14 DAY TRIAL // StarCraft II is one of the biggest games that are set to appear at the end of this year, promising to take players on a new adventure based on one of the most successful Real Time Strategy titles ever made.
But don't forget that Blizzard, the company that is making it, has a habit of not releasing a game if it doesn't meet its quality standards and if the response from fans isn't the right one. This is exactly what Stearne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia considers to be the main cause for his prediction that StarCraft II won't reach fans this year, but in 2010.
He recently declared this to the Wall Street Journal, and now has talked with IGN, revealing that: “What we are pointing out to investors is that there is increased speculation in that regard. We are starting to hear from our industry sources that StarCraft II is going to be delayed. There is a possibility, and we're not saying it is confirmed, but it does look like from people that we're talking to, and what they're hearing and picking up, is that it might be getting delayed.”
But this doesn't mean that a release that isn't scheduled in a holiday season will affect the predicted sales that the game will enjoy. “This is not a title that necessarily has to come out during the Christmas time. I think it could come out any time, and chances are that it will do well. So even if it gets delayed by a few months and comes out during the first quarter of next year, I don't see much of an impact on its ultimate sell through numbers.”
When contacted about this possibility, Blizzard revealed that, while it had the end of the year in sight for the release of the game, if the feedback from the beta stage wasn't good, it would get delayed. “We're still targeting the end of the year for the launch of StarCraft II and we're also still targeting this summer for the start of the beta, so none of that's changed on this end. We're still looking to ship the game by the end of the year. If that changes, we'll let you guys know, but that's how things are looking right now.”