Virtua Tennis 2009 slips to June

Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus precision-enhancing peripheral is expected to go on sale June 8. Last week, EA said that it would be advancing the shipping date of its Wii games Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 to coincide with the launch of the Wii Remote add-on. This week, Sega said that it would be taking the opposite tack, delaying the release of Virtua Tennis 2009 to a date closer to the launch of the Wii MotionPlus.

In a post to Sega of America's official forums, a representative of the publisher confirmed that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii editions of the game are now expected in June, with June 2 "right now the goal." The reason for the delay, according to the representative, was to allow further time for "polishing up the Wii version."

The first installment in Sega's tennis franchise since 2007, Virtua Tennis 2009 features online play and a roster of real-life tennis pros such as Roger Federer and Venus Williams for all editions of the game. Sega is also refreshing the variety of tennis-themed minigames with five new challenges and several returning favorites.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Virtua Tennis 2009.