I don't see how this is any different than any predecessor title essentially paying for it's sequel. Is it a special case just because of the Prologue name? I see this the same as Assassin's Creed paying for Assassin's Creed II, Resistance: Fall of Man paying for Resistance 2. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is essentially the title that ate the costs for developing the engine and a lot of major costs, and it's pseudo sequel Gran Turismo 5 is the one that reaps the benefits. Really the money from any of these games could be redistributed anywhere the publisher wants, so this is a pretty common occurrence. Don't let the oddity of it being a "Prologue" confuse the very simple situation at hand.

True, but about half of GT5 development was already done when GT5p came out, so the overall cost of developing GT5p and GT5 didn't cost the development of two different games, just one...

GT5P is not a full game, as it's name says, it's a prologue. 

It's not a demo though, since it has enough content to rival some full games itself.

The demo tidbit was thrown around in 2008 because of the high price. I remember people posting "I'm not paying up for a 40$ demo". Those same people now call GT5P a full game, when comparisons are made to other racing simulators. It's a bit ironic really.

OT - It's good that Sony and PD are reaping the rewards from GT5P, this will ensure the continuity of quality and excellence of work that PD is known from ;)

Hence my question mark in the thread title

That's funny too, I nearly left it out, but quickly realized the nature of the article.

...most of all though it becomes not existent, when the discussion arises what polyphony has done all these years, much like GT PSP

Two different games don't cost the same either. The original engine, the art, etc. that goes into the first game tends to be reused to a large degree in the sequel and it brings costs down considerably That's exactly what GT5 is to GT5P, essentially it's sequel.

This also doesn't take into account that if all of the profits from GT5 Prologue are supposed to count towards GT5's profitibility, that makes GT5P completely unprofitable and a financial failure as a standalone product. That isn't true. The reality is, GT5 Prologue is likely profitable, and it's profits are being used to further fund GT5, and getting swallowed back into Sony as a whole. GT5 doesn't get to take credit for profits it didn't generate, same as Assassin's Creed II doesn't get to account for the excess profit Assassin's Creed made, just because they reuse assets in the sequel and the profits were likely used to fund it. Gran Turismo 5 starts making money the moment someone walks into the store and buys a copy.

I remember those threads xD People saying that after GT4, PD has done nothing but focusing on GT5, while their competitors did X, Y or Z quantity of games :P

It's funny, since GT4 (EU/NA release of 2005), I count 3 games released by PD themselves: Tourist Trophy, GT5P and GT PSP xD 

If GT5 releases this year, that gives you an average of 1 game per 1,25 years, much higher than said competitors xD

Oh well :P