Batman: Arkham Asylum delayed until 'summer 2009'
by Jason Dobson 
{ May 1st 2009 at 4:05PM } 
While the Bat's' upcoming jaunt through the famed comic prison won't take quite as long to get to store shelves as previously rumored, the game is likely to miss its already announced June 23 release. According to an official statement, Batman: Arkham Asylum will ship sometime during the noticeably vague "summer 2009" window. No reason was given for the delay, with parties saying only that the extra time will let devs ensure that the game "is of the highest quality for gamers." We're following up for some more details and will update if we hear anything.
Update: Joystiq has received a slightly more specific ship date for the game, with a representative saying that Batman: Arkham Asylum will ship sometime at the "end of summer."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rein @ May 1st 2009 4:09PM
*ahem*
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Also, isn't June summer anyway? Why are they doing this to me? All I want to do is give them my money. ;_;
Brady @ May 1st 2009 4:32PM
i would gladly wait until next year if I knew the delay is for the good of the game. I don't want them half-assing possibly the greatest game.....ever.
candafilm @ May 1st 2009 4:10PM
That's ok, there are a ton of good games being released in June. This will spread it out a little bit.
Adeese @ May 1st 2009 4:56PM
That's the exact thing I thought, too. While I'm sad it's delayed, I'm happy in that there will be a ton of new stuff to play in June already.
Christmas in June, anyone? ;)
AsherR @ May 1st 2009 4:10PM
Grrrrrrrrrr.......
AsherR @ May 1st 2009 4:11PM
As long as it's good....
Mana37 @ May 1st 2009 4:10PM
I will accept nothing but perfection... all it needs is a few tweaks.
Sept. 1st release!! I'm sure this is just to avoid being overshadowed by E3.
SourceJR @ May 1st 2009 4:11PM
Holy Delay date, Dark Wayne what are we gonna do!!!!!!!!!!!
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 5:20PM
IDK, play wolverine and red faction until it comes out?
Zerokku @ May 1st 2009 4:11PM
Thank god. It may not be as soon as we had hoped, but it's a lot better then the holiday season rumors floating around. This delay probably means it's getting a bit more polish, and I won't mind that.
joshuatucson @ May 1st 2009 5:31PM
well my big problem with this is Eidos reportedly told some site that the game was reportedly on track for it june 23 release. Now why would they tell one site that it was coming out then, and then just a few hours later say oh it is coming out later this summer. I bet you it is because they had to many preorders for the collectors edition, and they can't manufacture the batarangs fast enough. lol
Snowblind @ May 1st 2009 6:33PM
According to some sources it's actually because the game didn't have very many pre-orders, and they think it can do a lot better. So they've basically delayed it to built up hype and release it at a busier time.
Personally, I think this is a huge mistake. We know the game is done, it's recieving excellent previews and everyone who's played the demo says it's great. Delaying it is only going to cause many to lose interest and it now runs the risk of being overshadowed against things like Uncharted 2.
Releasing it now gives them virutally no competition. Bad pre-orders or not, I don't see the logic behind this move. At least it gives the developers time to polish the game a little more.
Mr Khan @ May 1st 2009 4:30PM
Doesn't make it quite so bad. Further into summer, the only thing it has to compete with is Wii Sports Resort, and there's definitely little to no overlap there
Certainly better than the previously rumored push back to Q4
Trev @ May 1st 2009 4:36PM
Huh. A delay is one thing but a delay to a really vague date is another. I played the challenge room demo and really enjoyed it, and I even have it reserved. Going to swing into Gamestop and cancel that, since I have to run into town tonight anyway. I'll probably move that full payment to Prototype. I'll probably still get Batman when it comes out, but I won't leave money sitting on something with a vague date.
tsoul @ May 1st 2009 4:36PM
Developed by Eidos...Square's takeover probably has something to do with it. Have to put their own stamp of quality before it ships. And who knows what kind of bugs adding their name to the splash pages would spring up.
Kdiggy @ May 1st 2009 4:37PM
I played the demo at GameStop. I wasn't very impressed. Hopefully they will do some more work to the fighting mechanics.
Misfit Toy @ May 1st 2009 4:42PM
More time = More polish
I'm willing to wait. Probably a good move. I'd like to see a license tie-in get a good score as it is rare.
JUNG GUNS @ May 1st 2009 4:46PM
I remember reading a joystiq article that quoted the developers saying the game was "as close to perfect" as a game can be. They were super-duper-happy with the end product of the game, SUPPOSEDLY?? I don't know why I read this trash. Oh wait, yeah, I love video games and hate my job that's why.
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 5:22PM
I saw a commercial for a used car dealership that said their cars were perfect, but when I went there to test drive one, it was really shitty, funny how that works.
rohan @ May 1st 2009 4:49PM
Dam u Wayne!
tmontana213 @ May 1st 2009 4:58PM
YOU BASTARDS!!!!!!!!! The Joker has something to do with this I know it! *Turns on the Bat Signal* Hurry Dark Wayne you'll fix this.
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 5:19PM
I'm afraid it's out of my hands Clint.
tmontana213 @ May 1st 2009 7:03PM
Damn, oh well I guess I can wait alittle longer.
Jambi_Bum @ May 1st 2009 5:01PM
Silently waits for Wayne to come and cry on my shoulder.
Jambi_Bum @ May 1st 2009 5:01PM
Curse you Joystiq for playing tiddly winks with my avatar all the time!
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 5:19PM
how could I cry on the shoulder of a dead man?
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 6:17PM
when i said that your icon was Captain Ameirca
Jambi_Bum @ May 1st 2009 6:21PM
Don't you know there is a new CA? Duh! Although I do miss my Steve. Bucky just isn't the same.
Deadpool @ May 1st 2009 5:10PM
This is bad news and good news for me. There's so many freakin games coming out already that I need to let my wallet rest. Not to mention I was gonna shell out $94.99 for the collector's edition of this game.
Thanks Amazon.com, for saving me $5 dollars! :D
The Dark Wayne @ May 1st 2009 5:31PM
Well that's too bad, this was really the only summer game I was greatly anticipating. RFG looks good but I get the feeling it will either be a letdown, something im already feeling from the demo, or it wont last long enough. Guess I'll have to fill the dog days with lesser fare like Transformers and Juarez, still I guess I can't complain if the delay makes the game better. I just wish I'd be able to play it during summer where I can play as long as I want
Tyler @ May 1st 2009 5:54PM
Maybe they had a lot of pre-orders for the CE and decided to manufacture some more.
Or maybe they decided the game is getting a good buzz with fans and want to start a more ambitious ad campaign to up the sales.
Just my speculation...
Discotheque @ May 1st 2009 7:05PM
So....August then? Hopefully that's the latest we'll see it. If it makes it in September it's going to sadly be overshadowed.
Bastard11 @ May 1st 2009 9:04PM
September.. they just updated our databases.
Chillski @ May 1st 2009 10:13PM
yes thank you eidos for putting in the dev time nessecery to make this the game we all want !!
evilsaywhat @ May 2nd 2009 5:21AM
GameStop convinced them to delay the game so they could make more interest on your preorders.
kentuckyfried @ May 4th 2009 1:05AM
I just threw down a pre-order for this, since I've been wanting to anyhow. It's unfortunate that this won't come until end of summer, but at least it's not delayed until December (which would indicate to me that they're having tons of trouble which is never a good sign).
Now, hopefully, Bionic Commando will be OK. If that arrives in good condition, I'll still be happy. Still on the fence about InFamous though.