14 DAY TRIAL // The companies involved in the gaming industry, like almost any other corporations that market products, bet big on the holiday seasons in order to generate bigger sales for their titles. That is why in the last quarter of the year, with the period before the Christmas celebrations, a lot of great titles usually appear.
But even though such a practice isn't the best, especially for new games and IPs that can't get into the customer's attention, even at this point in 2009 we already have a full list of blockbuster titles, mostly sequels, due out in winter.
Microsoft has recently talked about this subject, through the voice of its European marketing boss for the Xbox division, David Gosen. He has revealed that his company is militating for releases all throughout the year, as they keep the average gamer entertained and make their holiday-shopping decisions much more easier.
“We still have a very seasonally-focussed business,” he says. “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.”
Gosen has also backed up his statements with examples such as Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, which was launched in April last year, or Capcom's recent Resident Evil 5, which hit the shelves last month. “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.”
Hopefully, video game companies will follow the pieces of advice revealed by Microsoft and we will get high-quality titles all throughout the year, not just at the end of it.