Christmas time

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    • Christmas time

      Over at Penny Arcade , they had a bit of a discussion about how clogged up the Christmas season has begun for games. They even posted emails from anonymous developers (for those of you familair with PA, when he says they are top developers, you believe them) In your book, Mike, you basically say that the Christmas season is the only time to release a game if you want to make a profit. Clearly, times have changed a bit, but do you think your statement stands? What is yoru broader reaction to this coming onslaught (I think putting Halo 2, Half-Life 2, and DOOM 3 within the same TWO years is a bit much, and look at it now.)? I'd love the opinions of everyone here before I get into mine.
      -Larrik Jaerico

      www.LarrikJ.com
    • RE: Christmas time

      A few points:

      - Xmas traditionally has the highest sales velocity for any retailer, including video games.
      - Releasing at the same time as your competition is not as good as releasing BEFORE your competition.
      - If you are on top, like Halo 2, it almost doesn't matter when you release, or with what other products.

      These three things can effect good sales at Xmas - but game companies typically can't put their games "in the can" as sometimes happens in the movie industry. They simply need that return on investment faster.
      Mr.Mike
      Author, Programmer, Brewer, Patriot
    • RE: Christmas time

      Likewise, games sitting on the shelf waiting for publishing is a time wasted that could be spent on bugs, or upgrading the look of it enough to pass as cutting edge for whenever you release it. In MY opinion, the hype machines shouldn't dry up after the game is released (as they often do), and companies shouldn't be afraid to push games during the winter that had been released back in the spring. Of course, I am but an outsider / consumer at this point.
      -Larrik Jaerico

      www.LarrikJ.com