Gran Turismo 5 dated for Christmas...09

A Spanish Sony exec has gone on record to state that Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 – arguably the PlayStation 3's most-wanted game – will be releasing at Christmas.

In 2009.

Sony's chief executive in southern Europe, James Armstrong, told Spanish newspaper Il Finaciero:

"For next year, the chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment for southern Europe said that they are developing a new game thriller, in which the player may be designing their own history, and the new version of Gran Turismo, which will arrive at Christmas."

Will Freeman, over on trade mag MCV, thinks that, if true, the news suggests "a summer 2009 release in Japan, with the US and Europe seeing the game hit retail in the weeks leading up to the festive season in the same year."

No sign of GT PSP. Still.

Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi has worked closely with Nissan in developing the latest model of the Japanese car manufacturer's boy racer's favourite - the Skyline.

"Through the development of the Gran Turismo games Yamauchi and his team got to know the Skyline in every detail," reads Headlight Blog.

"Their modeling and data-logging of its performance and engine dynamics helped Nissan to prototype many virtual versions of the chassis, engine and aerodynamics well before they ever created a rolling chassis."

No word as yet on the long-rumoured (quite possibly vapourware) that is Gran Turismo for PSP. Announced at the launch of the PSP, the title has become a millstone around SCE's neck, with many gamers now suspecting that it will never see the light of day.

• Now have a look at our article on 12 Christmas gifts for PlayStation 3 owners.