Project Cars delayed to March 2015

UPDATE: Bandai Namco has confirmed to VideoGamer.com that Project Cars has been delayed to March 20, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The game had previously been due to launch on November 18.

“Our goal has always been to deliver a landmark title that encompasses the wishes and desires of racing fans from all around the world; something with features and content powered by the community that provide a truly unforgettable and pioneering experience” said Ian Bell, Head of Studio at Slightly Mad Studios.

“Whilst a tough decision to make, the change in release date allows the game the greatest chance of success and visibility, and the opportunity to polish the game even further to the high standards that both ourselves and our community demand and expect. We’re eager for you all to see what we’ve been working on in just a few months.”

It isn’t clear whether the delay has impacted the Wii U version, which is also expected to release next year.

ORIGINAL REPORT : Project Cars has been delayed to March 2015, according to an alleged forum post from development director Andy Garton.

The post, which was allegedly posted in a members-only area of the WMD forums (and screengrabbed on NeoGAF), states that “the new release date for the PC/PS4/XB1 versions of the game is now March next year. We wanted you guys to read it here first and to try and expand a little more on the reasoning.”

“Primarily, this has come about because a couple of other big games have announced they are shipping around the same time as our planned first date,” the post continues. “We know it might be a little hard to believe but this would have had a very significant impact on our initial sales (and the initial sales period is critical as that’s when the majority occur). It became immediately clear therefore that we’d need to move away from this release window.

“The other factor at play here which I’m sure most if not all of you are aware of is that the game is still lacking the fixes and polish it really deserves. We’ve been working extremely hard on tracking towards the original date, and could indeed have made it, but deep down we knew it wouldn’t have resulted in the ultimate level of quality that we wanted. Project CARS isn’t “just another game” for SMS, it’s the start of our very own IP/brand which we believe can live and be successful for a long time. It’s critical the first release is a solid one therefore to lay the foundations for those plans.

“As such we decided that a release early next year made a lot of sense all round. January is traditionally a very slow month for game sales (people having spent all their spare cash up to and during the holidays). February is affected to a lesser degree so March is an ideal window.”

If true, then, the delay appears to have come about as a result of Grand Theft Auto 5’s arrival on PS4 and Xbox One.

Bandai Namco announced a November 18 release date for Project Cars in North America and November 21 in Europe last month, with Rockstar announcing shortly after that GTA 5 would arrive worldwide on November 18.

Bandai Namco could not comment on rumours of the game’s delay when contacted by VideoGamer.com this afternoon.

“We appreciate there may be some disappointment but hope most will see this as overall a positive move for the project,” continues Garton. “The main issue with any move like this is a financial one (paying for the additional development time), but fortunately we’ve been able to resolve this, so it’s full steam ahead now in finishing the game and creating the successful launch the game deserves.

“Finally, to answer a question which is sure to come up – the additional time we have will largely be spent on the aforementioned fixes and polish. While we may include one or two smaller features and pieces of content which had originally been pushed to post-release, there really isn’t time to add anything significantly new, or we’d just be back in the same position of the game lacking the quality level at release it needs.”

If a delay is forthcoming, expect something official to be announced later today.

Source: neogaf.com, reddit.com