Both of this year's newly launched consoles have been making headlines over the last few days with surprise announcements regarding their online stores. First Nintendo announced the release of several Virtual Console titles on Christmas Day. Now Sony is delivering another Yule-time gift for North American gamers. On the heels of the announcement that Polyphony Digital would be unveiling Gran Turismo HD Concept for Japanese PS3 owners, Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed earlier today that the same concept demo will be available for PS3 owners in the US and Canada, for free, effective December 24 at Sony's online PlayStation Store.


In the press release, Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of the GT franchise, says, "Gran Turismo HD Concept provides PS3 and automotive fans a glimpse into the future of Gran Turismo. With the power of the PS3 technology, the world of Gran Turismo is refined by its full HD visual presentation and unique interactive experience, resulting in an even more realistic and true driving simulator."

If your stocking is huge enough to include a sexy HDTV with all of the perks, GT HD Concept will offer full 1080p resolution and cars from ten auto manufacturers including Ferrari, Nissan, Infiniti and Lotus. Also, rather than unveiling a GT 4 map with a facelift, Polyphony has included an all-new track. It's a limited-time demo, so gamers might want to hop on it before jumping into that huge punch bowl of eggnog.