I’m not a huge gamer. I like playing games when I have the time, but it’s not a priority. I do have a few select titles that I like and would make an actual effort to play fairly early in a given game cycle.
If I had to pick my top ten favorite games, two of them would easily be GoldenEye for N64 and one of the Gran Turismo series (probably 3 or 4). Color me surprised when new versions (007 GoldenEye for the Wii and Gran Turismo 5 for PS3) were slated to be released on the same day in less than three weeks (Nov. 2). To celebrate, plans have been made with old college friends to gather and just play games like we used to.
Cut to this morning when Polyphony Digital announced that Gran Turismo 5 will now be delayed and released in “the holiday season.”
While the plans to gather and game will go on in the name of Bond, the morons at Polyphony Digital (the creators of Gran Turismo 5) have definitely taken what would have one of the better weekend for the release of two console games on two separate consoles and turned it into another reason to hate the PS3.
I’ve got to wonder what the hell is going on with this video game and its developer. It was announced and previewed originally in 2006 with a ’07 or ’08 release date. Because their original dates couldn’t get met, they released a weak version of the game titled Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The next release date that came and went while getting pushed around more than Popin’ Fresh at an Atkins convention. In the last 6 months, so much has been hyped, previewed, and shown leading up to the Nov. 2, 2010.
Then the most recent delay came down from the idiots this morning.
What’s the big deal? Sure, I’m bias. I want the game. But from a business standpoint, I just don’t get it. Gran Turismo 5 has lost a ton of market share in the area of quality driving simulator games. There is a definite availability of many quality contenders where there previously were none in previous versions.
The game is obviously pretty much there. To delay it at this point makes me wonder why the hell any last minute fixes weren’t just pushed as an in-game update that all modern consoles require from time to time. Especially considering that the update would probably be completed by Nov. 2 and be updated on initial install which is required by most PS3 games.
While I appreciate quality and producing a good product more than most, Polyphony Digital has taken way too long and run the risk of alienating loyal users by jerking their chains around for years on end. If it is not released this year, I’m done with the series and maybe the PS3.