PAL Gran Turismo 4 set for Q1 2005

Sony UK has confirmed that Gran Turismo 4 has slipped into 2005 in Europe. The publisher had been hoping to release the game in December of this year - having scrapped the game's online features in order to try and make the deadline - but now it appears that localisation issues have proven insurmountable.

"We can confirm that GT4 will now be released in Q1 2005 for Europe," the publisher told Eurogamer this morning. "The localisation of GT4 across the PAL territories is a huge undertaking because the product is localised into 13 different languages across the PAL territories, therefore the process takes considerably longer than it does in Japan. The GT brand strives for perfection, therefore we need to ensure that the localisation and testing of the product is done to the highest possible standard."

Gran Turismo 4 is still expected to ship in Japan and the USA this year, although neither version will feature online play. Instead, developer Polyphony Digital is considering releasing an online-enabled version later in 2005. With GT4 now delayed, the only way you'll get to play it this year is by getting hold of one of those versions, or buying the "Prologue" edition released earlier this year (review).

We'll bring you more on GT4 when we have it.