Splinter Cell: Conviction. Red Steel 2. Final Fantasy XIII (pretty much). Singularity. Bioshock 2. And. Many. More.
These are just some of the several games that have slipped from a 2009 release to an “early 2010” window. And with the rate that we are going, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see other games follow suit (we’re looking at you, Army of Two: TFD).
What’s causing this mass exodus from twenty-oh-nine? Is it something we said? We posed the question to the members of this week’s #gamechat and have assessed what this all does and doesn’t mean.
Let’s start by listing the possible reasons why publishers are pulling their games from this calendar year.
#1: Quality improvements.
@joeltng writes: “ah…gamedelays…doesn’t everyone hate it. but if it’s to help improve the game why not?”
As recently as during yesterday’s Ubisoft financial results call, the delays of Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2 were attributed to improvements in quality and polish. Red Steel 2 is the flagship action game for the new WiiMotion Plus peripheral and more than likely needed some final tweaking to make sure that it is utilizing the technology best. Splinter Cell is as ambitious a game as any, focusing on story-telling and incredible cinematics. A natural choice to get some final tweaks in from the E3 build. Bioshock 2 is, by admission of most fans of the series, badly in need of tweaking, even causing Ken Levine himself to step in and right the ship and push the game’s release back. For heavyweight games like these that are sure to be best sellers, pushing them back out of the holiday shopping time is not a bad idea by any means. It may sacrifice a few short-term sales, but gamers will definitely value the changes.
#2: Economic meltdown.
@kewlrats (aka me) writes: “People just aren’t buying games right now.”
To date, there are only two new 2009 games that have sold over a million copies for one system: Pokemon Platinum for the DS and Resident Evil 5 for the XBox 360 (sources: NPD and VGChartz). Sure there are several combined sales topping 1 million (UFC, Street Fighter IV) and several evergreen games selling well (Mario Kart Wii, CoD: WaW) but the overall market has been absent of instant millionaires. This can be directly attributed to the slowing economy of the US and the West. Publishers are noting that they are receiving smaller orders for fall sales because of this, and are opting to likewise reduce the number of releases to match. Instead of game saturation, publishers and retailers are now offering special editions of games, like the exhorbinant night vision goggles-included “Prestige Edition” of Modern Warfare 2, or the custom guitars and drums of the $250 Beatles: Rock Band package. Less games equal more opportunities to stretch the shoppers dollar on a single purchase.
#3: Competition
@joeltng writes: “i think ppl are delaying games not to clash with certain franchises *coughMW2HaloODSTcough*”
Each year, a few critically-acclaimed games fail to do as well as planned due to being stuck in the middle of a jam-packed gaming season. Last year both Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge failed to reach some projections on instant million-sellers. Now, instead of saturating the market with several games vying for equal buyers with less money to spend, publishers are opting to push games apart from each other more. This means that in a season already filled with a new Halo, Call of Duty, and Mario, there just isn’t enough room for Singularity and Bioshock 2.
#4: Playing it safe
@sink257 writes: “BTW guys don’t you think there are a bit too many sequels this year compared to last year?”
New IPs tend to not sell as well as established enterprises. Call of Duty is a platinum seller each year, whereas untested games like Singularity might suffer from the fresh new game smell. Familiarity was a prevalent theme of E3: people alwasy buy sequels, so if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it. The old adage holds true in gaming. New Super Mario Bros Wii and WiiFit Plus are almost assured to take the spotlight away from newer series. Holding off a new IP until the next year could benefit a game.
So what does that mean for us as gamers?
Not much. We will still have several games to play, and will likely be buying more games from download services and those released earlier in the year. Services like GameFly and Goozex are flourishing, providing alternatives to buying new games or trading games in for lower-than-expected values.
@kleebakrr writes: “I don’t know about you, but I have a feeling MoW2 won’t be leaving my 360 for a while.”
With the continuously expanding online multiplayer gaming and longer epic adventures, many gamers will stick to one game for extended periods of time. This is best noted by taking a look at the weekly XBox Live charts or Nintendo Channel game statistics to see that the same games are being played over and over again. Game longevity is at its peak with more games than ever before being 20-30 hour experiences.
Perhaps it has been the sluggish sales thus far, or the plethora of upcoming games bunched together in the fall, or the game experiences needing heavy tweaking to salvage IPs or live up to the predetermined hype. For whatever reason, the publishers are finding that 2009 won’t be a winning sales year.
2010 on the other hand looks to be a bit better, as summed up by @kleebakrr.
“My wallet is quivering in fear”
Mine too.
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