EA exec: 'Industry' slowly discovering rest of calendar

by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 25th 2009 at 12:23PM }

Glen Schofield, general manager of EA's Redwood Shores, seems to think publishers are slowly having epiphanies about the illogical decision to cram every major release into the last quarter of the calendar year. Speaking with GI.biz, he states the "the industry" is finally recognizing that it could launch blockbusters during the summer and, if the title is good, it could still do well. The comment comes after EA's Mirror's Edge and Dead Space failed to meet sales projections. Both titles were new IPs dropped into the madness of the holiday season.

Gamers and the game press have been screaming for years that the overall release schedule needs to change. BioShock's solid August launch -- and significant press coverage -- is currently the go-to example of stepping outside the Q4 circus for a new game. Even high-profile franchises like GTA IV (April '08) and Resident Evil 5 (March) avoided the holiday mess. Times are slowly changing, but don't expect the holiday overdrive to be gone just yet.

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Tags: ea, glen-schofield, release-dates, release-schedule

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Markez @ Feb 25th 2009 12:32PM

Personally, with my huge backlog, I wouldn't mind if all the best games were crammed into the end of this year :P

A few DUH moments from the source article:

"I think the industry has finally gone, 'Wow, we could probably just come out just like the movies do'. Movies launch on Christmas day, they launch blockbusters during the summer, and we're now learning that we could probably launch a game at any time, and if it's a good game it will be well received. DUH

And Schofield effectively confirmed that a sequel to sci-fi horror title Dead Space is in the works, remarking: "We haven't announced anything yet, but I don't think you take a game that's rated 89 and just go, 'Well, that was a failure'.

"And you know what, we'll figure that out, because the hardest thing is the quality. If you figure out the quality, then at some point we're going to figure out how to get that out there." DUH

If we figure out the quality, ahhhhh that's priceless...

greg (peevmyster) @ Feb 25th 2009 12:33PM

Duh

vidGuy @ Feb 25th 2009 12:41PM

I've never understood why the summer is a no-fly zone for high profile releases. The summer is huge for blockbuster movies and video games are a similar entertainment. The gaming market is still largely students who more time to game during the summer months. And since the summer months are largely dead, it's a perfect time to corner the market with a big release.

Mr Khan @ Feb 25th 2009 1:05PM

Plus the fact that the huge target market of school-aged people (all the way from ages 5-22) gains copious amounts of free time in summer. Considering 5-22 runs through the heart of most companies' target demographics, its strange to see the months when those markets should conceivably have the most free time and disposable income to be the most ignored

kentuckyfried @ Feb 25th 2009 3:00PM

b/c execs are dumb as bricks...

I guess they assume that alot of families go on travel during the summer. Which perhaps would mean lower sales.

But they don't know how hardcore some fans can be. Hell, I had a buddy who kept asking me if he should bring his ps3 AND get a new router so that he could play at his mom's house down south while vacationing over there for 1 week.

If anything, summer break = $$$

Piling up releases during winter is stupid b/c inevitably, some titles are going to get lost in the shuffle and end up in the bargain bin quickly (something that should never have happened with Dead Space, or even Valkyria Chronicles).

HitNRun @ Feb 25th 2009 5:30PM

Actually, the assumption (which seems idiotic) is backed up by market research that games in general sell better in Q4, even when it seems like they're buried by competition.

The problem is that there's no differentiation among execs between what *kinds* of games have to be released in Q4 for teh mad profitz, and which would be better served by releasing elsewhere in the year.

My theory is that new IPs really need to release away from the rush.

Levi @ Feb 25th 2009 6:19PM

Traditionally, movies come out, friends get together, go out to the mall, see the movie, browse the mall, etc. When games come out, people go to the store, buy the game, then go back to their homes to sit inside and play them. People are more willing to get together in groups and go out to do things in the summer than the winter, and at the same time are more likely to seek things that they can do inside the warmth of their house for entertainment during the -- HOLY CRAP, MY CAT JUST TOOK A DUMP, AWWW GOD NO, SMEELLLLS SOOOO BAADDD- winter.

Though, perhaps this is changing because every year gaming becomes a bit more of a social activity. This generation seems to be pumping out a lot of co-op, so that could also be a factor.

coffins outside the door @ Feb 25th 2009 12:45PM

October - December 08 was ridiculous for releases. I thought it did all titles a disservice to cram so many in such a small time frame. I know I skipped a few games that I otherwise would've bought/rented if they had been spaced out a bit better. I guess everyone was wanting to be the holiday winner.

Dunn @ Feb 25th 2009 12:52PM

Yes please. A year-long release calendar is a win for all: gamers, reviewers and for titles that would otherwise get drowned out by bigger ones.

tsoul @ Feb 25th 2009 12:55PM

You guys forgot to add Metal Gear Solid 4. Middle of June last year, sold through the summer. I'm sure it did pretty well during the holiday rush season as well.

The Baron @ Feb 25th 2009 12:57PM

If game companies would discover the rest of the year, then my wallet has a good chance of discovering their games.

John Perkins @ Feb 25th 2009 1:00PM

I think this is a hold-over from when most gamers were under the age of 18. Now that many of us are beyond college age and have our own money to spend, we can afford to buy our own games rather than hoping to get them for Christmas. While I still get a few games as gifts for Christmas and birthday presents, the majority of my games are bought by me when they're released.

There have been enough examples of blockbuster games selling very well during the "off" months recently that I believe publishers are recognizing that it's a viable time to release games. I don't know why it's taken them so long to realize this.

baby sea tuna @ Feb 25th 2009 1:20PM

Too true. I don't even think I got any games for Xmas last year. I get mostly practical stuff these days, since nobody ever knows which games I already bought for myself throughout the year.

joeybeast @ Feb 25th 2009 1:00PM

All the reason for ESA to move up E3 for summer releases.

Mr Khan @ Feb 25th 2009 1:07PM

I think the industry already has awoken, considering Mario Kart Wii and GTAIV in late April, and Wii Fit in early May were the three best-selling titles of last year, and MGS4 in June was one of the top PS3 titles (if not the top, i don't remember exactly)

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 25th 2009 1:09PM

Sony is Still beating us over the head this Holiday Season with Uncharted 2 & God of War 3. not to mention all those PSP games mentioned yesterday. something tells me at LEAST 2 will come out after August

baby sea tuna @ Feb 25th 2009 1:18PM

I'm still genuinely surprised that Sony has decided to release GoW3 during the holiday '09 timeframe, considering they release each of the last 3 GoW games in March. And it's not like they didn't sell a shitload of each of those.

Dante G @ Feb 25th 2009 1:31PM

I think gow 3 will be delayed till 2010. Either that or the game will be too short.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 25th 2009 1:32PM

they might push it back. hell I hope they move it up to August

samfish (is ready for MadWorld!) @ Feb 25th 2009 1:42PM

I'd be surprised if GoW3 isn't pushed back to March '10, myself.

343 Guilty Fart @ Feb 25th 2009 1:24PM

I still haven't gotten around to picking up a bunch of games that came out at the end of 08. I still have a huge backlog to conquer, not to mention games I want to run through again.

Burritoclock @ Feb 25th 2009 2:11PM

I'll echo everyone else, this is one of those thing that have always baffled me. It's right up there with "Why are all women so stupid?" and "Why are good tv shows canceled, while NCIS remains on the air?"

Just lifes enigma's I spose.

Hashbrown Hunter @ Feb 25th 2009 2:51PM

I can answer those questions:
- Women aren't stupid. In most cases they're smarter than us dudes.
- NCIS makes money. Good shows that are under advertised do not.

Burritoclock @ Feb 25th 2009 4:22PM

WOW! Thanks genius, don't know how I would have made it with out you.

Premature ejaculation man @ Feb 25th 2009 6:37PM

Perhaps Hashbrown hunter is one of those women you just talked about Burrito =p

GenBanks @ Feb 25th 2009 1:37PM

About time... so many good games that suffer from neglect on my PC because they came out at the same time as other good games.

KilgoreTrout XL @ Feb 25th 2009 1:50PM

Halo 3's September release also comes to mind.

HitNRun @ Feb 25th 2009 5:33PM

You have a point, but I think Halo's the kind of game that benefits from a late-year release. It *is* the 400 lb gorilla - an established property on adult's shopping lists and teenager's Christmas lists alike - that other, riskier games need to avoid.

Scooter @ Feb 25th 2009 2:00PM

HMX released its first albums in the summer. I bought SfV, Pixies and The Who, in total 30 something dollars. This is in addition to other DLC i bought. Do you want to know why I could buy so much stuff from bands I'd nevered listen to before? Because I had no other games to spend my money on.

And I'm a RB whore. Not quite a DLC yet but this summer I should be.

The Baron @ Feb 25th 2009 2:51PM

Probably means WoW subscriptions go up during that half of the year for similar reasons.

Scooter @ Feb 26th 2009 10:34AM

Wow, I just looked at my post and realized I look illiterate.

ducttapeBigSexy @ Feb 25th 2009 2:05PM

I don't personally mind a large amount of games coming out at the same time of year - by the time I work through my log enough to justify picking them up, they've usually dropped in price.

Granted, this is only really good for me - not developers trying to make money or get new IP noticed.

jkanownik @ Feb 25th 2009 2:27PM

The crowded Q4 release window is all about limited retail space combined with the fact that 25% of the industry's sales come in December. If 25% of movie ticket sales all happened in December you'd see a whole lot more movies coming out in November/December.

The main difference this past year was that Nintendo sucked up all the dollars. Look at the sales numbers for AC in 2007. There's no way they sell that many units if they released it earlier in the year.

Vidikron @ Feb 25th 2009 3:10PM

But aren't the increased sales partly due to the additional high profile games being released during the holidays? It's obvious that holiday gift giving does drive sales higher than normal, but I think the comparison to the rest of the year is a bit misleading due to the fact that most of the big games are released at that time.

You also have to keep in mind that the average gamer is getting older. There are a lot of us that no longer rely on our parents to give us games as gifts. I make the same amount of money all year long and thus have the same buying power all year long. And since I do buy most of my own games I'd like to see games released at a more reasonable pace throughout the year.

Hashbrown Hunter @ Feb 25th 2009 2:49PM

I think everyone thought exactly the same thing I did after reading this article:

"WHY DID IT TAKE THIS LONG?"

fikhl @ Feb 25th 2009 6:02PM

Yeah I always thought how stupid it is to have ZERO games to play during summers,finally someone noticed.

Levi @ Feb 25th 2009 6:28PM

Dunno about you guys, but I have at least one game coming out that I will buy at launch every month from here until June, including Feb. There are other titles that will probably be coming after that obviously, but it just reinforces this article. Seems this year I'll be putting game money in my budget, because htye will be coming out at a pretty even-steven rate.

Not complaining, although I don't think I'll ever find time to get 100% trophies in full length titles anymore. Like, I'll probably not have a chance to do a Crushing run on Uncharted before the sequel comes out. I started a second play through of Dead Space a while ago, as well as started the Time Trials in Mirror's Edge, then I got wrapped up in Condemned 2. KZ2, Eat Lead, and RE5 just around the corner. I'll barely be able to finish these games once at this rate!

I resorted to PC gaming and modding last gen, as the console games didn't really appeal to me. I bought so few games and mostly just played Counter Strike. This generation is so different. I'm buying new games at full price instead of eBaying them long after price drops, I'm playing a TON more console games than PC, reserving and buying games on release day... hell, this is the first gen that I've actually known any release dates off the top of my head.