SpokenTruth said:
That requires the entire entertainment industry (not just console video games) to alter how marketing is handled. Do you have any idea how often movies get announced and then delayed? Or the fact that many delays are not even development related but rather to ensure best launch sales potential? Given that the majority of sales come in the first few weeks for most games, launch date is crucial. Competition for dollars against all of the entstry is crucial. And most delays aren't evn true delays given that a specific date isn't usually given when delays hapen. Only a targeted release period. If that period becomes too crowded or a better launch window presents iitself, you can be damn certain they are going to take it. |
There's an argument to be had about avoiding competitive dates. That makes sense. But that problem is not as hard to side step IMO. My solution is to announce a game within the year it will be released (preferably 6 months) and adjust the week it releases on based on what coming out on your planned release date.
Currently we have games being announced 2-3 years before actually being released. Would Nintendo/ other game companies suffer if they announced Xenoblade X last December instead of January 2 years ago? Is it really helping anyone that Nintendo announced zelda last year at E3 with a 2015 deadline despite it not being close to finished? Developers have only themselves to blame for putting a time limit on themselves. For all the shit the cod takes, I actually enjoy how each cod is announced the year it is ready to release, not 3 years before release. I truly enjoyed how Bethesda announced fallout 4 months before release. It gave them enough time to market the game, avoid conflicting dates, have the game polished, and launch the game in time for the holidays.
