Twisted Metal delayed until 2012

PlayStation 3 car combat revival Twisted Metal has been pushed back from its planned October launch to "early 2012", Eat Sleep Play co-founder David Jaffe has announced.

According to a post from the big man over on the PlayStation Blog, publisher Sony has graciously given the developer "the extra time needed to polish our demented baby until it shines."

"There's a great, classic industry saying by legendary Nintendo designer – and personal hero – Shigeru Miyamoto," Jaffe added, "that goes a little something like this: 'A late game is only late until it ships. A bad game is bad until the end of time.'

"Now, if we shipped Twisted Metal tomorrow – going off the response from folks who have played it – I assure you, it would never be a bad game. Not even close. But we're aiming for a heck of a lot more than that!

"With Twisted Metal we plan to ship a multiplayer classic. We plan to ship the best Twisted Metal ever made. We plan to convert a lot of folks who think vehicle combat is a relic best left to '90s nostalgia. And we plan to explode the belief that the only relevant kind of shooter is a first person one.

"Most importantly, we plan on treating you – the kind folks who play our game (and pay our bills) – like the VIPs that you are. You only deserve our best and we appreciate your understanding as we take a little more time to guarantee that our best is what we deliver."

For more on Jaffe's latest, give Eurogamer's recent Twisted Metal preview a once-over.