Xcast Online

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Electronic Arts echoed the sentiments of many a consumer earlier this year when EA Redwood Shores general manager and Dead Space producer Glen Schofield said that funneling most of their 2008 products - new IP especially - into a small 4-6-week window in the Fall was unwise. "I think that we traditionally thought that people only buy games at Christmas or around holiday time, and now we're looking back and going, 'You know what, GTA launched in May; Resident Evil comes out in March," said Schofied. Hopefully they better plan how they will roll their impressive fiscal 2010 line-up out the door.

But EA aren't the only ones hopping on this bandwagon. Microsoft today said that they are concerned about the way titles are released throughout the year, and that they wonder if it's sustainable to keep going the same path of shoving out the majority of product in the usual late October-through-late November time frame. Speaking with MCV, David Gosen, marketing head for Microsoft UK said:

"We still have a very seasonally-focussed business. You only need look at last Christmas, when nearly 200 titles were released in the space of three or four weeks. There was that crazy week, third week of November ... The big brands reached the top and everything else was left by the wayside. It’s becoming harder and harder to establish new IP in that environment. You have to ask if that’s sustainable. "

Interesting. Though it has been common sense for roughly a year now that with the economy in its current slump, people just can't afford to drop the amount of cash it requires to pick up the games they want, notably the "AAA" candidates - right when they release - when they are all given a release date back-to-back-to-back.

"Of course Christmas is still the key selling period, but we need to look at de-seasonalising. We launched GTA IV at this time last year, and Capcom’s Resident Evil has shown that you can be successful. As more publishers do this, we’ll create a second or third release window, and that will be great news for the industry."

Great news, indeed.

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