EA Rethinks Release Date Strategy

[Emabulator]

GamesIndustry is reporting (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ea-weve-learned-our-lesson-on-release-dates) that Electronic Arts has learned their lesson on release dates after admitting they got it wrong with some of their biggest titles in 2008.

Glen Schofield, general manager of the publisher's Redwood Shores studio in San Francisco, acknowledged that releasing new franchises like Mirror's Edge and Dead Space during peak season, which failed to hit sales projections, had been an education for the company.

...

"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.

"I think that we traditionally thought that people only buy games at Christmas or around holiday time, and now we're looking back and going, 'You know what, GTA launched in May; Resident Evil comes out in March'."No shit Sherlock! How much are they paying these people? They've just figured this out now?

[GraveMatter]

Ya know, here I sit, recently laid off...and then I read stuff like this and think...Wow, these people are probably making a lot of money to make these boneheaded decisions that a 5th grader could figure out. Where do I sign up??!??

[Ozena]

Hey, Glen's a cool guy. But it does stink to hear that EA's (awesome) new franchises haven't sold as well as some other titles.

Hopefully this piece of wisdom will drive them on to greater things.

[laggerific]

You know what else they might want to rethink? $60 price tags on games. In this saturated market, I don't know what they expect.

Also, you know who else rocked this past holiday season? I'm sure it was gamefly, because I signed up with them just so I didn't have to shovel out $60 dollars x Infinity for all the games coming out during the holiday. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. One of those games I rented and beat was Mirror's Edge, while I actually purchased Dead Space.

[lost]

Over here they have just lopped £5 off game prices.

So, what was £40 (usual new game price) is now far more likely to be £35.

It'll soon reach the magical £30 price where it stays until a new console releases. This has always been the pattern in the UK.

[Kolreth]

I'm gonna pick up dead space soon. I've heard enough to be really interested now.

[Emabulator]

I'm gonna pick up dead space soon. I've heard enough to be really interested now.Dead Space is a very good game. I played through it twice and I plan on playing it again soon.

[Virtuoso]

This is extremely obvious.

[Wyrm]

You know what else they might want to rethink? $60 price tags on games. In this saturated market, I don't know what they expect.

Also, you know who else rocked this past holiday season? I'm sure it was gamefly, because I signed up with them just so I didn't have to shovel out $60 dollars x Infinity for all the games coming out during the holiday. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. One of those games I rented and beat was Mirror's Edge, while I actually purchased Dead Space.

I did the same. In the face of not being able to afford any of these games, I decided to gamefly about half of them. I'm extremely glad I did.

I avoided buying Prince of Persia, Mirror's Edge, Bad Company, and a slew of other games. I did end up buying Dead Space, but that kind of thing is my bread and butter.

[Emabulator]

I did the same. In the face of not being able to afford any of these games, I decided to gamefly about half of them. I'm extremely glad I did.

I avoided buying Prince of Persia, Mirror's Edge, Bad Company, and a slew of other games. I did end up buying Dead Space, but that kind of thing is my bread and butter.The $60 price tag is a large part of why I don't own a PS3 or Xbox 360. In my opinion the vast majority of games are not worth more than $40. I can hold out for sales or price drops.

The way the economy is going only the AAA titles are going to sell well at the $60 price point.

[abso]

You know what else they might want to rethink? $60 price tags on games. In this saturated market, I don't know what they expect.

I read an analysts report recently that hinted that games will likely return to the $50 mark. Couple that with the speech Gabe Newell gave about the high price of games actually prohibiting profits that would be made off of volume sales, and maybe something will come of it. Might be 2-3 years until then, but the seeds have been planted.

Anyway, I think it is great that EA has seen the light that a good game will sell no matter when it is sold. Quality is what makes games stand apart.

[Valkyrist]

I still remember when the original BF 1942 came out right at the start of summer vacation from high school. It was like an early christmas. Me and all my friends played that game every day for 3 months straight.

Why some game companies think you can only release big-title games in the run up to christmas is beyond my comprehension. It's not like the game industry is new anymore.

[Shifter]

Guys, I'm sure there are mountains of data to show that the best time to launch a new franchise is around Christmas. Thinking beyond the core gamer market, just because the GTAs and REs of the world can be successful anytime of the year doesn't mean the same for new franchises. Bottom line is still that 50% of games are still bought around the holiday season.

[Yama]

Guys, I'm sure there are mountains of data to show that the best time to launch a new franchise is around Christmas. Thinking beyond the core gamer market, just because the GTAs and REs of the world can be successful anytime of the year doesn't mean the same for new franchises. Bottom line is still that 50% of games are still bought around the holiday season.

Sales do spike during the holiday shopping season, but the saturation of the market at that time defeats any possible gains. Too many publishers released too many titles in that timeframe, and holiday shoppers only bought so many games, so it resulted in many titles being left behind. Competition is too fierce during the holidays, and releasing a game that isn't a heavily-marketed blockbuster will see its sales suffer.

Simple fact is that there were a lot of games I would have bought last Christmas, but didn't, because there was simply too much on the shelves at once. I'll eventually go back and pick up the ones I passed on, but the crucial timeframe has passed, and the retailers have long since moved most of their new product and have shifted to selling pre-owned product, so the publisher will see very few sales now.

[Chimpbot]

Guys, I'm sure there are mountains of data to show that the best time to launch a new franchise is around Christmas. Thinking beyond the core gamer market, just because the GTAs and REs of the world can be successful anytime of the year doesn't mean the same for new franchises. Bottom line is still that 50% of games are still bought around the holiday season.

Taking a cursory glance at the current conditions of the gaming market, I would say that illusionary data you're referencing probably outdated. Just look at this past holiday season; LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge and Dead Space were three brand-spankin'-new IPs...and all three failed to do quite as well as their respective publishers would have liked due to them getting caught up in the clusterfuck of the holiday release schedule. Had these titles been released in May or June, they would have been able to stand out from the crowd significantly easier since the pickings are rather slim during those months.

We get a lot of dross in the early parts of the year and the summer. Quality titles with a decent marketing plan will stand out during a weaker release schedule...but when you lump most of those quality titles with a decent marketing plan together at the same time, they can all easily get lost in the shuffle.

[Mr.Green]

Guys, I'm sure there are mountains of data to show that the best time to launch a new franchise is around Christmas. Thinking beyond the core gamer market, just because the GTAs and REs of the world can be successful anytime of the year doesn't mean the same for new franchises. Bottom line is still that 50% of games are still bought around the holiday season.

You shut the hell up with your common sense! Our business here as random nobodies is to bitch and think we know better than anyone in the industry.

[DeejayKnight]

All I have to say is: Took them long enough (http://www.gamingtruth.com/2009/02/26/the-holiday-blitz-may-be-on-its-way-out/).