why do game companies do this

I know the fall/holiday season is a good time to release a game but this fall/holiday season is gonna be way too over crowded with a lot of good games what do they expect gamers to do? Im sure some ppl can afford to buy like 5 games at once but i dnt think most ppl can. It seems like all the hyped good games will be coming out all around the same time how are we supose to choose!?

They should start releasing in the summer cuz the summer usually is a gaming drout and is usually when ppl have a lot of free time

It takes companies ages to make big games, so they each decided separately to release before Christmas which is usually a really good time for sales. It's just a coincidence that several big name games all happen to be coming out so close to each other.

They might be able to rush the game out a bit earlier but risk lowering the quality, or push it back to next year, but that upsets both the fans and their investors who paid for the development. Any push back would have to be for several months, since Jan/Feb is a bad time for most shops since we spent all our money in the run up to Christmas!

ya i always hated that,but I dont think they will ever change thIER way of thinking...which is games sell the most during holiday season.You have to remember you tried to make the point that all people cant afford 5 games which is very true but keep in mind that Most games are not by the same company so if its 1 of few games coming out from thier company THEY are gonna bombarde you with advertising,gimmicks angles to get more hype than the other games hence g4 and other media outlets doing the whole "who made the biggest splash at e3(or whatever)"

besides IM more excited about the fall xbox live update than any game AND ITS FREE!!!!

I know the fall/holiday season is a good time to release a game but this fall/holiday season is gonna be way too over crowded with a lot of good games what do they expect gamers to do? Im sure some ppl can afford to buy like 5 games at once but i dnt think most ppl can. It seems like all the hyped good games will be coming out all around the same time how are we supose to choose!?

They should start releasing in the summer cuz the summer usually is a gaming drout and is usually when ppl have a lot of free time

2pac_makaveli

I agree, I hate it when they relase all the good games at the same time, they need to spread it a lot more

It takes companies ages to make big games, so they each decided separately to release before Christmas which is usually a really good time for sales. It's just a coincidence that several big name games all happen to be coming out so close to each other.

They might be able to rush the game out a bit earlier but risk lowering the quality, or push it back to next year, but that upsets both the fans and their investors who paid for the development. Any push back would have to be for several months, since Jan/Feb is a bad time for most shops since we spent all our money in the run up to Christmas!

Avenger1324

Look at it this way, you can't play all those great games at once and properly follow each story. So why not just buy the one you are looking forward to the most, then buy the others after Christmas in the January sales. There not going anywhere.misfit_780

oh so very true.

but i'm sure that people would rather play the games when they are popular and just released. especially the online ones.

waiting a few months until the games aren't so hot anymore doesn't hurt either, as the price will have dropped quite nicely.

I totally agree and I made as similar thread about this http://www.gamespot.com/forums/show_msgs.php?board_id=909102864&topic_id=26599122. That is why last year rockstar decided to move back the release of GTAIV to Spring '08. We all know that turned out very well for them ($$$). Maybe some of these games will be pushed back which will only make the game better with more polishing. Just look at some of the games coming out:

Dead SpaceOct 14, 2008
Saints Row 2 Oct 14, 2008
Fable IIOct 21, 2008
Far Cry 2Oct 21, 2008
Fallout 3Oct 28, 2008
Tom Clancy's EndWarNov 4, 2008
Gears of War 2Nov 7, 2008
Call of Duty: World at WarNov 11, 2008

It would cost you about$480to buy them all.

It can be a really great time to release a game, but also a very bad time.

If your game is sort of "under the radar", then it will get completely overlooked by super hyped titles (which there are plenty of).

Just get the games you can't afford now in the spring/summer of next.

I think this is always a relative issue. I mean if you want to be the first on the block to play a hot new release and drop $59 every time a game comes out then yes, the majority of hot launches at Christmas is annoying. However as pointed out, Nov/Dec is the biggest shopping time and is when not only gamers, but family member of gamers will be buying games for people so from a business perspective, you want your product to be in demand at that time.

The shortcoming a lot of times is demand far exceeds what companies can produce from a hardware perspective a lot of the time (how many times do you see systems going for 3x MSRP on eBay that time of year). But usually games you can still get. I personally refuse to spend my money to buy a game at full price at launch (if someone buys it for me as a gift, that's another story) so I really don't care when a game is launched. What I prefer is companies take the time to develop a well thought out and designed game, rather then hocking a lot of junk in hopes of getting holiday buyers, that is more of a problem I feel plagues the market with so many crummy games out there.

Its because of the Christmas period. In the end of the day big games will be released around Christmas as this is a big time for sales for the company.

But I agree why not just buy the one you want the most and get that out the way and move onto the next. I used to buy multiple games at a time and then lose my position as I'd try to play 2 at at time. Now I try and stick to one story-based game at the time (but I will mix them in with non-story based games, like Sports or Rock Band games.

I know the fall/holiday season is a good time to release a game but this fall/holiday season is gonna be way too over crowded with a lot of good games what do they expect gamers to do? Im sure some ppl can afford to buy like 5 games at once but i dnt think most ppl can. It seems like all the hyped good games will be coming out all around the same time how are we supose to choose!?

They should start releasing in the summer cuz the summer usually is a gaming drout and is usually when ppl have a lot of free time

2pac_makaveli

It takes companies ages to make big games, so they each decided separately to release before Christmas which is usually a really good time for sales. It's just a coincidence that several big name games all happen to be coming out so close to each other.

They might be able to rush the game out a bit earlier but risk lowering the quality, or push it back to next year, but that upsets both the fans and their investors who paid for the development. Any push back would have to be for several months, since Jan/Feb is a bad time for most shops since we spent all our money in the run up to Christmas!

Avenger1324

It can be a really great time to release a game, but also a very bad time.

If your game is sort of "under the radar", then it will get completely overlooked by super hyped titles (which there are plenty of).

Just get the games you can't afford now in the spring/summer of next.

HappyAppe