Delays are a natural part of any industry. Nothing ever goes exactly to plan as issues and problems can occur at anytime during production to negatively affect the estimated time of arrival. In the video game industry, delays come about regularly as developers run into game-breaking bugs that need additional time to receive the necessary attention or publishers search for the perfect release date for their game to succeed. While there are quite a few games that slip past their original release date each year, 2014 has seen a large amount of major releases delayed until 2015. So many delays, in fact, each one seems to make 2014 feel more like a barren wasteland for major releases.
The whole of 2013 was solely focused on launching two brand new systems in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the heralds of the next generation of video games. With those brand new consoles, the promise of games to justify their cost and hype was not too far behind. After experiencing many console launches, a drought of games immediately following the release of these systems was to be expected, but to have this lack of major releases extend the majority of 2014 cannot be overlooked. Although the good amount of downloadable releases may satisfy the most dedicated gamers between major releases, the vast majority does not scour the PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace or Nintendo eShop regularly for games to buy. Sadly that vast majority focuses on the larger retail titles such as Call of Duty, The Last of Us and Watch Dogs over downloadable games like Child of Light, Shovel Knight and Transistor. The games being delayed until 2015 (Batman: Arkham Knight, Evolve, The Division and Witcher III) are the system sellers for these next generation consoles and delaying these games until following year will cause more people to hold out on buying a PS4 or Xbox One for the time being. Each time a major release is delayed, it adds more fuel to the argument that the next generation came a year before it was actually ready.
Despite all the negativity surrounding game delays, they are necessary and beneficial part of the video game industry. Delays offer developers more time to fix bugs, polish mechanics, balance features and refine a game's content, which all result in making a better product. Rushing a game to market, especially in an unfinished state, to meet a deadline can do a lot of damage to a company's image than actual good. While the extra time benefits a game, there are some current trends involving delays that can have an averse effect on a game. These trends include delaying a game just a few weeks before its release (Rayman Legends), over-hyping a game before its delay to go completely silent on it afterwards (Watch Dogs) and setting a release date for a game in order to push pre-orders before delaying it (Batman: Arkham Knight). These trends alienate the loyal fans that look to support these games through pre-orders, buying collector's editions and paying for season passes by literally pulling the rug out from under them. Playing with the emotions of the most passionate fans is an easy way to sour their opinions towards a certain game or game company. Developers and publishers need to let delays be for the betterment of the games and learn to keep their audience's emotions in mind when announcing and handling these crucial situations.
Although it may be a tough pill to swallow, delays are an inevitable part of the video game industry. They are needed to handle the unpredictable nature of game development, but gamers, publishers and developers all need to find better ways of dealing with them especially as development costs rise and the ability to connect with one another becomes more available. As a gamer, it is disappointing to see the list of major releases in 2014 dwindle every month as many get pushed to 2015, but all hope is not lost. There are many other options for gamers to spend their valuable time with than just the larger triple A titles including a wide selection of value-priced downloadable games or a vast backlog of games missed out on from previous years. While 2014 may be a soft year for major game releases, best use the extra time to discover brand new experiences or rediscover those you missed out on from years past. The games we are all excited about will eventually see the light of day; we just have to be a little more patient.
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