Capcom Delays Monster Hunter 3, Lost Planet 2, Super Street Fighter IV
The delays keep piling up, it seems.
It wasn't long ago that we were feeling pretty tired at how many titles were shifting over to a 'Spring 2010' release date. Well, that wait's about to get a bit longer for Capcom fans, as a forecast revision sent out to investors just revealed the Japanese company is planning to take at least three games we were hoping to have overseas in the next few months - Monster Hunter 3, Lost Planet 2, and Super Street Fighter IV - and spread them out over the next fiscal year, meaning April 2010 through March 2011.
The document especially notes the need to "avoid competing with the major titles that other companies plan to introduce" next spring as a reason for the move. To be sure, timing is everything when it comes to making your game stand out, and competing with the marketing, media coverage, and gamers' budgets for other games is a tricky balancing act.
It does bother me that the investor document is missing at least one key factor in its calculations: fan disappointment. Hype is one of the most volatile forces in the industry, and it's hard to stay excited for a game that keeps getting pushed back among so many other game releases. If Lost Planet 2 ends up hitting stores over a year after it demo released, will intrepid thermal-energy hunters have already gotten their fix from the demo?
On the other hand, games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Ghostbusters are said to have benefited immensely from their unexpected delays, since the dev teams took the time to polish and fine-tune their games before release.
As it stands, we'll just have to wait and see whether Capcom's decision to delay these core titles will work out better for investors or for gamers.
Monster Hunter 3 overseas release delayed [Nintendo Everything]
faePuck
Posted to Video Games on 22 December 2009
Other stuff like this: capcom, delays, lost planet 2, monster hunter 3, ps3, super street fighter iv, xbox 360
