Sony may be preparing to launch the PlayStation 4 one month from now, but the number of games for the next-gen console continues to drop. Sony has confirmed that DriveClub PS4 delayed by several months until “early 2014,” putting the brakes on a racing game that had already shown great promise for the company’s new console.
The three words “DriveClub PS4 delayed” followed similar words earlier this week from Ubisoft, which said “Watch Dogs delayed” until at least April 2014. Ubisoft’s news, which was certainly sad in its own right, was doubly depressing because hundreds of thousands of PS4 launch bundles had been sold with Watch Dogs as the pack-in title.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony said “SCE Worldwide Studios and the team at Evolution Studios have made the difficult decision to delay the release of DriveClub and DriveClub PlayStation Plus Edition until early 2014. DriveClub will be a truly innovative, socially connected racing game, but the team requires more time in order to deliver on their vision — and I’m fully confident the game will surpass your expectations. … We understand that the delay is disappointing news, but can assure you that the reason we have made this decision is to ensure that when DriveClub launches, it will realize the next-gen racing vision.”
News of DriveClub PS4 delayed also has an impact on PlayStation Plus subscribers. DriveClub had previously been announced as part of the Instant Game Collection for PS4. However, Sony said the impact will simply be in the game’s release date, not in its general availability.
“To be clear, DriveClub PlayStation Plus Edition will still be part of the Instant Game Collection when it is released. For the PS4 launch, in addition to Resogun, [Also], Contrast, the highly anticipated game from Compulsion Games, will also be available to PlayStation Plus members for free as part of Instant Game Collection.”
Interestingly, although Sony didn’t mention specifically why DriveClub PS4 delayed, the PS Blog post continually referenced graphics. Yes, it mentions “the overall experience,” but specifically calling-out graphics isn’t something often seen in a game-delay announcement. Could there be concern that DriveClub won’t match Forza Motorsport 5, which will debut with Microsoft’s Xbox One? Or is it truly just a matter of the developers needing more time with the all-new PS4 hardware? What does your inner conspiracy theorist tell you? Let us know in the comments below.
