Xmas release beckons for GT5

Less than a month after fresh hints that Gran Turismo 5 was likely to miss its expected (but not confirmed) spring release window, Sony’s much anticipated racing simulator seems to slipping further away – increasing the prospect of a Christmas release.

Speaking to GTPlanet, SCE Portugal CEO James Armstrong stated: We believe that we’ll launch the product this fall, before Christmas, but it’s not yet decided.We would have wanted it out before then. I’m very confident in this game will launch this year.”

When asked about the comments by MCV, an SCE UK spokesperson responded: As far as I’m aware, we’ve made no official announcement about the release date of GT5 in Europe.”

It had previously been claimed that the game was being lined up for a simultaneous global release.

The news is all the more disappointing considering Polyphony Digital boss Kazunori Yamauchi’s claim in October last year that development was so advanced that the studio could release the game at any point.

Such is the appetite for the long-awaited racer that a demo released late last year, entitled GT Academy Time Trial, was downloaded 1m times in a little under a month.