Game Delays for the Upcoming Holiday Season

For retailers, Christmas is that time of year when things get a little crazy while the hottest products that are in high demand fly off the shelves. Unfortunately, however, as the holiday approaches it isn't uncommon for anticipated products to be canceled or delayed. For manufacturers, the delay of a product can mean more money spent on development along with angry consumers. In the video games industry, this is especially true, as the holiday season can be a considered a gold mine for developers and publishers. Here are some anticipated products that won't be helping any company's bottom line this coming December.

The long awaited next-generation handheld game unit from Nintendo will unfortunately not be available until sometime during late spring next year (2011). The Nintendo 3DS release has been pushed back from its hopeful in-store arrival of before the holidays. The portable gaming device would be (counting in my head), the 5^th generation DS to land in the hands of would be gamers. The appeal of the device? 3D technology, glasses not included. Demoed earlier this year at E3 (Entertainment Electronics Expo) the Nintendo 3DS is able to play 3D games without the use of any special glasses. Titles anticipated for the platform - new versions of Mario and Zelda. But why the delay? Nintendo is pointing its finger at a very strong Yen during a time of a lack of very big hits for both the current line of DS systems, and also the Wii home gaming console. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is also reported on blaming the delay on the inability to meet anticipated product demand within the year. Current news has it that the 3DS will now arrive in the hands of gamers in February 2011 (Japan), and in the US sometime during March.

With a press release cleverly stating "it is not the end of the world," Valve has creatively announced that Portal 2 is unfortunately delayed. The release titles "Making Games is Hard" also stated that due to the delay - the game will be even better. Fortunately, the community agrees that Valve has a knack for reaching a certain quality mark. Originally scheduled for - sometime soon - certainly before Christmas, the title has now been pushed until sometime after the holiday season, into the first quarter of 2011 - reportedly February 2011. The sequel to the smash hit released in 2007, created a lot of buzz during this past E3's spring get-together with the title's press conference being canceled (although the game was on display for onlookers and players) and replaced with a "surprise."

There are some other major game release that won't a spot on store shelves this holiday season as well. SackFans will have to wait until 2011 for LittleBigPlanet 2. The team working on the title at developer Media Molecule stated on the website that the delay will be "...giving you (the fans) the best experience imaginable." Even more good news from the developers: the title has only slightly slipped, and while the game is being tightened during the holiday, it is expected to be available in January. This means many of those gift cards that usually fall into gamers Christmas stockings won't last very long.

These aren't the only delays gamers will experience. Other notable titles that have gamers waiting for next year: Crysis 2, FEAR 3, Final Fantasy XIV (PS3), and Socom 4.

Sources/Resources:

Nintendo 3DS delay casts gloom over games giant

Nintendo 3DS to be released in US in March

Bit-tech.net News: Valve: Portal 2 delayed until 2011

joystiq beta: Portal 2 delayed until 2011

Gamesradar: LittleBigPlanet 2 gets delayed until 2011...