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[Eric-GCA]

Don't get me wrong, I've taken plenty of business classes to understand the rationale behind it. But still, its not such a smart idea to overload the consumer with so many choices either. I know this example gets brought up but take Ubisoft and how they bungled the release of Beyond Good and Evil. I think publishers need to understand that releasing games in November is no sure deal for sales, especially when the market gets saturated with so many titles as is going to happen this November.

Part of me bringing this up concerns mainly Vivendi now and how they seem to be the ones holding up the release of Half Life 2 for November.

 

[explodet]

I'm wondering if EA really IS big enough that they can release NCAA March Madness 2005, Need for Speed Underground 2, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, and The Urbz, all within one week of each other in November.

 

[Spike]

Who cares? They hit the bargain bins quicker this way.

You have to learn to limit purchases. Just get the games that you know you're going to sink alot of time into. Then, when you actually finish said game, go and get something else that will be cheaper than a day one release price tag.

I used to buy every game on day one, but since my unemployment you get a greater appreciation for the value of money. Now, there is absolutely nothing I have to purchase on day one, unless it something that I think'll be obscure like Gradius V or Katamari Damancy. Everything else can wait.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

why does everyone assume BG&E would have been a hit in any other season? Some games just don't click with the mainstream consumer. I think BG&E was probably one of those.

 

[Mr_Furious]

A lot of companies still believe that Xmas is the time of year to target their releases. This is based off how the market used to be back in the 8 and 16 bit days where the target demographic were children, ignoring the fact that the market's somewhat matured with a growing adult userbase nowadays.

Also, Xmas is still a hot time of year for increased sales figures, regardless of the industry, and every company wants to still target the month or two prior (with November being the prime target) for maximum sales potential.

It's a vicious cycle.

 

[ManaByte]

Metal Arms would've done better if it was released at a different time.

 

[Ranger X]

Who cares? They hit the bargain bins quicker this way.

You have to learn to limit purchases. Just get the games that you know you're going to sink alot of time into. Then, when you actually finish said game, go and get something else that will be cheaper than a day one release price tag.

I used to buy every game on day one, but since my unemployment you get a greater appreciation for the value of money. Now, there is absolutely nothing I have to purchase on day one, unless it something that I think'll be obscure like Gradius V or Katamari Damancy. Everything else can wait.

this is a clear lacks of global view. It's gonna hurt your gaming dude and you can't see it.
Overcrowded market in November = 10 titles outta 200 having great sales.
200 titles having bad sales = no market grow
No market grow = publishers taking less and less risk at releasing games
Less risk = sequels / less new games / less original stuff

I'm sorry but i don't want to play only big fat commercial games made outta a study of what is "ala mode" (even if it's bad) because it's made just to get as much $$$$ as possible.

 

[Mr Mike]

Two words: Christmas.

 

[Eggo]

Don't get me wrong, I've taken plenty of business classes to understand the rationale behind it. But still, its not such a smart idea to overload the consumer with so many choices either. I know this example gets brought up but take Ubisoft and how they bungled the release of Beyond Good and Evil. I think publishers need to understand that releasing games in November is no sure deal for sales, especially when the market gets saturated with so many titles as is going to happen this November.

Part of me bringing this up concerns mainly Vivendi now and how they seem to be the ones holding up the release of Half Life 2 for November.

The game industry generates more revenue in Q4 than the other three quarters combined. It's all about moms shopping for Christmas at Walmart. They just grab games off the shelves and put them in the cart. This industry revolves around Q4. Why do you think E3 is held when it is, so companies can showcase their Q4 lineup?

Sure, it's a saturated market, but the bottom line says to release in Q4 at all costs so you can cash in. No publisher wants their game to ship in Jan or Feb. If it does, it's because of an unwanted delay, and sales are lost as a result of that. Your point of view goes against the grain of what everyone is doing in the industry, and I think companies are pretty saavy when it comes to decisions that affect the bottom line when they have shareholders to answer to.

 

[AlphaSnake]

I'm wondering if EA really IS big enough that they can release NCAA March Madness 2005, Need for Speed Underground 2, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, and The Urbz, all within one week of each other in November.

Why not? The 4 games are all catered to a completely different gamer.

 

[pilonv1]

Exactly it's all about Christmas. Even if your game is terrible, there's a much higher chance your game gets picked up by a "soccer mom" looking for some gifts for little Billy and Johnny because she notices what's on the cover. The case with BG&E is that Q4 is a horrible time to launch new IP because of the reasons stated above. It's the perfect time for sequels and licenced titles, but something new needs a chance to stand out like Full Spectrum Warrior and Riddick did in June/July when there's less competition.

 

[Pachinko]

Go through the old penny arcade newsposts until you find the one where gabe asks this question.

An aunonymous employee of a game developer sent off a rather interesting reply that explains it's basically about cheating the stock market. You ship all your goods in winter so when the fiscal year starts anew the investors don't see how many units get sent back due to not being sold.

 

[Eric-GCA]

^^^^ That makes the most sense, it makes sense especially after reading the recent article about sequels and how most publishers now have managerial leadership that is mainly made up of typical corporate types (managers who've worked in different businesses) and not people who actually had anything to do with developing a game.

 

[shpankey]

because as the XBN mag put it...

#29 holiday season release title outsold the #1 summer release title... by A LOT!

or something like that.

 

[ChrisReid]

because as the XBN mag put it...

#29 holiday season release title outsold the #1 summer release title... by A LOT!

or something like that.

Maybe in one of the super-dull slow weeks.. But I think that's probably quite a large exaggeration overall.

 

[pilonv1]

^^^^ That makes the most sense, it makes sense especially after reading the recent article about sequels and how most publishers now have managerial leadership that is mainly made up of typical corporate types (managers who've worked in different businesses) and not people who actually had anything to do with developing a game.

Exactly. Most developers are at the mercy of their publishers, who see that everything else sells well at Christmas, so they position their title there thinking they'll do well but not realising that there are 20 other publishers thinking the same thing and putting out the same generic titles backed by a licence.