New GT5 uberwheel comes with uberprice tag

One thing about Gran Turismo 5 is clear: you'll want a wheel. Sure, you can play it with the Sixaxis controller if you want, but you really need a wheel to get the full experience. The PS3 platform has quite a lot of these already available; unlike Microsoft's Xbox 360, USB wheels that work with PC games will work, and Logitech has an array of offerings at different price points. Logitech also used to have the official GT franchise, but that's history now. Now things have gone way upmarket with Thrustmaster's new T 500 RS, a hefty-looking thing with an equally hefty price tag.

Coming in at $599, the wheel itself weighs more than 10 lbs, and Thrustmaster claims the motor is twice the power of its rivals. Like other leading wheels (Fanatec's new GT2, the Logitech G27), it's belt driven. The flappy paddles are large, although it's unclear from the promo shots whether or not they're attached to (and therefore rotate with) the wheel or not. The T 500 RS offers gamers 1080� of steering lock, with the ability to tailor this; that's a good thing and hopefully easy to do on the fly (like it is with the Fanatec), because the first thing you notice about real racing cars is they don't have three turns lock to lock! I'd like to be able to tell you if it's wireless, but those details weren't in the announcement.

The pedals are an even more massive affair, weighing 16 lbs. They claim to be fully adjustable, and can be set up like your road car (hinging from above) or like a VW Beetle, Porsche 911, or F1 car (hinged at the bottom). The Thrustmaster PR mentions technology I don't pretend to understand, like "magnetic sensor-based H.E.A.R.T HallEffect AccuRate Technology?," but nothing about what kind mechanism the pedals use as pressure sensors. For the money you'd hope something similar to Fanatec's Clubsport set.

The money. Yes, might as well come out and say it: $599 is a lot of cash for a console peripheral, and again there's no indication whether you'll be able to use the wheel with a PC or an Xbox 360. The former is probable, the latter much more unlikely. There's also no stick shift yet—that will likely come later and presumably cost more money.

I've obviously not set hands on a T 500 RS so I can't tell you if it's any good or not. The same money will definitely buy you Fanatec's new GT2, Clubsport pedals, a gear shifter, and their wheel stand, and that will work across platforms. However, I've found my Fanatec is quite buggy when used with the PS3, even on the latest firmware (still works flawlessly with the Xbox 360). The T 500 RS was designed specifically for GT5, and the game has tuning options coded in, giving it a level of official support that neither the G27 or Fanatec can access. If GT5 is your game of choice and you have the means, the T 500 RS might be your first port of call.

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