Ridge Racer 7 details

With Ridge Racer 7 now less than two weeks away from release in Japan (yes, I am hyperventilating a bit), comments from producer Hideo Teramoto have shed some more light on hard disk usage and single-player/multiplayer separation.

Speaking to Famitsu PS2, in an article partially translated by IGN, Teramoto said that the game would offer a hard-disk install option, allowing you to store 5GB worth of data on the PlayStation 3's internal drive to speed things up.

As for the separation of single- and multiplayer, there won't be any. Instead, Teramoto says, the money and ranks you accumulate will apply both online and offline. As previously revealed, the game offers 14-player online races, just as the 360 version, which Teramoto also worked on, did - with co-op races as well as other modes.

The game's producer also reportedly said he was very chuffed with the technical side of the game, and reckons that its support for 1080p at 60 frames-per-second and 5.1 surround sound can't be matched on other formats. But, you know, don't get too upset about that. There are more important things in the world.

Ridge Racer 7 will be ready for both for the 11th November Japanese launch and the 17th November American launch of PlayStation 3, and features more than 20 tracks (all of which can be played in reverse) available in the Ridge State Grand Prix mode as well as a Global Time Attack offering a la 360, tweaked nitrous systems, and a lot of customisation options. Sony also plans to offer a downloadable Ridge 7 demo at launch.

For more on the game, check out our Tokyo Game Show impressions, and look out for more hands-on details in the near future.