{"id":25480,"date":"2014-09-12T08:30:16","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T00:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=25480"},"modified":"2014-09-20T11:28:52","modified_gmt":"2014-09-20T03:28:52","slug":"for-gamers-waiting-on-delayed-titles-like-evolve-arkham-knight-can-be-the-hardest-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/09\/12\/for-gamers-waiting-on-delayed-titles-like-evolve-arkham-knight-can-be-the-hardest-part\/","title":{"rendered":"For gamers, waiting on delayed titles like \u2018Evolve,\u2019 \u2018Arkham Knight\u2019 can be the hardest part"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo from Jorge Figueroa<\/a> \/ Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ANAHEIM, Calif.\u2014When it comes to video games, are they better late than never?<\/p>\n

At this week\u2019s GameStop Expo, the video game retailer\u2019s annual consumer-centric event, more than 3,000 attendees had the chance to test drive highly anticipated titles like \u201cEvolve,\u201d \u201cDying Light\u201d and \u201cBattlefield Hardline\u201d in the halls of the Anaheim Convention Center. However, it\u2019s probably the last time this year that gamers will be able to play those particular titles.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because they\u2019re among the growing list of games initially set to be released in 2014 that have been delayed until 2015. The publishers behind the monster fighter \u201cEvolve,\u201d zombie survival adventure \u201cDying Light\u201d and cops-and-robbers romp \u201cBattlefield Hardline\u201d each postponed their release dates earlier this year so developers had more time to tweak the titles.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a frustrating trend that\u2019s prompting many players to bemoan the least fun game of all: The Waiting Game.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it sucks,\u201d said Dan Adams, an expo attendee who came to preview games like \u201cFar Cry 4\u201d and \u201cCall of Duty\u201d on the show floor. \u201cI know games are delayed to make them better, but it definitely feels like it\u2019s happening more often these days. It really messes with your expectations when you think you know when a game is coming out, and then\u2014boom\u2014it\u2019s next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other games previously set for release this year that have been pushed to 2015 include the online apocalyptic shooter \u201cTom Clancy\u2019s The Division,\u201d the Dark Knight sequel \u201cBatman: Arkham Knight,\u201d the supernatural historical adventure \u201cThe Order: 1886,\u201d the sprawling role-playing sequel \u201cThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt\u201d and the open- world\u00a0movie adaptation \u201cMad Max.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many games for next year, it makes me worried sometimes,\u201d said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June. \u201cWe are always caught between two things: How can we make it better but take full advantage of what we started a few years ago? It\u2019s always a difficult decision because there are always other games coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deciding to delay is as much a business decision as it is a creative one.<\/p>\n

While setting a release date helps to build hype for a game, if it comes out on time but doesn\u2019t meet gamers\u2019 expectations, there\u2019s less chance a publisher will greenlight a sequel. Historically, consumers are forgiving of most overdue games. For instance, the fourth-month delay of last year\u2019s \u201cGrand Theft Auto V\u201d hardly seemed to impact sales.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s likely to be true for the latest batch of tardy titles, which also aren\u2019t expected to affect the sales of the newer PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. In fact, pushing games like \u201cEvolve\u201d to Feb. 10 and \u201cBatman: Arkham Knight\u201d to June 5 might actually boost the bottom line for publishers like 2K Games and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any of the delayed games are system sellers, so I don\u2019t really think it makes a lot of difference,\u201d said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan. \u201cThe games coming out will benefit from lower competition, and the delays smooth out the release calendar, so they\u2019ll probably create an opportunity for greater success all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also means newcomers like \u201cEvolve,\u201d \u201cThe Order\u201d and \u201cDivision\u201d won\u2019t have to compete with the latest editions of long-running series, such as military shooter \u201cCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare,\u201d fantasy epic \u201cDragon Age: Inquisition,\u201d shoot-\u2019em-up \u201cFar Cry 4\u201d and French Revolution-set \u201cAssassin\u2019s Creed: Unity.\u201d They\u2019re still on track to come out in 2014\u2014well, for now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still the best slate of games I\u2019ve seen since I\u2019ve been here, and I\u2019ve been here nine years,\u201d said Tony Bartel, president of GameStop Corp. \u201cThere are plenty of genres. We think it\u2019s all going to come down to affordability. We\u2019re working on programs specifically around trades to put currency in the hands of our customers, so they can afford all of those games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Online<\/h6>\n

http:\/\/www.gamestop.com\/expo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM, Calif.\u2014When it comes to video games, are they better late than never? At this week\u2019s GameStop Expo, the video …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":25481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","mauthors-derrik-j-lang","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}