A Date With Destiny

There have been some high profile games delayed as of late. Grand Theft Auto 4, Unreal Tournament 3, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, just to name a few. I could have predicted this a long time before the announced delays, but all the whining and crying on the blogosphere has made it obvious none of you know a thing about video game marketing.

There's little incentive for a game to make a deadline or a release date. It just makes it harder to raise awareness and create an unrealistic level of hype. Ideally, a game should only be released after it has appeared in playable form at TWO consecutive E3 Expos. If you must know, Will Wright put the finishing touches on Spore before the release of the PlayStation 3 almost a year ago. He's only put off the release this long to create nerfed versions for the Nintendo Wii and DS and translate them into Japanese. (You'll be able to use the Wiimote and stylus to create a four-assed-ostrich.)

Don't act so damn surprised when a heavily anticipated game gets pushed back creating even heavier anticipation. The press release is free advertising plastered across the headlines of every gaming blog on the internets. It keeps the game in the forefront with more previews, screenshots, rumors, and creator interviews in gaming mags. It's especially helpful for sales if the game is already available for pre-order.