also using some advanced pixel shaders and other effects to achieve the most realistic look we can muster at this time. I'm putting together a short animation to give you more details about these shaders in the future... so watch this space.
In the meantime, check out these wireframe shots taken straight from the monitor of a Bizarre Creations car artist. As always, click for a full-size screen capture...

Nicely played Bizarre, you have a new fan.

Bizarre Creations in we are liars shocker [Bizarre Creations Online]

Considering Microsoft's Xbox tech was broke open like a watermelon at a Gallagher show, Microsoft is concerned with the Xbox 360 being hacked. Bizarre studios, makers of Project Gotham Racing 3, aren't interested in hacking the upcoming console, instead, they tried to break it.

How though? Not with hammers or brute force. Instead, Bizarre used the crushing power of polygons to try and break the Xbox 360. They dumped 35,000 spectators into a single corner of a race track. Amazingly enough, the frame rate didn't even sputter with the added burden on the tech. If only Microsoft had similar luck when they showed Forza Motorsport for the first time (skip ahead in the video to about 1:15:00 to see the hilarious Forza demonstration from CES).

Bizarre Tests the Limits of Xbox 360 Hardware [Computer and Video Games] Registration required.

Someone took a screen capture from Project Gotham Racing 3 and then found the real world scene and posted a like-angled photo of it for comparison. It s amazing how well the two compare to each other. It looks so real that I think the car tends to come off as almost plastic.

PGR3 real life comparision #1 [Gaming-Age Forums]