@smroadkill15
The answer to your question is stupidity for the most part. While the market in those months may indeed undergo a large contraction. It does not in fact evaporate away entirely. The market would bare a major release, and reward it accordingly. There are in fact a number of reasonably high profile games that will release this fall that would have actually seen greater sales in the summer when the competition was slimmer. It is simplistic thinking in action sadly. The conclusion being that the best time to sell is when the market sees the greatest demand.
The problem is greater demand does not necessarily equate to greater sales for a particular game. Which is why every year we see a number of dated titles being delayed into the next year. Some times it is a failure to be able to complete on time, but often enough it is in response to the reality that a games sales would suffer by going into a overly saturated market where it probably wouldn't generate sufficient sales. It will probably happen this year too.
Eventually one of the competitors is going to take the gamble on making big summer releases their thing. It is inevitable really as it has become evident year in and year out that the market being overburdened. Makes it far less inviting. So there is bound to be someone that says instead of delaying into February why not launch in August. Where nobody else is actually going to face us competitively, and that person is going to laugh all the way to the bank. As they sell their AA titles at AAA holiday levels.
Nobody said the industry after all knew what it was doing. History is full of industries that were so entrenched in their beliefs that they were blindsided and toppled by an upstart that refused to accept the obvious truth that they clung too. The longer people do something stupid the more certain it is that someone is going to show them the error of their ways.
Your right the Summer is a fantastic time to launch a big title granted that not everybody else is doing the exact same thing. It is simply a missed opportunity that would benefit many developers. There is a lot to gain at this time of the year. Sales is one thing, but so is brand recognition, free publicity, and a not insubstantial approval from gamers. There is just so much that can be done during this time frame that it is mind boggling that nobody is trying to corner this particular market.
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