...and so goes my thread into Oblivion!

Personally, I thought PS3 Demo was slightly better... a bit sharper and smother. With that said, I'm going with Xbox 360 version because:

1. I like Xbox 360 controller.
2. Custom soundtrack support.
3. Even though I have few GWJ'ers on the PS3 friend list... no one is online 95% of the time! ...and the other 5% is Folding@Home. Plus there is GWJ Racing Clan... sort of.

Yup, same here. I actually ordered copies for both me and Luna yesterday, as a matter of fact.

I can't stop playing the demo. I'll be hard pressed to keep from buying this on 360 next week, even with the SDTV-snubbing interface elements.

The ability of this game to captivate casual or non-gamers continues to amaze me. We had company over for dinner this weekend and burned at least two hours playing the demo, passing the controller around and laughing maniacally. I think the accessibility stems from two things. Firstly, anyone who's been behind the wheel has felt the urge to drive like a lunatic. This game satisfies that urge like no other game to date. Second, you can't "play the game wrong", in so much as losing control and crashing at high speed is central to the game itself.

January 22nd can't come fast enough.

I'm definitely looking forward to BP. I've been playing the demo a bit lately, and even my wife (who truly doesn't "get" video games) has enjoyed turning that charger/mustang/gto amalgamation into scrap.

I'll wait quietly until it comes out on the 22nd, but it's looking great.

Hmmm... I want this badly. However I just purchased a PS2, a couple games and a wireless controller. Hopefully y'all don't jump all over this. If you do I might have to sell Ass' Creed to buy this game.

My 360 was sent out for repair last week (RRoD). When I get it back this is the first game I will be purchasing.

Is the Japanese DJ as annoying to those that speak the language? Is he less annoying to the English speaking because we can't understand what's being said and the voice simply becomes part of the din?

Speaking of DJ-types, the original Ridge Racer announcer spoke English, but had to be Japanese, and TOTALLY and COMPLETELY bizarre.. "Wow! That was a great counter! You must be one genius of a driver... you've gotta teach... MEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeee!" (you have to hear the audio for this one, it's FM DJ puke to the Nth degree).

I would say, it would be pretty hard not to understand him since half the time he spoke English... especially when he was talking about event types, locations, etc...

Team Awesome will be there, you can count on that.

I'll be getting it release day provided the pimply guy at GameStop can find it among his boxes.

I aim to pick this one up, assuming it doesn't make my 360 freeze the way the demo does. For what I can play, I love the demo.

I'm totally in - on the 360 to be specific.

Earth!

Weend!

Well, the game's not out yet, and it's a lot more fun to play the demo than to talk about it. The fun is too visceral to capture in words.

Really, the only thing worth writing about to me is how much I'm loving the seamless transition from single to multiplayer, cooperative to adversarial, and the dogfighting deathmatch that the game defaults to in between. I hope other developers take note, both borrowing ideas from this game and recognizing the value in trying something besides the tried and true.

I expect to see multiple googjers hosting a 'friends only' session regularly in the near future. An unorganized Paradise City lobby strikes me as the ideal way to play the game.