Sony says it can't promise it will release Driveclub for the PlayStation Plus. This is after Sony said in November it remains "committed" to launching the racing video game when it is ready.
Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Jim Ryan says a free PS Plus version for Driveclub is "still being looked at" but he cannot guarantee Sony will ultimately release the game.
"I can't say anything at this stage," said Ryan.
Driveclub PS Plus edition was originally set for release in October, along with the full game's release. However, following the embarrassing array of technical problems for Driveclub on PlayStation 4, Sony and Driveclub developer Evolution Studios decided to postpone release "until further notice" so that gamers "can enjoy the full social connected online experience."
"We apologize that the game is not yet ready to launch," said PlayStation Plus Content Manager Chris Howe. "We want you to know that we're committed to providing Driveclub PS Plus Edition to members when it's ready, and the team at Evolution Studios is working hard to make it a reality."
Ryan stressed that everyone on the Sony team responsible for Driveclub was "absolutely distraught" when the game did not turn out well. Essentially, he admitted Sony does not quite yet have the resources to accommodate the next-generation gaming technology that developers are trying to take advantage of.
"I think the massively enhanced online ambitions a lot of developers and publishers have identified as one of the opportunists of next-gen appear to have been way more technically challenging than anyone realized," he said.
Still, Ryan said Sony, which serves as publisher of its own games and as a platform for other developers, learned "painful" lessons that will be applied internally to all of its own titles.
"One would hope, and certainly we've learned an awful lot from the Driveclub experience, that those mistakes, once made, should not be repeated," he said.
However, he stopped short of saying it would be monitoring developers to ensure the quality of their titles. Asked if Sony can possibly impose financial penalties on third-party developers publishing technically problematic games, Ryan said it is a realm of conversation "that should remain private" between publisher and developer.
