Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 4 will be ready for the holiday season, launching in Japan December 3 and in N. America and Europe December 14. Speaking at a press conference at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony had some bad news for fans of the series. In order for the game to make the lucrative holiday season release, online functionality was completely scrapped.
Previously advertised as one of the strongest selling points of the new GT title, online modes proved very hard to perfect for Polyphony Digital and the delays caused publisher Sony to confine GT 4 to offline play.
According to Sony a new, 2005 launched, GT title will feature online play although it seems that the new title will be a budget game, possibly similar to the Gran Turismo Concept title which was released shortly after GT 3.
Disappointing news for fans of GT 4 but if the game proves as visually stunning and playable as its predecessors, Sony has nothing to fear this holiday season.
