For many years the month of June has been a mixed blessing for gaming. The early part of the month is filled with rumors, speculations, and leaks leading up to E3, and then following the show, we get the analysis of what was shown and played at the convention as well as the endless debates over who “Won” which I have always found crazy when dealing with unfinished products.
Shortly after the conclusion of E3 though, many publishers go into a fairly quiet mode as after their E3 reveals they are often in a recovery stage where they are not talking or taking questions about their reveals until a later date.
I refer to this as a “June Swoon” as you go from full on, accelerator down mode to silence. The silence is broken a bit leading up to Gamescom and PAX Prime but this is how things work. You are given a large amount on your plate at E3 and are left to digest it until publishers are ready to serve up something new.
This year however, we get the release of Batman: Arkham Knight and new Final Fantasy Releases just one week after the conclusion of E3. This is an interesting move as it ensures a huge response for the games as interest will be at an all-time high which can be enhanced by a successful show in the days leading up to release.
So why don’t more companies time releases around E3 and other big shows? I would say it is a simple matter of logistics as it is a long and draining process preparing for a convention and the risk of spreading yourself to thin can be an issue when your marketing people have to prepare for a show and a major release back to back.
Another issue is that should a game receive a less than favorable response at a show, there is very little to no time to make any changes as the game would likely have already gone Gold and gone to manufacturing.
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues more in the future as it would be great to see more AAA games released around major shows, but as always, waiting until it is done is the best course of action as far as we are concerned.
What upcoming games are you most looking forward to?
