Sony limits GT5 to ease online gridlock

Sony has had to limit some areas of Gran Turismo 5 while it works out a way to ease the online congestion currently crippling the game.

Sony is sorry, but the high demand coupled with GT5's constant communication with the internet is causing all sorts of problems that spill over even into single-player races.

Sony's temporary solution? Disable your PS3 internet connection.

"Because GT5 performs online access not only when participating in online races and using community features, but also when starting the game and during the various screen displays in GT Mode, unfortunately this online congestion is also affecting standard gameplay," wrote Sony on the GT5 in-game news feed.

"Currently we are simultaneously working on several different solutions to improve the network status and alleviate the network congestion as soon as possible. We are expecting to be able to provide a proper online service again soon.

"We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience."

Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, which has first-hand experience of these issues, recalls a "longer than comfortable lag" when navigating the Gran Turismo 5 menus and says accessing the GT5 news feed is a "time-consuming exercise".

Digital Foundry said issues are also prevalent with Gran Turismo 5's matchmaking, which can pit Minis up against Bugatti Veyrons - the world's fastest road car. And sometimes even connecting to lobbies doesn't work.

The full message from Sony reads:

Notice Regarding the Status of the Online Service

Currently the online service of Gran Turismo 5 (GT5) is experiencing some extreme online traffic congestion.

Because GT5 performs online access not only when participating in online races and using community features, but also when starting the game and during the various screen displays in GT Mode, unfortunately this online congestion is also affecting standard gameplay.

If you are experiencing the following symptoms, we recommend that you temporarily play GT5 without connecting the PlayStation 3 (PS3) to the network.

(A) If you are finding it takes several minutes before being able to perform any actions in the following screens:

• Before the start of the opening movie, immediately after launching the game.
• At the top screen after the game has started.
• In various screens within GT Mode.

(B) Or, when it takes several minutes or more to gain a result when the following operations are performed:

• When entering the open lobby, if it takes several minutes or more before the room list is acquired and displayed.
• When clicking on an ID in the participant list of a room, if it takes several minutes or more before the menu appears.
• When writing on the message boards within Community, if it is taking several minutes or more for your posts to appear.

*Also, some of the following features have been limited intentionally as a measure to temporarily alleviate some of the network traffic. Due to these limitations, you will find that:

• The viewing and update of the [Log] in the Community section of GT Mode has been temporarily disabled.
• Changes to the Profile may not update in some cases.
• Changes to the Friend List may not update in some cases.

Currently we are simultaneously working on several different solutions to improve the network status and alleviate the network congestion as soon as possible. We are expecting to be able to provide a proper online service again soon.

We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.

Reference Information

Temporary measures you can take for playing Offline.

The following are procedures for preventing the PS3 from accesssing the network when playing GT5.

Please note the steps introduced here are only temporary procedures you can take until the network conditions are improved.

1. If GT5 is currently running, please quit the game.
2. Go to [Settings] -> [Network Connections] -> [Internet Connection] and swtich the selection to [Disabled]
3. Start GT5.