GT5 Release Date

Brazil loves motorsport, but they’ve had to wait just a little bit longer to finally get their hands on Gran Turismo 5. It’s finally out today (December 7, 2010), but there probably won’t be a big rush on stores for the game, considering PlayStation 3 consoles cost nearly $1,200 in the South American country due to local taxes and fees. Regardless, thousands of you visit GTPlanet from Brazil every day, so there is definitely a strong fan base in the country looking forward to GT5. Enjoy!

After more than 5 years of development and two painful delays, I am thrilled to announce that today – November 24, 2010 – Gran Turismo 5 is finally released to the public.

Before any of you “Down Under” line up at your local game stores on November 24th, take note: Gran Turismo 5 won’t actually be released in Australia or New Zealand until November 25th, according to each country’s respective PlayStation websites. Of course, taking time zones into consideration, we’ll all be getting our hands on the game at roughly the same time – just be glad this rumor was wrong!  Thanks to all who sent this in (…and yes, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to post this video again)!

It’s official – as just posted on the US and German PlayStation Blogs, Gran Turismo 5 will finally be released on November 24, 2010 in both the United States and Europe. Get your pre-order in now, if you haven’t already!

Via Twitter, GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi confirms that GT5’s release date is “about to be announced” (translation via Karooo in our forums). This matches up perfectly with private information that I was provided with earlier this week, and would make sense given Sony’s already set to ramp-up marketing efforts next week.  Expect more updates within the next 24 hours…

While speaking with Jalopnik today at SEMA, Kazunori Yamauchi stopped short of providing a new release date, but was able to confirm the game discs are being stamped (produced) right now:

On October 6th, Sony launched a giveaway competition for a free Gran Turismo 5: Signature Edition package. Since that time, the competition was set to end on the old Australian release date, November 4th. That end date has remained unchanged (confirmed by Google’s cache) – until now. The legal terms and conditions have just been quitely updated to list a new ending date of December 9th.

In a knowing nod to those of us anxiously awaiting GT5’s new release date, Sony Australia has announced a new 3D TV / PlayStation 3 promotional bundle – which includes a copy of Gran Turismo 5 – with “guaranteed delivery by Christmas”.

A GameReactor associate in Tokyo, Gregor Wildermann, has reportedly made contact with Polyphony Digital and Kazunori Yamauchi for further clarification on Gran Turismo 5’s production status:

As reaction to Gran Turismo 5’s delay spreads around the web, one very important question remains unanswered: why? A detailed explanation will most likely never be given, but that won’t stop us from speculating. First up, Taku Imasaki (North American GT5 producer) offers a vague look at what’s been happening on the “inside” via an interview with the New York Times:

Eurogamer has some interesting comments from financial and industry analysts on what the delay means for Sony and the PlayStation brand this fall during the critical Christmas sales season.

Fans are still feeling the sting from Gran Turismo 5’s postponed November release date, but hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out the game’s new date according to this tweet by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe:

Via the official PlayStation US Blog: