At least three games - Singularity, Heavy Rain, and Bioshock 2 - have had their original holiday season release dates pushed into 2010, and there's a good chance the same fate may befall Starcraft 2. That, dear friends, is what we call a trend, and it's interesting because the apparent common thread between the delays has little or nothing to do with whether the games will be ready on-time. Rather, the various publishers are holding back because they don't want to compete with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Singularity and Starcraft are also Activision/Blizzard titles, so the delays there are nothing more than the publisher getting out of its own way. It seems, however, that Sony (Heavy Rain) and 2K (BioShock2) are buying into the hype over MW2, and they've opted for a tactical retreat. None of the five properties should be direct competitors to one another in terms of player preferences, but gaming dollars are finite nonetheless.
So, we're looking at a more limited stable of titles this Christmas, compared to last year's massive roll-out of high-profile properties (check out these October and November 2008 game release lists if you've forgotten). The irony of the whole thing is that the absence of so many strong competitors - two of which are highly anticipated sequels with established fan-bases - makes it more likely that the sales projections for MW2 will be met or exceeded.
For the other games due to be released in October and November this year, a less diluted market might give them a boost. I'm wondering, though, whether this feedback loop MW2 is generating is just going to blow everyone's face off, particularly in the case of Left 4 Dead 2. That game has already suffered the slings and arrows of disgruntled fans, and if the boycott holds, L4D2 could be something of a disaster for Valve.
Other people will undoubtedly notice all this. Some of those people will write about it, on blogs with more credibility and mainstream gaming sites, and every gamer on Earth will read what gets written. That could, in turn, create a self-fulfilling prophesy - about how MW2 is going to dominate holiday sales - where "everybody" is going to want the game because they expect that "everybody else" is going to get it.
If that happens, and if you'd prefer your new game to be something other than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the first quarter of 2010 may very well suck some serious ass.
Singularity and Starcraft are also Activision/Blizzard titles, so the delays there are nothing more than the publisher getting out of its own way. It seems, however, that Sony (Heavy Rain) and 2K (BioShock2) are buying into the hype over MW2, and they've opted for a tactical retreat. None of the five properties should be direct competitors to one another in terms of player preferences, but gaming dollars are finite nonetheless.
So, we're looking at a more limited stable of titles this Christmas, compared to last year's massive roll-out of high-profile properties (check out these October and November 2008 game release lists if you've forgotten). The irony of the whole thing is that the absence of so many strong competitors - two of which are highly anticipated sequels with established fan-bases - makes it more likely that the sales projections for MW2 will be met or exceeded.
For the other games due to be released in October and November this year, a less diluted market might give them a boost. I'm wondering, though, whether this feedback loop MW2 is generating is just going to blow everyone's face off, particularly in the case of Left 4 Dead 2. That game has already suffered the slings and arrows of disgruntled fans, and if the boycott holds, L4D2 could be something of a disaster for Valve.
Other people will undoubtedly notice all this. Some of those people will write about it, on blogs with more credibility and mainstream gaming sites, and every gamer on Earth will read what gets written. That could, in turn, create a self-fulfilling prophesy - about how MW2 is going to dominate holiday sales - where "everybody" is going to want the game because they expect that "everybody else" is going to get it.
If that happens, and if you'd prefer your new game to be something other than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the first quarter of 2010 may very well suck some serious ass.
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