Why Was GT5 Delayed in Japan?
January 13th, 2010 by Jordan
As the news of
GT5’s Japanese delay spreads across the web, one question persists: why? Here’s a closer look at each of the three possible reasons:
1. Production Issues
News service
Reuters reports that Sony has cited “production-related issues” as cause for the delay. However, if that’s true, this news must be coming as a surprise to Kazunori Yamauchi and his English translator. In his
latest interview, filmed just four days ago, neither hesitated to confirm the March release window when it was mentioned. What catastrophic “production-related issue” could have unexpectedly occurred over the last few days to justify the postponement?
2. Gran Turismo 5’s Influence on Sony’s Financial Reports
Here’s an interesting theory put forth by the
Times Online newspaper, whose “analysts” cite Sony’s corporate fiscal calendar to support their reasoning. Personally, I believe this theory has the most credibility – never underestimate the importance of financial statements to large corporations and their shareholders. If it is so important, though, why was this not taken into consideration before the March date was originally settled upon?
Analysts suspect that there may be a strategy behind the delay and that Sony is working to spread the effect of a strong games pipeline over a longer period. The recent Japanese launch of Final Fantasy XIII shifted many more PS3 consoles than expected and performed beyond expectations outside Japan.
If Sony felt that it had already met its console sales targets for its 2009 financial year, analysts said, it might want to push the GT5 launch back a little so that the frenzy surrounding its eventual launch would boost sales in the 2010 financial year. The company may be confident that titles such as God of War 3, Dark Rain and Bayonetta will keep console sales relatively buoyant through the spring period.
3. Worldwide Release and Marketing Decisions
While the
misleading Google translation suggesting a worldwide release was discredited, this is still a viable theory. In statements to
VG247 and
Eurogamer,
Sony Europe confirmed that “This information on the GT release is only applicable for the Japanese market,” implying that the North American and European release dates will not be affected. It is also important to note the several different sources who provided GTPlanet with information of a planned worldwide release long before the announcement of the March date established a sequential release schedule. With this in mind, the thought of Sony going back to their original plans looks a little more plausible. Regardless, Sony’s waffling on such a high-profile title is inappropriate.
As you can see, despite evidence for each theory, none provide the clear-cut reasoning we’re looking for. Yamauchi’s comments discredit production issues, while Sony’s indecision and oversight of financial issues makes for a lot of head-scratching. What do you think?
