Gran Turismo 5 Production Kicks Off?

   The SEMA Trade Show kicked off yesterday in Las Vegas and runs until November 5. At the show, Kazunori Yamauchi stated that Gran Turismo 5 (retail) discs are being manufactured and stamped NOW. Really Kaz? You're not pulling anyone's leg are you?

   If the discs are really being stamped now, why hasn't Sony finalized the ship date in Japan after last month's delay announcement? Why haven't retailers gotten an inkling of the new date? WHY? Well, then again, aggregators like Rakuten still list the ship date as November 3. Feh.

   If Gran Turismo 5 only ships in Japan this year, I'm good with that. Importers will get to play the game before anyone else (legitimately). The early release in Japan also allows the Japanese gamers to basically road-test and bug-test the game for the other regions so that USA and Europe will get a bug-tested build that's been pored over by millions of Japanese gamers when it's time to release the game in the West.

Gran Turismo 5 Delayed

   Sony has delayed Gran Turismo 5 from November 3, 2010 to an ambiguous frame of "Holiday Season." I'm not going to bitch and moan because I would rather wait a few more weeks for a perfect game than a buggy and glitchy program that disappoints everyone.

   Sony and Kazunori Yamauchi are taking the right tack and making sure that the game is 100% or at least 98% before pressing the discs and shrinkwrapping the packaging. How about the perspective from the viewpoint of a retailer? Well, it's the same - we'd rather have a 100% product than deal with the ramifications of a potentially faulty game that bubbles up vitriol from the userbase. We just want everyone to be happy, play games, and enjoy their time with each game that they've invested in. Simple.