April 21, 2015

Nissan Holds `GT Academy by Nissan x PlayStation® 2015' for
First Time in Japan
--Contest Aims to Make Top Playstation3 Gran-Turismo Players into Real Racing Drivers; Online Preliminary Qualifying Round Starts at 16:00 JST, April 21--

YOKOHAMA, Japan (April 21, 2015) Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. will hold "GT Academy by Nissan x PlayStation® 2015" an international online gaming contest that connects the virtual and real worlds, for the first time in Japan. The contest will be held in cooperation with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Polyphony Digital Inc., and starts on April 21 at 16:00 JST.

GT Academy was created in 2008 in collaboration with Nissan Motor Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. and Polyphony Digital Inc. as a contest to discover and develop drivers through the video game Gran-Turismo. Players who get through the preliminary qualifying round have a chance to receive driver training and a license enabling entry in international races. In this way, GT Academy takes gamers from the virtual world to real racing circuits, supporting their new career as professional racecar drivers.

GT Academy started in Europe and has spread around the world to 35 countries including the United States, Russia, India, Thailand and Mexico, where many virtual gamers turned into real racing drivers. A new competition, GT Academy Asia, will also be launched for 2015 and has the potential to grow substantially over the coming years. In addition to Japan, the Asian region will feature Thailand and India, both of which were introduced to GT Academy in 2014 as part of the International competition, and will also be open to gamers from Indonesia and the Philippines. The 2015 GT Academy competition will be the biggest yet for the virtual-to-reality competition. Gamers from up to 24 countries around the world will be able to enter, with GT Academy International and Asia reaching a staggering 2.2 billion potential entrants.

The top 20 gamers from the Japan preliminary qualifying round starting April 21 will participate in the Japan final round, with six gamers selected as members of Japan's national team.
The preliminary qualifying round consists of an online preliminary qualifying round and a live preliminary qualifying round. The online round is for gamers to participate via Gran Turismo 6, the dedicated software for PlayStation®3 (PS3®). Entrants will compete in all four trials held from 16:00 JST on April 21 through 15:59 JST on June 16, 2015. The top 16 players from the online round will advance to the final round.

The live preliminary qualifying round will be held at locations including the Nissan/NISMO booth at Fuji Speedway during the second round of Super GT and at the Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery in Yokohama, allowing people who do not have the game software to participate. Through the live round, four players will advance to the national final round. Further details are available on the GT Academy official website and the Gran-Turismo website.

Entry to the Japanese online round starting April 21 is open to people with an Internet-connected PS3® and Gran-Turismo 6 software (or the download version of the software from the PlayStation® Store) and who hold or are able to obtain a valid Japanese driver's license before June.

Japanese competition website: http://www.nissan.co.jp/SP/GTACADEMY/

Various promotional events are planned for the period of the GT Academy, including a press event on April 21 for the start of the preliminary qualifying round and various online trials by celebrities at Nico Nico Headquarters, which will be broadcast live on Nico Nico TV (online Japanese web streaming service). Other GT Academy related events will also be broadcast live via Nico Nico TV.

Nico Nico website (Japanese language only): http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv217062661

Event outline

1. Background

The GT Academy has had a total of 16 graduates, who are now competing in various motor races as professional drivers. One graduate, Lucas Ordones (Spain), has competed in Super GT and other competitions and will drive in this year's WEC and All-Japan Formula Three Championship.

PastPast competitions (country/region)

  • 2008 (Europe)
  • 2010 (Europe)
  • 2011 (Europe and North America)
  • 2012 (Europe, Russia, Germany and North America)
  • 2013 (Europe, Russia, Germany and North America)
  • 2014 (Europe, Germany, North America and International)

And in 2015, the competition comes to Japan, the home of both Gran-Turismo and Nissan.

2. Event schedule and participation guideline

The Japan online preliminary round will start on April 21, 2015, with participants competing in time trials on PlayStation®3 (PS3®) Gran Turismo 6. The 20 fastest competitors will advance to the Japan final round where a total of six members of the Japan national team will be selected.

■ Online preliminary round

Each participant of the online preliminary round will be assigned a racecar and race in a series of time trials on Gran Turismo 6. Players with the highest scores will make it to the national final.

The preliminary round consists of a total of four time trial rounds, the first of which will start on April 21. Those who have completed the first trial will be qualified to compete in subsequent trials scheduled for later dates. Following the final race of the fourth round on June 16, the 16 Japan finalists will be decided.

The online preliminary round schedule follows (all times JST):

Time trial round 1: From 16:00 April 21 through 15:59 June 16, 2015

Time trial round 2: From 16:00 May 5 through 15:59 June 16, 2015

Time trial round 3: From 16:00 May 19 through 15:59 June 16, 2015

Time trial round 4: From 16:00 June 2 through 15:59 June 16, 2015

Notes:

  • Participation in all the four time trials is required by June 16.
  • articipants are required to take part in all the four time trials to qualify for the Japan final, however, the results of the first three trials will not be considered in the selection of Japan finalists. Finalists will be selected based on the performance of the fourth round.

■ LIVE preliminary round

This live round is for those who do not have a PlayStation®3 or Gran-Turismo 6.

The live preliminary will take place at locations including Fuji International Speedway's Nissan/NISMO booth during the Super GT Round 2 and the Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery. Four contestants from the live preliminary round will advance to the Japan final.

A total of 20 players from the two preliminary rounds will be selected for the Japan final round.

3. Japan final

The top 20 players (16 from the online qualifying round and four from the live preliminary) will compete in the two-day Japan final round.

On the first day, finalists will participate in a driving skills tryout at Grandrive, Nissan's test drive course for its passenger vehicles in Kanagawa Prefecture. Each entrant will also have a physical check.

On the second day, the entrants will compete in the final race to be held at Roppongi Nicofarre (subject to change). Here, six people from the Japan finalists will be selected. The team will take part in the multinational race camp for shortlisted candidates.

Final candidates from Japan and other Asian countries will join the race camp to be held at UK's Silverstone Circuit and other locations, where the final selection by region takes place. Regional champions will be given an opportunity to drive in Dubai 24 Hour in January 2016 with support from Nissan.

4. Support for Japan regional champion

The Japan finalists will participate in the race camp with other candidates from all over the world.

Winners will receive training to receive to a professional license enabling qualification for international auto races as well as support to compete in competitions as a member of the Nissan racing team.

About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 244,500 employees globally, Nissan sold almost 5.2 million vehicles and generated revenue of 10.5 trillion yen (USD 105 billion) in fiscal 2013. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history with almost 50% share of the zero-emission vehicle segment.

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