Smash Bros Brawl Delayed Again

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

Right when it was about to hit, with the anticipation of fans at its peak, Sakurai today announced on the Brawl development blog (http://www.smashbros.com) that the game will not be meeting its Feb 10th release date.

Due to delays in the completion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we’ve had to change the release date of the game to Sunday, March 9th.

I deeply apologize to the people who have looked forward to playing the game for so long and ask that you hold on just a little longer. Thank you for your patience.

The Japanese release date has also seen a delay, although smaller, from Jan 26th to Jan 31st.

A shorter delay this time, at least, but frustrating nonetheless considering how close to launch it occured.

[bajan]

nooooooooooooooooooo

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

:(

[mkelehan]

I said it last delay and I'll say it again: you take all the time you need, Nintendo, to make me the best Smash Bros. you can. We only get one per generation. Make it count.

[DaXIthR]

With Brawl pushed to March, and Wii Fit scheduled for May...
Don't expect Mario Kart before July or August.

Personally, this delay is huge. By far, my most anticipated game ever now comes the week before my wedding. We're doing a whirlwind honeymoon and then a wedding reception...and then a couple weeks in Cleveland...

Brawl might as well be mid-April for me.

[Feltoar]

A shorter delay this time, at least, but frustrating nonetheless considering how close to launch it occured.
At least you guys dont have to wait until July-August and pay $89USD for it.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

At least you guys dont have to wait until July-August and pay $89USD for it.

Dude why are you still buying locally!

I'm in the same boat as you geographically but I'll be playing Brawl next month.

It's faster AND cheaper to import these days, with our awesome dollar.

[Troggles]

Dang, your news post must have just barely beat mine to the punch! Rawr!

At least it was only a month delay instead of a season.

[Feltoar]

Dude why are you still buying locally!

I'm in the same boat as you geographically but I'll be playing Brawl next month.

It's faster AND cheaper to import these days, with our awesome dollar.
Ive never truely considered it. I like my things to just work and dont enjoy importing things due to possible hassles. Plus I rarely buy games at launch, I typically buy reduced games. This and Metroid Prime 1 are the only times Ive put my buying habits into question, they usually do alright by me.

[Syl]

With Brawl pushed to March, and Wii Fit scheduled for May...
Don't expect Mario Kart before July or August.

Personally, this delay is huge. By far, my most anticipated game ever now comes the week before my wedding. We're doing a whirlwind honeymoon and then a wedding reception...and then a couple weeks in Cleveland...

Brawl might as well be mid-April for me.

I'm sorry that a 1 month delay of a game destroys your plan for an eternity with the woman you love. :rolleyes:

You could just delay the wedding another month, not like you have to worry about planning where to have it, the catering, the invitations on who to invite, what priest is going to do the wedding, what you and the woman are going to wear, not to mention completely redoing all the honeymoon plans... Games take a while to set up as well; sometimes delays are needed.

[Manzy]

Curses...the good games always get delayed so much.

[Syl]

Curses...the good games always get delayed so much.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that is typically part of the reason they end up being so good.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

Ive never truely considered it. I like my things to just work and dont enjoy importing things due to possible hassles. Plus I rarely buy games at launch, I typically buy reduced games. This and Metroid Prime 1 are the only times Ive put my buying habits into question, they usually do alright by me.

Fair enough, there certainly is something to be said for being able to just walk into a store and browse around and pick something up, which is probably the thing I miss most now that I import.

[Odyzen]

At least for once someone just came out and said that they can't meet the deadline. Usually developers just cut things out or say the game is on schedule until the last minute and then *poof* "The game is delayed and we didn't see it coming". Knowing that it's delayed because the game won't have the "completeness" that it deserves and seeing that in advance is a good thing.... That is, as long as the game comes out sooner rather than later.

[DaXIthR]

I'm sorry that a 1 month delay of a game destroys your plan for an eternity with the woman you love. :rolleyes:

Doesn't destroy anything. It's just a two-month delay for me instead of one. And that's a hard punch to my nuts...

I'll gladly take hard punches to my nuts for my fiancee so long as we both shall live...or something like that.

[Furious Wang]

Probably would have been released on time if they didn't insist on adding more and more characters. Balancing 40 toons for multiplayer is probably a pain in the ass.

[Farsight]

Personally, this delay is huge. By far, my most anticipated game ever now comes the week before my wedding.

Awwwww...

We're doing a whirlwind honeymoon and then a wedding reception...

Honeymoon before the reception? Have you had your first anniversary celebration already?

and then a couple weeks in Cleveland...

As penance?!?

[Teh Super King]

http://accordionguy.blogware.com/Photos/2005/05/noooooooo.jpg

[GabeCube]

Probably would have been released on time if they didn't insist on adding more and more characters. Balancing 40 toons for multiplayer is probably a pain in the ass.

You know, I think localization, and not balancing, is the cause of the delay.

I mean, the Japanese delay only pushed it to January 31st...

[TrackZero]

Heh heh heh. Nintendo and their carrot on a stick.

[Ph00p]

Brilliant! Nintendo has one of the most talked about consoles and they're intentionally killing their own momentum. Great move!

[GabeCube]

Brilliant! Nintendo has one of the most talked about consoles and they're intentionally killing their own momentum. Great move!

Again, may be going out on a limb here... but I assume the majority of Wii users aren't exactly the kind of consumer who mark game date releases on their calendars. And it's not like the pushed it back a whole quarter (since the last one at least). Yes, they missed christmas and that is bad... but they did have Mario Galaxy and you don't want those competing with each other.

The Metal Gear Solid 4 delay certainly was more harmful to Sony than the Smash Bros delay (and yes, I realize it's a Konami title).

[H.Bogard]

Seriously... what the fuck are they developing? A free in-engine-kitten-generator or some shit? Sheesh! Its a fucking brawler with nintendo characters! Just release it!

[Nighthawk]

2 years from now if this one is good as Melee, this minor delay won't mean shit to me.

If they released before Christmas and it blew ass, 2 years from now I would probably have forgotten I even played it.

I can be patient. Quality sometimes takes time, and I am happy with that.

[Ph00p]

The fact still stands that overall the character models do look something of a current-gen with the tricks they've pulled with the textures, whilst the backgrounds and levels generally look like they could be in a N64 game, with the low-res textures and jaggies-a-plenty. I doubt that a month could be long enough to fix that.

[drakkarim]

why are people still so surprised when games slip? isn't that the norm these days? if anything, you should expect games to be delayed and surprised/amazed for the few that manage to keep on schedule.

[NoName]

Ug, not something fun to read in my RSS feed this early in the morning :/. Oh well, it'll get here eventually.

[mister_slim]

why are people still so surprised when games slip? isn't that the norm these days? if anything, you should expect games to be delayed and surprised/amazed for the few that manage to keep on schedule.

Especially for a Nintendo title.

[protocol_image]

as long as it's quasi-perfect......and i'm honestly expecting that

[Kamalot]

nooooooooooooooooooo

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

:(

Reminds me of this (http://cache.g4tv.com/images/ImageDb3/004/979/image4979/4979_m.jpg)...

[Heretic Machine]

Bah... now my birthday is going to suck.

[TeeCakes]

...as long as it's a good product in the end, I can be extremely patient for this. Considering I'll probably end up wasting a good year or two of my life being sucked into the game, doesn't really matter if to me if it slides back a month.

But reward us with another "Sonic"-level hidden character, mmkay Sakurai?

Again, may be going out on a limb here... but I assume the majority of Wii users aren't exactly the kind of consumer who mark game date releases on their calendars. And it's not like the pushed it back a whole quarter (since the last one at least). Yes, they missed christmas and that is bad... but they did have Mario Galaxy and you don't want those competing with each other.

The Metal Gear Solid 4 delay certainly was more harmful to Sony than the Smash Bros delay (and yes, I realize it's a Konami title).

Funny that both delayed-to-March-08 titles feature Snake as a main character. COINCIDENCE?!?!

..yeah, probably. But I'm guessing that releasing Wii-Smash ahead of MGS4 could've only increased sales of MGS4 when it finally came out in "Q2", even so.

[Elrik Murder]

Personally, this delay is huge. By far, my most anticipated game ever now comes the week before my wedding. We're doing a whirlwind honeymoon and then a wedding reception...and then a couple weeks in Cleveland...

Brawl might as well be mid-April for me.

Why sir, I'm appalled! You need to get your priorities in order! :p

A wedding is nothing when compared to Smash. The art of Smash waits for no one! :D

Seriously, congratulations! Just think of it as the best wedding gift ever created. Sakurai personally patting you on the shoulder saying, "atta boy" shortly after dismissing himself as he eyes the cake. That Sakurai sure does love some cake.

[wiredInsanity]

Walmart has destroyed my desire to play this game....it's gone.

[Spigot]

This is fine with me. Gives me more time to work on No More Heroes and the various DS games I'm getting in February.

And I might get around to firing up Melee again to hone my smashing skills.

[Phanto]

As long as they don't screw the game I can live with that, and besides I still have lots of games to play that I haven't even started yet..

[Ten19]

*rocking back and forth on the floor*

Delays will be forgotten once the game is released...
Delays will be forgotten once the game is released...
Delays will be forgotten once the game is released...

[Kamalot]

As long as they don't screw the game I can live with that, and besides I still have lots of games to play that I haven't even started yet..

For serious. As badly as I want Smash Bros, I have a HUGE backlog of things to play.

[DaXIthR]

Honeymoon before the reception? Have you had your first anniversary celebration already?

Different culture, sir. The wedding and reception are a week apart in my case.

As penance?!?

Cleveland as penance? That's just where she'll be for the next couple months until we're both in NorCal. I've actually never been to Cleveland, and the fiancee is growing to hate it herself. Is it really that bad?

[LongStepMantis]

It's ok.
When it does come out it will be like your birthday, x-mas, halloween, St. Patrick's day, strippers, and freshly baked chocolate cake...in one.

[BGSS]

Brilliant! Nintendo has one of the most talked about consoles and they're intentionally killing their own momentum. Great move!

Yeah, people are going to stop buying Wii's and SSBB because a game comes out a few weeks later. It's just not as fun of a game now that it's released in march. *I roll my eyes here*

[divinechaos]

AAAHAHAHAHA. I'm sure they're having problems making the online aspect of the game work. I mean, what else could it be?

[Kamalot]

I mean, what else could it be?

Almost anything...

[Bahamut]

Walmart has destroyed my desire to play this game....it's gone.

Did you really expect Walmart to honor that drastic mistake?

[Sandman]

February turns to March....March turns to Summer and Summer turns to November.

[Deadend]

I don't get how a small delay in Japan, becomes a month in America. Or for-fucking-ever in Australia. I mean, what is there even to translate?!

[Matches Malone]

1st party Nintendo game gets delayed, what shock...

[DaXIthR]

February turns to March....March turns to Summer and Summer turns to November.

You must be looking for the MGS thread. Need a map?