Xbox boss: Stop the seasonal game release madness!
Every single gamer is aware of the problem of the fourth-quarter, pre-Christmas, holiday release schedule. We basically wait all year for a decent game to come along, or any game in fact, and then hundreds of the damn things come along at once. I want this to stop, you probably want this to stop, and so does Microsoft, or at least one of its Xbox executives.
It’s obvious why games publishers do this – they want to maximize the chances of selling their game when everyone is buying Christmas presents – but for the consumers, it sucks. It means we have a glut of new releases over a three-to-four week period and then literally nothing (of note) for months.
This trend has been with us for as long as I can remember, and it probably won’t go away anytime soon. However, it is nice to see someone in the industry trying to change the way business is done, even if he has little chance of being heard.
David Gosen, Microsoft’s European marketing boss told MCV:
We still have a very seasonally-focused business. You only need look at last Christmas, when nearly 200 titles were released in the space of three or four weeks. There was that crazy week, third week of November.
The big brands reached the top and everything else was left by the wayside. It’s becoming harder and harder to establish new IP in that environment. You have to ask if that’s sustainable.
Of course Christmas is still the key selling period, but we need to look at de-seasonalising. We launched GTA IV at this time last year, and Capcom’s Resident Evil has shown that you can be successful. As more publishers do this, we’ll create a second or third release window, and that will be great news for the industry.
That last paragraph and what I see happening with my own eyes does suggest there has been slight movement on this score in recent years. But a few big-name releases here and there does not change the fact that the majority still see the light of day at or around Christmas-time.
I can understand publishers of the big games doing it this way. They are guaranteed to sell vast quantities of their titles around Christmas and beyond. But I cannot for the life of me work out why smaller titles are also released at the same time. They have no chance of competing with the big boys and it can almost be equated to throwing the Christians to the lions. Almost but not quite.
Personally, I’d much prefer to see games releases to be spread out through the entire year. That way I won’t be forced to make difficult decisions every November and December and then play catch-up from January to October. What do you think – is Gosen right, or do you not mind having most games released in the same period each year?
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33 Responses to “Xbox boss: Stop the seasonal game release madness!”
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April 29th, 2009
I really don’t care about the business end of it: when a game is done, and passed reasonable QA (AKA not needing a patch on launch day) then it should be released.
Pragmatically, delaying a game for a seasonal window pisses of customers who have been waiting for it. Rushing a game for a seasonal window may reveal quality flaws (Fallout 3 for example) and lower the enjoyment in the overall experience.
Make a game. Make sure it works. Make it show up on the shelf.
April 29th, 2009
Yeah I agree…. Sooooo bored at the moment (Altho I am playing Star Ocean for the first time…). And so pissed that Little Kings Story doesn’t come out in NA for a few more months when it was just released in Aus.
I mean WTF?, scan language files change reference of ‘dingo’ to ‘dog’ & remove references to veggiemite, job done.
April 29th, 2009
SW, Star Ocean has piqued my interest. Is it any good? I am looking to pick up a new JRPG (loved Lost Odyssey) and am tossing up between that, Infinite Undiscovery, Last Remnant or even (Angry) Blue Dragon.
April 29th, 2009
Luckily i’m entertained by KZ2 at the moment (only recently got it) so i don’t think i’ll be getting boed anytime soon, but at least the ps3 will be getting infamous and (hopefully but unlikely) heavy rain?
April 29th, 2009
@Harry
I’m not of an RPG guy tbh. I find it fun because it has ‘real time’ combat (you’re still ‘drawn’ into battles but only if you run into a monster on screen)…
The rest seems similar to every other rpg i’ve ever played. Collect items, buy items, synthesize new items, invent new items. etc.
April 29th, 2009
SW, ok cool. The thing that JRPG’s that do irk me is that you could be walking through a sewer or something and all of a sudden a battle screen starts up.
April 29th, 2009
Funny that you mention being in the mood for a RPG. I felt the exact same way. I picked up Valkyria Chronicles. It’s really good. I would say it’s at least a million times better than FF Tactics.
It doesn’t make sense for developers to all wait and release there games over a three month period. There’s a lot more competition and there’s a better chance that new great games can go unnoticed.
April 29th, 2009
I think this guy makes a fair point.
On the otherhand with X-mas and all it is kind of difficult to see the devs and co.s doing it any other way.
April 29th, 2009
Yeah i agree, seasonal tidal waves of games have always sucked ass, i mean on top of buying other non-gaming related stuff on holidays you have to worry not only about games on your consoles but other consoles you own (WiiStationPC for me)
But then again, E3 could have lots of surprises. Lets hope everyone takes a queue from this guy and we start seeing a stream of quality games..
Sony in this regards, seems to have already been adopting this strategy, sorta. Metal Gear Solid 4 released what June Followed by a September Release of Motorstorm 2, along with Resistance 2 in November <—kinda clumped those two, and delayed Killzone 2 to February to spread the lineup….so not perfect but getting there..
April 29th, 2009
I would love a major AAA title release every month or two. I’ve always had a distaste for the holiday cram session. For example, I didn’t pick up Motorstorm 2 until this past spring, because I already budgeted my season of game purchases for Fallout 3, NHL 09, SOCOM, R2 and Uncharted. Uncharted was an obviously not released last fall, but i wanted it more than MS:PR.
I still bought MS:PR, but only because I had a month to go before KZ2 was released and was aching for a new game.
April 29th, 2009
“I picked up Valkyria Chronicles. It’s really good. I would say it’s at least a million times better than FF Tactics.”
Ok, VC is great, it’s my favorite PS3 game, but Final Fantasy Tactics is the greatest game of all time. How DARE you!?
-Arvis
April 29th, 2009
Ha. Sorry about that. FF Tactics was my first introduction to the strategy genre. From what I’ve played, the story seemed great & the overall battles were fun, but the game is so hard. I’m not sure if I’m not doing the amount of grinding that’s needed, or if I just stink… but the game is frustratingly hard.
In comparing the two… I really like that you level up the soldiers as a class. This way if you happen to loose one on the field, all of your hard work isn’t lost.
In Tactics I lost a few good characters in one particular battle, and I after that I was pretty much done for. Now I have to start out with level 1 squires, and have to start out all over with leveling them up with random encounters. Because there all level one squires, the random encounters are almost impossible to beat at this point.
I thought Tactics was good, just too hard and frustrating at times for my liking. VC on the other hand is easily one of my favorite PS3 games.
April 29th, 2009
LoL someone is afraid of not having any exclusives for holidays. I bet Sony doesn’t care about this. On PS3 there’s always a exclusive to play.
April 29th, 2009
“quality flaws (Fallout 3 for example)”
What are you talking about Jofa? I did read the PS3 version took a major hit on the gamespot review… have they patched it yet?
As for games, as long as they continue to release I will continue to rent/buy them. So you say 50 great games came out last year holiday season? Great, I’ll play through them because I don’t have to have the “latest greatest” buzz about what I am playing. This is strictly a developer/publisher problem now, but it could turn into a gamer problem when we start seeing less games in the future. Hopefully they figure out how to adjust and sell major copies over time as Nintendo, Steam, and others have.
I’m fine playing through fallout 3 now, and especially looking forward to the Broken Steel DLC coming out May 5th for it. I still have Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, Fable 2, Knothole Island, then maybe See The Future, Left 4 Dead, etc.
Barnabe… are you playing the War of the Lions version? It really wasn’t that hard at all. Strategy guides/FAQs can help you tremendously there too if you need them.
April 29th, 2009
Barnabe,
Yeah, you sound like an SRPG noob. *laughs*
Tactics is by no means a difficult game. Just make sure your guys are a couple levels higher than the enemies in the story battles and use a good balance of fighters and magic wielders and you shouldn’t have much trouble. Level grinding against normal monsters is rarely deadly, so do it often. Save your game often, and in multiple slots. If you lose a soldier to permanent death: RESET! These are SRPG basics.
Beyond this, the game allows your clever little mind to invent multiple strategies for winning. Once you become familiar with the basics and with the strengths/weaknesses of your available job classes, you can find ways to win with any combination of soldiers, provided they’ve been trained to an appropriate level.
-Arvis
P.S. Losing a soldier in VC still has consequences. Each soldier has unique Potentials, and when one dies, you’ll never be able to train an identical replacement. Also, a soldier who has not seen the field of battle will not have all of his/her Potentials unlocked, so it’s still best to find a Squad you like and stick with them.
April 29th, 2009
Arvis,
“If you lose a soldier to permanent death: RESET! ” – that’s something I wasn’t really aware of. I thought it would have been easier to retrain new units, seeing that loosing them is a very real possibility. Luckily I do have multiple saves, so I’ll have to go back.
I really have to say, that I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with VC.The game is great. I usually start with making decisions based on the battles terrain. I then take into account there likes, dislikes and perks. I do have a group of soldiers that I tend to favor though.
Have you played Disgaea 3 (or 1, 2)? I haven’t played any of them, but I’m curious.
April 29th, 2009
Yeah, I pretty familiar with the entire Disgaea series, although I have only played through the first one entirely. I just don’t have the time or attention span that I used to have. I like moving on to newer games as often as I can, simply because my life is so hectic.
But yes, Disgaea is a great series of SRPGs. Inspired by FFTactics, actually.
However, it really isn’t very similar at all.
-Arvis
April 29th, 2009
Quote: “LoL someone is afraid of not having any exclusives for holidays. I bet Sony doesn’t care about this. On PS3 there’s always a exclusive to play.”
Oh Ivan ….. What are you trying to achieve ?? These post are just alienating you more and more.
April 30th, 2009
@carlb
Fallout 3 is flawless now, but was frustratingly buggy for some: being OCD about game saves went a long way for me not being bothered by the bugs too much.
From an accidental scenario that could have you trapped in the vault (no pre-event save could force a restart)
5 sec system pauses with every network announcement (recieved message, friend logs in or out, etc)
graphical glitchs in facial physics and other random anomolies.
It wasn’t game breaking, but definitely showed a severe lack of polish. The subsequent patches were very effective and restoring that new game shine.
April 30th, 2009
been looking at Valkyria Chronicles for a while, is it worth the pick up?… 40 or so hours? i got me a serious craving for an RPG atm…
April 30th, 2009
Its a strat. RPG, not your regular FF style RPG.
Its fun tho.
Never completed it tho, and I lost all my PS3 save games…. Yay me…. \o/
April 30th, 2009
How did you lose your saves SW?
April 30th, 2009
Backed them all up to a USB stick, installed ubuntu on my PS3, memory stick bought the farm…
I swear I backed them up on my pc too but alas I was unable to find ‘em… Sucks but oh well.
April 30th, 2009
Still have your trophies though… right?
April 30th, 2009
I think trophies are saved to your profile, not hard drive, right?
Bigmicky D, I think it’s supposed to be about a 40/45 hour game. The demo will give you an idea of the gameplay, but the battle in the demo is a smaller simple skirmish. The battles in the game get bigger and more complicated. I’m about 8 hours in or so, and I’m really enjoying it.
I’m up to the battle with Maxamillion’s tank, and then Salvaina comes… wow. Just wow. I think I could have had it beat last night, but I would have lost a few soldiers.
April 30th, 2009
Sorry… didn’t know this game doesn’t have trophies? Still looks like a great game though.
April 30th, 2009
“Still have your trophies though… right?”
Yeah thats all stored on a Sony server somewhere. I don’t really care about the trophies tho, sucks because I lost all the tracks on Wipeout >:(
April 30th, 2009
Barnabe,
The game keeps up an unrelenting level of awesome from here on out. It’s slow getting up to where you are, but expected to get more and more addicted as you go.
A little present for you: Level one of your classes up to “Elite” level and behold how the game kicks the awesome into a whole new gear.
-Arvis
April 30th, 2009
Someone said earlier that Ivan is just AI spewing this dribble. Problem is that I see no signs of the ‘I’ in AI. He’s just an ‘A’.
April 30th, 2009
*ole ole… ole ole…*
May 1st, 2009
so Valkyria Chronicles is worth being my next buy? fifa is getting to the point where no one will vs me, i killed killzone, and resistance 2 just doesn’t seem as fun anymore… that and i really haven’t got an RPG yet this gen which is odd cause i had a billion on ps2
May 1st, 2009
Quote: “Someone said earlier that Ivan is just AI spewing this dribble. Problem is that I see no signs of the ‘I’ in AI. He’s just an ‘A’.”
Yes…… too true.
May 1st, 2009
Mick,
Yes… buy it. NOW! There’s also $15 USD worth of DLC out there, but I advise against buying it until you complete the main game.
I’m playing through the two DLC episodes now, and they’re awesome. The third DLC is a new Hard EX mode, which I haven’t bought yet.
-Arvis