Market giant [b]Electronic Arts[/b] announced Thursday that [i]The Godfathe[/i]r for XBox and PS2 will not be available in time for the Christmas holiday as planned. Instead, the based on the classic film is expected to release in first quarter of 2006. The delay is being attributed to longer than projected development times for the a component of the game engine called “Open World” which developers are using to allow players to interact freely with the game world. A release date for next-generation consoles has not yet been set.

[i]The Godfather[/i] is based on the Mario Puzio novel and the first film in the trilogy, set in and around New York from 1945 to 1955. While characters and elements from the film will be included in the game, the player won’t take the role of any of the main characters but rather an otherwise anonymous henchman, allowing the game’s story to develop independent from but consistent with the book and film.

Several actors from the film have contributed their talents to the game, with Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Tom Hagen lending their voices and likenesses to the effort. Others involved with the film are distancing themselves from the game, particularly Al Pacino and most notably Francis Ford Coppola who consulted for the game but later blasted it in an e-mail message. The game is a “‘kill and be killed’ slaughter session,” Coppola claimed, and made it clear that he “did not cooperate with its making in any way, nor do I like or approve of what I saw of the result.”

Technicians held one recording session with Marlon Brando, though the actor’s famous voice is not expected to be appearing in the game. Instead, the recordings will be used to guide a professional voice actor to imitate him as the Godfather. The recording session in February 2004 was one of the last undertakings of his legendary career before passing away on July 2 at the age of 80.