Tis the Season for... Delays

The Xbox gaming world has been shocked and awed lately by a number of high-profile game delays. The first shot was fired by Ubisoft when they announced that Splinter Cell: Conviction would be pushed back to Q1 of next year. That actually made a lot of sense as the game had previously been scheduled to release just a week apart from Ubisoft's own Assassin's Creed. The two games practically share identical game technology and play styles and it made little sense for Ubi to cannabilize profits between two of their big-name IPs. (Personally, as much of a Splinter Cell fan I am, Conviction would be have crushed by Creed and the avalanche of other A-list titles in November).

The biggest disappointment so far has been the delay of Grand Theft Auto 4 until Q2 of 2008. The official word is that Rockstar needs those extra months to polish off the gameplay elements and I grudgingly accept this excuse. The absence of GTA4 this year leaves a gaping void in October and has my bank account breathing a little easier. No doubt the cavalcade of competing products are also letting out a collective sigh of relief now that the 800-pound gorilla has stepped aside to allow them that much more space to shine in the retail spotlight.

There were more delays announced, like the one for Blacksite: Area 51 to November and Unreal Tournament 3 to early next year. These came and went more as blips on my radar as opposed to massive disappointments. Curiously, Blacksite's delay means that it dodges the Halo 3 bullet in September. But November? I'm sorry Midway: if I only have $70 to spend that month, it is going towards a purchase of Mass Effect.

I get this sneaking suspicion that we haven't seen the last of the delay announcements. This fall and winter is still looking to be the most exciting and crowded month in terms of fantastic game releases. All we need are 2 or 3 more delays into 2008 and the ensuing 2007 games onslaught should be no problem to handle at all.

Please Bioware, just finish Mass Effect on time!