Game Publishers: Please Spread Your Game Releases Out Better

Dear Game Publishers,

It goes without saying that I love playing games.  A lot of my friends do as well, in fact. I spend a good portion of my free time gaming, and I also find it a good stress reliever.  There’s nothing I love more after a long day than turning on my iPod, grabbing my controller, and using a human shield in Saints Row: The Third to unwind.

Now, I want you to take a good look at the gaming schedule from the past year.  In the January-May frame, there was Dead Space 2, Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, LA Noire, Portal 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Two Worlds II, LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, Dragon Age II, and Mortal Kombat, along with a bunch of other games I really don’t feel like listing.

From August to December, we had (deep breath) Deus Ex, Resistance 3, RAGE, Dead Island, Gears 3, Arkham City, Uncharted 3, SKYRIM!!!, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Skyward Sword, Saints Row: The Third, Rayman Origins, Halo Anniversary, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Rocksmith, and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Last, but not least, here’s what we got for June to July: Infamous 2, Red Faction: Armageddon, Duke Nukem, Catherine, Bastion, and Shadows of the Damned.

Pardon my French but, what the fuck is wrong with you, gaming industry?

Now look, I understand that times are tough.  I get that you can’t afford to go on making new IPs whenever you please with shareholders breathing down your necks, and I get that you want to get more money with everything from online passes to “Complete Editions” that make day-one buyers feel like asses.  I don’t agree with these things but I get them.  What I don’t get is why you continually think that you need to put all your games out either super early or super late in the year while you leave the summer months hung out to dry.  Sure, in the winter and fall, people are more likely to be inside as opposed to the summer.  But that doesn’t excuse anything.  If you’ve got nearly 300 games coming out over the course of 12 months, you should be able to spread them out a little more evenly.

If you don’t believe me, look at Saints Row 3 and Rayman Origins.  While I don’t have any doubt that they’re great games–in fact, playing Saints right now, I can confirm it’s a great game –whoever the hell made the call to release these games when they did either doesn’t have a firm grasp on reality, or enjoys taking it to the face.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that, out of all the games in the September-December time frame, those two got hit the heaviest in the wallet.  I mean, come on.  They go up against Skyrim, Assassin’s Creed, Halo, and Skyward Sword in their opening week.  That was a death sentence if I’ve ever heard of one.

Even though a lot of people are out and about during the summer, there are those moments where the weather sucks, our friends are all out of town, or we’re just bored.  And what do we do when we’re bored?  We either play video games or play video games. It’s also a good fact that video games that release in the summer have a greater chance of getting a sequel.  Don’t believe me?  Explain why Prototype 2 is coming out.  Trust me, it the reason has less to do with it being a revolutionary gaming experience.  Tell me how Duke Nukem Forever was number 2 in sales for June.  We all know it wasn’t the best game that month. It’s why a game like Darksiders II is making the leap to summer 2012 instead of the holidays, because it’s better to make bank in the heat than get sank in the sleet.

You give us online passes, 3D functionality, motion controls, and a bunch of other crap many of us never asked for, so throw a little more common sense into your feature list please.  Release some more good games during the Summer.  Because I’ll say it right now, if another Duke-esque title comes out this year and reaches number 2 in NPD sales , you’ve only got yourselves to blame.

I enjoy games and I’m tired of seeing good studios close their doors, not because their work wasn’t up to snuff, but because the extremely saturated release schedule logic in play right now doesn’t give them a fighting chance.