Gran Turismo 5 Delay: 2009? 2010?

Evening, readers.  Shane Rubans here, The Motor Report's gaming correspondent.

Welcome to a new area of TMR, dedicated solely to news on car-related games for consoles, computers and in the arcades. Unfortunately though, rather than start this off with some uplifting info about the latest racer to hit the shelves at your local geek sanctuary, there's news of a possible delay on the world's most beloved driving franchise.

That's right, Gran Turismo 5 may not come out until 2010.

A recent interview with the founder of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, has revealed that the developer does not expect to have the game out until late 2009 at the earliest, opting to concentrate on adding features to the full game's teaser, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.

When quizzed on the status of the PS3's flagship title, Yamauchi responded

"...There's no plans in the works for GT5 yet - that might be 2009, or it might be 2010... But we're totally focused on getting the updates through for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and that's all we're focused on."

So there you have it, some fairly saddening news for those who like to indulge in the world's most exotic cars from the comfort of their couches. If you simply must get your racing fix and cannot hold out another 18 or so months, I offer two suggestions: grab up a Playstation 3 with GT5: Prologue or seriously consider Forza Motorsport 2 for the Xbox 360.