Ayrton Senna's first kart to be featured in new Gran Turismo 6 DLC

For you Gran Turismo 6 players out there, May 27 is when you'll be able to put more Senna in your game with a new DLC package. An Ayrton Senna section in the update menu will offer an Ayrton Senna Tribute that includes new races, video and cars, such as one of the Brazilian's first karts. Also included is the 1985 John Player Special Lotus 97T that he put on pole position seven times that year, just his second in Formula One.

You can get the car the hard way, by securing at least a bronze rating in one of the Senna Challenges with tests like trying try to come close to his actual times on real F1 tracks. Or you can get it the easy way, with in-game credits.

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Volkswagen wants you to help design its new concept

Volkswagen wants a new concept car for a video game, and some of you are being invited to design one - we say "some of you" because the Volkswagen Design Contest is only open to students enrolled in design-related studies. If you can get over that hurdle, then you'll be glad to know that the contest just started on May 5 and submissions are due on August 15, in case you had nothing else to do with your summer break.

This isn't just about a car, though; if you read the small print at the contest site, entrants need to come up with a new concept video game for their car. Specialists are welcome, with submissions allowed to focus on just one or a few areas: exterior, interior, interface, graphics, color and trim. Teams of up to two are permitted, but VW wants each person's contribution to be clearly identifiable. And, naturally, they want their own brand character to be clearly visible as well.

Why all the minutiae? Because three winners will be selected by VW head designer Klaus Bischoff and his team, and their prize will be a six-month internship at the VW design center in Wolfsburg, Germany. Winners will be notified on September 30, 2014.
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Honda giving away free Civics in Forza Horizon to celebrate launch

Just a friendly reminder from Honda: The Honda Challenge Pack DLC is now available for Forza Horizon. To reward you for the trouble of pressing a few buttons on your Xbox controller, you'll get the 2013 Honda Civic Coupe, an HPD Rally Fit and a 1986 Honda Civic Si Coupe in your garage, and you'll get them free. The event of the new DLC has also kicked off a photo contest that will reward someone with an Xbox 360 console wrapped in a Honda Civic Si theme.

Otherwise, the word "Challenge" keeps coming up because of the chance to run an online race against IndyCar driver Scott Dixon. The track for that digital throwdown has already been decided by Xbox players who voted before January 8. Yet it's not too late to hop into the Honda section in Xbox Live and lay down a time fast enough for a shot at the title "The Driver That Shellacked Scott Dixon," and meeting the man in person.

Honda Teams With Forza Horizon for Civic Launch
Honda is set to launch three distinct performance-oriented models in the year's biggest racing game, Forza Horizon on Xbox 360

January 11, 2013, TORRANCE, Calif. -- Honda is set to launch three distinct performance-oriented models in the year's biggest racing game, Forza Horizon on Xbox 360. Beginning on Tues, Jan. 15, Forza Horizon players can download the Honda Challenge Car Pack on Xbox LIVE, featuring three Honda models, the new 2013 Civic Si Coupe, original 1986 Civic Si or Honda Performance Development B-Spec Rally Fit, free to Xbox LIVE members.

"Gaming is a huge passion of our Honda Civic customer and integrating with the latest installment of the popular Forza franchise allows us to interact with our customers where they naturally are," said Mike Accavitti, vice president of national marketing operations at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "To create an immersive event, we partnered with Microsoft and Xbox to develop a branded destination experience complete with free car downloads for players."

In addition to downloading Honda cars to play in-game, players can race virtually against Honda IndyCar driver Scott Dixon and try to beat his fastest time around the environment in a 2013 Civic Si. This "2013 Civic Si Challenge" contest awards the fastest racer the opportunity to meet the Indianapolis 500® winner in person and receive a custom Civic Si-themed Xbox 360 gaming console.

On Feb. 15 a photo contest will launch in Forza Horizon encouraging players to submit photos taken in-game of the 2013 Civic Si. The best photo will be featured on Honda social channels and on the Honda website. Winners of the contest will receive a custom Civic Si-themed Xbox 360 gaming console.

Beginning on Dec. 15 the branded destination experience launched and video banner ads directed players from the Xbox LIVE environment. Players could then view photos of Honda cars and vote on the track to compete in the "2013 Civic Si Challenge."

About Honda
Honda offers a complete lineup of Honda cars, trucks and service through a network of 1,037 Honda dealerships within the United States. In 2012, Honda marked 30 years of producing automobiles in U.S.1, which began with the Accord in Marysville, Ohio in November 1982. Having produced over 23 million vehicles in North America, Honda currently operates 7 major automobile manufacturing facilities in the region.

Connect with Honda:
For consumers: http://automobiles.honda.com/civic/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HondaCivic
YouTube: www.youtube.com/honda
Flickr: www.flickr.com/hondanews
Twitter: www.twitter.com/honda
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/honda
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+honda

1 Honda products are produced using domestic and globally sourced parts.

About Forza
Celebrate speed, music, and style at the Horizon Festival! Forza Horizon combines legendary Forza authenticity with the freedom of the open road. Forza Horizon is exclusively on the Xbox 360 and is now available in a Limited Collector's Edition ($79.99 U.S. ERP) and a Standard Edition ($59.99 U.S. ERP). The game is rated "T" For Teen by the ESRB. According to MetaCritic.com Forza Horizon is the highest-rated racing game on the Xbox 360 this holiday season.

Connect with Forza:
Web: www.forzamotorsport.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/forzamotorsport
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Turn10Studios
YouTube: www.youtube.com/Turn10Studios

News Source: autoblog

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Cast your vote to save the Monopoly racecar

One of the reasons for Monopoly's nearly 80-year reign, and its hundreds of millions of copies sold, especially in the last few decades, has been game maker's willingness to heavy-up on the special editions. And, the occasional inclusion of a Prius token notwithstanding, the iconic racecar playing piece has been all that we motoring enthusiasts have had to get us fired up about the game. You know, other than naked capitalism and low-level fraud. (What? Like you never slid a few extra hundred under your side of the board...)

Now, in another attempt to spice up the old girl, the makers of Monopoly are threatening to lock up one of the classic tokens... forever. That means that either the Scottie dog, top hat, thimble, battleship, wheelbarrow, iron, shoe or the ever-loveable racecar is going to be stripped from the gaming icon. Replacing the lost token will be one of the following hollow imposters: a diamond ring, a guitar, a toy robot, a cat or a helicopter.

Monopoly is putting the choice of both banished and replacement tokens up to its fans, and allowing for votes to be cast on the game's Facebook page. Obviously, it's our duty as car nuts, one and all, to vote for to support for ol' Racy himself. Follow your heart. 

WORLDWIDE ONLINE VOTE ASKS FANS TO DECIDE WHICH GAME PIECE WILL 'GO TO JAIL' AND WHICH NEW TOKEN WILL PASS 'GO!'

PAWTUCKET, RI (JANUARY 9, 2013) – Starting today, the fate of the Scottie dog, race car, top hat and the five other beloved tokens in the classic MONOPOLY game is in the hands of fans through a worldwide vote that will determine which token will be eliminated from the game. Will the shoe outpace the racecar? Will the battleship cruise past the wheelbarrow? Will fans be pressed if the iron is removed? Don't leave this one to "chance" - it's up to fans to make sure that their favorite token will pass "GO!" and not "go directly to jail" by voting every day at Facebook.com/Monopoly, now through February 5, 2013.

When the vote ends, Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) will be changing the MONOPOLY game forever by removing one of the classic tokens from the game and replacing it with a token that reflects the interests of today's MONOPOLY players. Fans can vote on Facebook for which new token they would like to see added to the game, choosing from a diamond ring, guitar, toy robot, cat or helicopter.

Fans will also be able to "campaign" to save their favorite token through Facebook and Twitter by sharing images and videos with their friends and by using the hashtag #tokenvote.

"The tokens are one of the most iconic parts of the MONOPOLY game, and we know that people are emotionally tied to their favorite one," said Eric Nyman, Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader for Hasbro Gaming. "When we decided to replace one of the tokens in the game, we knew we had to involve our fans in the process. We can't wait to see which iconic piece will 'go to jail' and which new token the fans will choose to become part of one of the world's most popular games."

The MONOPOLY game as we know it was invented by Charles Darrow, whose young niece suggested he use metal charms from charm bracelets as movers in the game. Parker Brothers liked this suggestion and decided to include die-cast tokens in the game when they started manufacturing and selling the MONOPOLY game in 1935.

The iron, racecar, thimble, shoe, top hat and battleship were among the original set of movers introduced in 1935. The Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s. These eight make up the collection of tokens currently included in the classic MONOPOLY game.

Later this year, the classic token with the fewest votes will be removed from the game and replaced with the new token that receives the most votes. MONOPOLY games with the new token will arrive on store shelves in mid to late 2013, so fans who would still like to play with the classic eight tokens have a limited time to pick up the existing version of the game.

To celebrate the MONOPOLY Save Your Token campaign, Hasbro will issue a special Classic MONOPOLY Golden Token Edition game that will include gold colored versions of all eight classic tokens and the five new tokens included in the vote. This special edition will be available in limited quantities at Target stores around February 15, 2013 for the approximate retail price of $17.99.

News Source: Hasbro via Facebook

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Sony announces Playstation Move Racing Wheel at E3

Sony used E3 to introduce the PlayStation Move Racing Wheel peripheral, and so far it looks like everyone is mostly moved to say, "Hmmm." The 'wheel' is a round center section fitted with paddles (for shifting, say) and a set of plastic grips hung out to the sides, and the standard Move controller slots through the center. It looks something like Batman's virtual simulator for the Tumbler.

It has force feedback, the grips fold out – again, batlike – to provide a grip like motorcycle handlebars and the 'throttle' actually twists, and Sony says it delivers "precise motion tracking for responsive handling of your vehicle." A freestanding accessory, you hold it out in front of you in the air, which could make it the right gear for those who look askance at the empty-handed XBox Kinect folks, unwilling to completely pretend they're driving a car in a video game. If that's you, it will go on sale this fall. Head on over to Engadget for a quick review and video of it in action. 

via: Engadget

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