DRIV3R delayed until June

Atari has rescheduled the apparently worldwide release date of DRIV3R (Driver 3) to June 1st, 2004. In a rather pompous statement released this morning, the publisher (or The Group) said it was delaying the launch by two months so that it can be made available for PS2 and Xbox simultaneously worldwide - rather like Enter The Matrix when it materialised alongside the cinematic release of The Matrix Reloaded in May 2003.

"The decision to choose a new date was a strategic one we had to make given the enormous potential of DRIV3R to be a global success," said Infogrames Entertainment chairman Bruno Bonnell. "With 12 million copies already sold worldwide, the Driver series is a major franchise for our Group. Two extra months of promotion will spike sales of this title, which could be the largest return on investment in the Group's history."

Atari is certainly banging the promotional drum at exceptional volume this time out, with a three-minute movie short written and directed by Ridley Scott Associates, plans for store demos, TV coverage, and movie rights already flogged and on their way into production for release in 2005.

Although the delay won't be too much of a concern for most people, investors will find they impact the publisher's revenue for the last quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31st 2004. As a result, the group's income should breakeven, compared to a previously projected operating profit of six or seven per cent. Obviously that will be offset slightly in the long run by DRIV3R's impact on the next fiscal year.

Until June 1st, then.