"Not much hope" for GT5 in 2010 - source

Industry sources have expressed concern to Eurogamer that high-profile racing game Gran Turismo 5 will miss Sony's promised "before Christmas" release date and instead come out some time next year.

One source told us that current schedules list the Polyphony Digital game as "TBC", and that there is "not too much hope" that it will hit shop shelves this year.

Gran Turismo 5, perhaps the most anticipated PS3 game ever, was scheduled for release today.

Last month Sony announced it had been delayed to "before Christmas", claiming "creator Kazunori Yamauchi and the team at Polyphony Digital want to make certain they are creating a racing experience of the highest quality".

At the time Sony tweeted to say a new date would be confirmed "before the end of the month". That, obviously, did not happen.

Current UK retailer listings for the game offer a mixed message.

GAME says it'll be released in 2011, and it's without a release window at all on both Amazon and Play.

However, Zavvi and Shopto both say it'll be released on 3rd December.

While retailer release dates are often placeholder, they offer food for thought.

Despite the concern, Eurogamer has been told that Sony is sticking to its official December 2010 statement without providing a firm date.