Yes, yes they are.

Next question.

it's just like anything else,stuff happens. It has'nt become a trend,delays have been happening forever,were just more aware of it,because of the interwebnets.

game delays are pretty common at the start of a new generation. Console makers and publishers are eager to show why you should buy into the new generation, so they show off what they are working on. However, new generations often means a lot of groundwork needs to be done on building new game engines and learning new hardware so development initially takes longer than it normally would. Thus, the game delays. It won't be nearly as bad after this year after better development tools are in place...

Yeah, I think it's more so due to it being a new generation. When Sony and MS showed at E3 last year, they needed to push the boundaries of what's coming in the future. Really showcase what's coming to get people excited.

Otherwise, I don't really think it's that common today. I think publishers/developers have been pretty tight lipped about a release date until they really know one. That's really the key. For example, Titanfall was unveiled in June 2013 with a "Spring 2014" release date. Then in October, they announced the release date. However, if you read the Final Hours of Titanfall, they were originally targeting a March 2013 launch, then targeting an Xbox One launch game, but it was ultimately pushed to March 2014, but we never knew it was delayed, because they didn't prematurely announce one.

There are numerous reasons why developers/publishers announce games early, and it usually varies from case to case. For example, Bioware announced Dragon Age Inquisition long before they intended to because they wanted to reassure their audience and investors that the company was doing well despite the departure of co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck. Then later while the game was developed, a decision was made to delay the game, and one of the bigger results of that were the return of race selection for the protagonist.

Don't get me wrong, in a perfect world where game development was simple and smooth, I'd love to hear about a game getting announced, and then subsequently released a few months afterwards. However, the reality is that game development is a lot more complex, plans change, and so on.

It's crazy, back when I was younger (before the masses started using the internet), the main source of gaming news came from monthly magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, or Nintendo Power (Cheers to anyone else that was in the Nintendo Fun Club in the 80s!  Damn I'm old).  Nowadays, people can learn information as early as leaks on the internet (which sometimes force developers to announce early), and thus I'm seeing a lot of younger people used to having information as early as possible.

I think one factor is that with less and less AAA games being made, gamers are incredibly eager for any info they can get, and publishers don't have much to give, so they announce things really early to keep the ravenous masses appeased.

hmmi think they are.

wahts the point of announcing games at e3 2013 for 2015?!

None. why not just announce all games for the rest of the lifetime.........same thing- its stupid imho.

Yes, most games are announced too early. But what should the developers/publishers do? If they don't want anyone else to let the cat out of the bag, they have to announce it at some point.

Most AAA games involve hundreds of people and development periods get longer and longer. In most cases someone of the outer circles (f.e. voice actors, a musician of the soundtrack orchestra...) prattles away about secrets on twitter, you can't keep a lid on it indefinitely.

The gaming press and the dedicated fans keep track of most studios / development teams and after each game release they bombard the developers with questions about new projects every chance they get.