A Dearth of Good Games

Anyone besides me tired of the complete and utter lack of good games over the past month? If you ever listened to the old Gaming Today File-N-Forget Podcast, I know you've heard me rant on this topic before. If so, you'll just have to excuse my pummeling of this deceased equine beastie.

Why is it that game companies try to jam every big title of the year into the 3-4 weeks before the holidays? Honestly, it has to hurt sales more than it helps. Sure, if you have the #1 title of that period, you're going to do well, but that title will do well anywhere in the year, not just around the holidays.

I also understand that traditionally, summer releases don't sell as well, based on the theory that people are actually outside their houses doing things when the weather is nice. While there may be some small grain of truth in this theory, can anyone who plays a lot of games actually convince me that their game time drops off by a significant amount in the summer? Sure, you play less during the day, but if you're a gamer, you don't just stop playing games because the weather changes.

Furthermore, the game companies are actually hurting one another with this practice. Let's face it, these days entertainment dollars are harder and harder to come by, and everyone is much more selective about what they do purchase. Stacking all these games up over one release period simply ensures that games that would normally attract some interest are lost in the shuffle.

I think gaming as a hobby has grown to the point that we now can simply release these games when they're ready, regardless of the time of year. We've all heard stories of games being rushed to completion before the holidays (and the inevitable bugs that result), as well as those that are held for holiday release.

If I could say one thing directly to the publishers of the gaming world, it would be this: We realize that you have always done things this way; however, you should realize that the average gamer is now in his mid-to-late 20's, and doesn't need Mom & Dad to buy him the new game you just released. We can all drive now, so we will go to the store and pick up our copy, regardless of when it comes out (provided of course that the game doesn't suck).

Just imagine a world where big game releases happen once or twice a month, instead of being crammed into one or two weeks a year. Ah, bliss.