More Big Games Will Be Delayed to Late 2010

Take a look at the following list of high-profile video games: Massive Action Game, Singularity, Mafia II, Red Dead Remeption, Bayonetta, Dark Void, Super Mario Galaxy and the blockbusters BioShock 2, Starcraft II, Mafia II. They were all titles that were set to arrive in the last quarter of 2009, making the year one of the most busy in terms of AAA releases. One by one, the video games were pushed back into the first quarter of 2010, which is now looking busier than ever.

The perceived overpopulation prompted Yves Guillemot, who is the chief executive officer of Ubisoft, to say that some of those titles might be pushed back even more, maybe to the autumn of 2009. Talking to the MCV Magazine, he said that, “Well, we now have a situation where there are a lot of good games due for release in the first half of next year, but I think some publishers will move again.”

Ubisoft itself has four important video games moved to 2010: I Am Alive, Red Steel 2, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The company did not provide dates for any of them, but Guillemot addressed the situation of one of them saying, “If we can delay it and benefit then that's a good thing. Plus there are loads of great games coming out this side of Christmas. [...] But the truth is, Splinter Cell wasn't at the point we wanted.”

The Ubisoft CEO might be interested in seeing some of the titles move further into 2010, so its own releases might have a better shot at having an impact during the period. In particular, Starcraft II from Blizzard and BioShock 2 will probably create a void around them when they come out and games like I Am Alive or the new Ghost Recon might have a tough time competing.