Money Matters, Simplified.
Capcom delays the launch of 3 major titles
The Japanese gaming Publisher Capcom announced on Tuesday that it has decided to delay the release of its three major game titles in 2010 to avoid competition in the first quarter.
by Priyanka - December 23, 2009 - comments
The release dates of three highly anticipated titles such as Lost Planet 2, Super Street Fighter IV, and Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii have been pushed past March 2010.
As a result of this delay, the company was forced to slash its financial forecast and revise its sales projection for this year.
Original release scheduled for the delayed game titles
Lost Planet 2 was originally scheduled to be released on Feb. 23, 2010, just after ‘Splinter Cell Conviction’ but before the severely crowed March.
‘Monster Hunter 3 Tri’ was set to be launched in March and would have to face competition from half a dozen games including ‘Final Fantasy XIII’. Super Street Fighter never had any fixed date for its launch from the very beginning.
Reason for Capcom’s sudden change in strategy
Capcom used to be among the publishers who launched their gaming titles in the first quarter of the year and gained heavily for such tactics. It has been using first quarter of the year as its major launch window for the release of some heavy hitters such as Devil May Cry 4, Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 4, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Resident Evil 5.
However, Capcom said that it is not entirely abandoning the first quarter of the year. The company confirmed the January release of its two titles--Dark Void for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC; and Capcom vs. Tatsunoko for the Wii, on Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 respectively.
The reason for the company’s delayed tactics is quite understandable considering the fact that first three months of 2010 will witness the releases of a host of much-awaited game titles that include names like Mass Effect 2, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, No more Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Army of Two: The 40th Day, MAG, BioShock 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Splinter Cell: Conviction, God of War III, Dante’s Inferno and many more.
The company said in a statement, “Capcom believes that delaying the launches of its own titles will avoid competing with these new games, maximize the sales volume of the new Capcom games, and preserve the value of the brands associated with these games.”
Reaction’s among online readers
The announcement by the Capcom is generating mixed reactions from the online gaming enthusiast.
Online reader Jhcho2 on GameSpot.com posted, “Well, can't object to the delay. My wallet needs some spacing out too. Too many games within too short a period of time lead to bankruptcy, uncompleted games and even passing off of some great titles.”
Sepewrath, another online reader on the same site wrote, “Damn Tri pushed back yet again, well can’t say I'm not use to it by now. Well at least TvC is finally going to make its way out in the US. And what happened to Dead Rising 2? They've been really quiet about it over the past year.”