Sony have announced that Motorstorm: Apocalypse’s UK release will be delayed, following the earthquake disaster in Japan this weekend.
The PS3 exclusive racer, which places players in a post-apocalyptic city rocked by natural disasters, will not be released in Japan on March 17 as planned. The date has been changed to ‘TBA’.
It has been confirmed that the UK release will be in the same vein, with SCE saying it’s “very conscious of the parallels between these events and the underlying theme in Motorstorm”.
An SCE statement reads:
“Although we have shipped the game into the channel last week, given that we are able to do so, we have chosen to postpone the launch in the UK. In the meantime we will continue to monitor the situation very closely.
“We are shocked and saddened to see the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and our thoughts are with all those affected, including our colleagues within the Sony family, living and working throughout Japan.
“We are very conscious of the parallels between these events and the underlying theme in Motorstorm and are doing everything we can to be as sensitive as possible to the situation. Although the game itself is already in distribution, we are ceasing any further shipments and removing as much of the marketing materials as possible.”
Motorstorm was originally due to be released in the UK this Friday. No new ETA was given.
I’m all for political sensitivity regarding the matter, but it seems a shame that a game like this will be held up indefinitely so close to launch.
Thanks to CVG for the info.