Driving simulator Gran Turismo 5 was penciled in for a November 2 release. Good thing that was pencil. The game has been delayed, and its creator has taken to Twitter to explain why.
"Apologies for the delay," Yamauchi tweeted. "It's because time and labor were spent ironing the kinks out of [the game's] complex system. I'm really sorry. Everyone, it's inexcusable... Wait a little longer."
With a development price tag of US$60 million plus, Gran Turismo 5 was first shown at the E3 gaming convention in 2006. GT5 was dated for March 2010 for Japan, but the game was delayed. It was then slated for November 2. It will not make that early November release.
According to Sony, "Creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital 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."
Sony spokesperson Satoshi Fukuoka told Reuters that "production difficulties" caused the delay.
Gran Turismo 5 is currently slated for this "holiday season". The holiday season in Japan carries over into early January with the New Year holidays. Sony would not clarify to Kotaku whether the game will be out by the end of 2010 or in early 2011.
In another tweet, Yamauchi stated that he thought players would have to wait until the end of the year. Kotaku has also followed up with series creator to confirm if the game will be out in 2010, but has not heard back.
山内 一典 (Kaz_Yamauchi) on Twitter [Twitter]