There's an old saying that I think is appropriate here: when it rains, it pours. Sony has announced further delays to its much anticipated Gran Turismo 5 (GT5) arcade racing title. The game, which was scheduled for an early November release, has been once again pushed back, this time to the "holiday season".
In a statement on the official Playstation blog, GT5's North American Producer Taku Imasaki said:
"We sincerely apologize to GT fans for the delay, however, creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital. I want to make certain they are creating the perfect racing experience, and we are confident that this ambitious game will exceed expectations when it launches."
The release of GT5 Prologue at the 2007 E3 Convention appeared to indicate a release in June of 2008. Further previews of the game followed, but no release date was given. Finally, just last year Sony indicated that GT5 would go on sale in March of 2010. Just three months later, at E3 2010, that date was pushed back to November.
The final specifications and release date were confirmed as recently as last month's Tokyo Game Show. A media event last week seemed to confirm that everyone was set for a November release. This latest delay has come as a shock to everyone, including Sony's North American arm.
Mr. Imasaki told the New York Times in a phone interview:
"We're really close, but this was an executive decision that was made yesterday. Realistically, we thought we had a good date. We're not happy over here."
He went on to suggest the game could be delayed even further, something no fan of the series wants to hear. Carscoop will keep abreast of the issue, and provide updates as they come in.
By Tristan Hankins
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
