Gran Turismo 4 for PSP Delayed (Again) Until 2009

Just like its bigger, badder older brother, Gran Turismo 4 for the PSP has been delayed until sometime in 2009.

The creator of the series, Kazunori Yamauchi, confirmed the news to UK gaming site Eurogamer, saying that the PSP title is unlikely to be finished in time for a release this year.

Gran Turismo 4 for the PSP was first announced in 2004 with a spring 2005 release date (Japan), but has since experienced a slew of delays. The most recent, according to Yamauchi, is due to unforeseen development hurdles with the PS3's Gran Turismo 5.

"We had been developing the PSP version, but the problem was that the PS3 version took much more time and effort than we had first imagined," Yamauchi told Eurogamer. "So that's been delayed - I don't think we'll be able to make the end of this year for the PSP version, but we are working on it," he said.

With four year's of development now under its belt however, the PSP version has undergone a series of changes, with the online functionality found the PlayStation 3 version influencing the handheld title, he said.

In related news, Gran Turismo 5 experienced a delay of sorts of its own last week, and now has a tentative mid-2009 release date.