GT4 Prologue due in Europe this May

Late last year, Sony told us that GT4 Prologue - a bite-sized, budget-priced teaser for Polyphony Digital's latest "driving simulator" - wouldn't make it out of Japan. We weren't all that surprised. The game would be out within months as far as we knew, so it made sense.

However, with the full, PS2 Online enabled Gran Turismo 4 now delayed until the latter stages of 2004, it seems the platform holder has relented and now plans to release Prologue in Europe - "by the end of May" according to a spokesperson.

"It will very much be a limited edition version," Sony told CVG last week. Although European plans for the title may not extend to Euro-specific gameplay features, Sony did mention to expect a personal message from series creator Kazunori Yamauchi along with a special 'Making Of' DVD.

The addition of the Making Of would certainly help Sony justify a Gran Turismo Concept style £20-25 price point, although Sony UK wouldn't comment on pricing when we spoke to them today.

Gran Turismo Prologue was released in Japan before Christmas along with a special "PS2 Racing Pack" bundle, which featured a limited edition PS2 along with a copy of the game, and was consistently one of the best selling game products in the Far East during the busy month of December.