EA has cranked up the hype for next year's track title Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed by having a poke at 5.

Senior VP at Patrick Soderlund told CVG that he believed that there was a definite crossover between the audience of GT 5 and the audience for Shift 2 and they can absolutely beat Gran Turismo 5.

Soderlund said: "What does make sense to me... I think they have a very sterile, almost car collecting type of product where that's mainly what we do and I think we can offer something different."

He continued: "Our idea is that if we can offer the most authentic driving experience and portray what it feels like being inside a race car, then I think that's where we can excel and where we absolutely will beat them. That I know for sure."

By Ewan Aiton