Year of the Delayed: What happened to 2009's game Lineup?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves sent some major games to secure a release date in 2010, are publishers so insecure? First it began with the Highly anticipated PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, and from there things went down hill. But should publishers give in to Modern Warfare's popularity or Uncharted 2's hype? Well they did, but the problem is, spring 2010 was already crowded with big shots like God of War III and now Final Fantasy XIII. Will publishers push back even further games like Bioshock 2 with hope that they'd sell better? We've compiled a list of the games pushed into "early" 2010, and give reasons why some might be bumped further down the year.

Bioshock 2 was expected November 2009 then got delayed until first half 2010. Take-Two said they "felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that the title will deliver what its fans expect and deserved." Our take? Bioshock 2 is being worked on by many different studios, therefore delays are inevitable. North California, Australia, Canada and France, just imagine the logistics and communication difficulties involved, we could see Bioshock slip into the third quarter of 2010, leaving fans disappointed again.

Red Dead Redemption was revealed less than a year ago, however a fall 2009 release date was promised and then broken. It'll now be released on February 10, the reason according to Rockstar Games is "to maximize the full potential of the player experience and market performance." We'll put this in plain words for you, they're scared dead of the 2009 holiday lineup or what's remaining of it. New IPs often thrive when they're released alone with no competition, and if Red Dead Redemption was released, there's no doubt it'd get lost in the Christmas jungle.

Then there's Bonyetta, expected late 09 now January 5th, 2010. Singularity was set to land this fall, now delayed until first quarter of 2010, and Heavy Rain which was expected fall 2009, now we'll have to wait until early 2010 to play the genre defining title. Do you see a trend here? All the games listed have been pushed into early 2010, see the problem is early 2010 was already booked heavy; making it even more difficult for gamers to choose, and choose they will, which in turn will only hurt the sales of less popular titles. At the end there's two options but only one real solution, if your game is in conflict with big hitters like God of War III or Final Fantasy XIII or even Gran Turismo 5, get out of the way, let the kings reign, be patient and give your game a fighting chance by releasing it later.

10/02/10 Ernice Gilbert