PLAYSTATION & NISSAN UNVEIL GT ACADEMY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 May 2008

PLAYSTATION & NISSAN UNVEIL GT ACADEMY

Opportunity to drive for the Nissan team at the 24H Dubai endurance race – courtesy of PlayStation, Nissan and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue ™

London, 6 May 2008: Industry leaders PlayStation and Nissan have come together to create the ultimate competitive driving test - GT Academy. The eight-month, pan-European competition sees virtual and real-life racing merge to make the wildest dreams of two aspiring race drivers come true. The prize: a four-month training programme to earn their racing licences, followed by a real-life race driving a Nissan 350Z as part of the Nissan team at the 24H endurance race in Dubai in January 2009.

To earn a place in GT Academy, candidates will face a series of elimination-based competitions on and off the racetrack - starting at a national level with an online GT5 Prologue tournament hosted on PLAYSTATION®Network.

GT Academy builds on the long-standing partnership between PlayStation and Nissan that began with Nissan working with Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital. Nissan provided vehicles, racing drivers and feedback to help perfect the game’s ultra-realistic driving simulation.

Roles were reversed in 2007 when Nissan called upon Polyphony Digital to design the interface for the onboard computer for the GT‑R, Nissan’s new supercar. The ‘multifunction meter’ provides drivers with updates on the car’s performance and systems – a collaboration recognised as a motoring industry first. In the latest game, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), Nissan’s GT‑R joins a garage filled with 71 dream cars including seven other top Nissan sports cars.

Speaking at PlayStation Day, David Reeves, President and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said:

“Gran Turismo is one of the most successful global gaming franchises of the last decade and is renowned for its realism, quality of design and in-car physics technology. PlayStation is now part of the global motor sport community from its games to its Gran Turismo TV channel – and now the GT Academy. The academy brings the real and virtual worlds of racing together and is the ultimate test to see if virtual drivers have what it takes to race in a competitive environment where there isn’t the option to play again.”

Simon Sproule, Corporate Vice President, Global Communications, Nissan Motor Ltd, added:

“We're delighted to build on the close relationship between Nissan and Sony PlayStation. This represents the competition prize of a lifetime for racing enthusiasts; a prize that brings the worlds of gaming and racing even closer together. We look forward to welcoming our new team drivers for the race in Dubai.”

GT Academy goes live at the end of May. Entrants must register, via their PS3s, on the PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN) to compete in the special online tournament. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on PS3 has sold over one million units since its launch, with the Gran Turismo franchise now having sold more than 50 million units worldwide. 

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About Nissan in Europe

Nissan employs over 12,000 people in its European design, research and development, manufacturing, logistics, and sales and marketing operations. In calendar year 2007, the company sold 570,513 vehicles across 40 markets in Western and Eastern Europe including Russia. Furthermore, the company produced a total of 576,632 vehicles in its Spanish and British plants. For more information, please go to www.nissaneurope-newsbureau.com

About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2 and PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) software and hardware in 102 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programmes for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PLAYSTATION 3 in November 2006 and the end of January 2008, over 10 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Between the beginning of April 2006 and the end of January 2008, over 26 million PlayStation 2 consoles have been sold worldwide, continuing its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history.  Between the beginning of April 2006 and the end of January 2008, over 20 million PSP systems have been sold worldwide.  Between its launch in November 2006 and the end of 2007, the PLAYSTATION Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, has had over 5 million registrants and has experienced over 81 million items downloaded.

More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com.

PlayStation, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

About Gran Turismo™

With more than 47 million units sold worldwide, the award-winning Gran Turismo™ franchise for the PlayStation®, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 is regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulation ever created due to its true-to-life graphics, physics and real-life cars and tracks. Since the inception of the Gran Turismo franchise, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in Japan have revolutionised the racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the gamer with the most true-to-life driving simulation within the industry and a unique medium for motor manufacturers to showcase their products.

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