Bad news first...found out this morning that the release date to the very much anticipated game, Batman Arkham Asylum, has been pushed back to the 4th quarter. If the decision was made due to faults and failures of the game and bugs that they want to fix, then more power to them. I encourage that type of delay. However, more often then not, the delay is due to wanting to save the game for the holiday sales. I think that it is absurd to think they the will generate more sales by delaying the game to a different time, with the caveat that if a game sucks, then that is the only way to go.
Here's why...
So regardless of when the game is released, the folks that have
pre-ordered it or that just know they must have this game, will get it
once it's released. Then everyone that think it
may be good, but are on the fence, will wait to hear about whether it's
good or not before they get it. That's key. Because when it comes to
holidays, the game will have to compete with every other publisher that
saved their game for the holiday sale. Which potentially means less
sales for your game. On top of that, all the core fans would get it,
but they won't be able to praise the game for the non-fans/on the fence folks until post
holiday sales. Which means the sale boat has left the harbor. :)
Now
imagine they plan (kept) the mid year release. They will still get the core sales and all the E3-Hyped up sales. Then
as the game generates additional and positive reviews, because good games do, more
players will save and pick up the game. Those on tighter budgets will
make sure that it is on their Holiday must have list. Finally when the
Holiday comes around, you've already got a game with accolades,
you've got a large player base and/or online community. So you can drop the
price for holidays, and bump up the likely hood of sales over the new
release (read full price) games that are competing for that rough economic dollar.
Speaking of economy, I can't help but take into consideration
the used game market. Even at a discounted rate for the holidays,
there will still be a used market. However, the chances that, for a few
dollars more someone will pony up for the new game at the discounted holiday price for a gift rather
than the used game. In contrast, if it were the other way around, and
the game launched during the holiday, and the price is discounted in the off
season, then it's more likely the used market would prioritize over the
discounted new game, since it likely won't be a gift at that point.
So I truly hope that something came up and the team will be improving and polishing the game based on fan discussions of the game trailers. I still can't wait for this game to come out. Looks like Bionic Commando will have to suffice until this holiday season.
The good news is, I am waiting for a new toy to arrive so that I can finally play movies and games in HD. :) It only took 5 years. I won't go into detail on this, that's for another timer.
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