You know, when you're stuck in traffic and you think about changing lanes, but decide not to, reasoning with yourself that everyone else will and you're better off staying put? The lane to the left keeps moving and yet you stand still. So you go left and, what happens? Yup, you're stuck, while the right lane starts moving. Briskly.

Capcom finds itself in just such a position today, as it announces the delay of Dark Void into 2010 "in order to get the game out of the crowded fall game season," the company's Chris Kramer tells Joystiq. The Airtight Games-developed jetpack-'em-up will find a new home in Capcom's fiscal fourth quarter ... which is the increasingly crowded Q1 2010 calendar period, which ends in March.

Precisely what competition could Capcom be so afraid of? GameStop (of course, never an accurate reflection of actual release dates) listed Dark Void as touching down on September 22 ... the same September 22 in which Halo 3 ODST finally stops preparing, and just drops. When asked about the delay, Kramer said, "The move will be great for the game and for gamers: less competition in the market (curse you, Halo!), more time for polish."

So, just to make sure we've got this right: Capcom avoided releasing Dark Void in the relatively open September '09 period to avoid a "crowded" gaming season, opting instead for 2010 ... the same 2010 that now houses release dates for the similarly delayed Splinter Cell: Conviction, Bioshock 2, Singularity, Bayonetta, Red Steel 2, and probably Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption. Oh, as well as the already planned God of War 3, Heavy Rain, MAG, Darksiders, Aliens vs. Predator, Alan Wake, Dante's Inferno, Mass Effect 2, Sin & Punishment 2, White Knight Chronicles, Split/Second, and Capcom's own Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2.

... boy, that right lane is looking awfully appealing again.