Video game delays

Video game delays are sometimes a necessary part of video game development. With many games needing to launch in a specific launch window, sometimes the coveted holiday season, a delay could spell doom for a game. Some games do not put out a release date and instead say the game will be released "when it's done." In the words of Shigeru Miyamoto, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever."

Causes[]

A game may be delayed for one of many reasons.

• Poor initial reception (Starcraft)
• Technical difficulties (example)
• Need for longer bug-fixing and quality assurance
• Adding more features, like online gameplay or multiplayer (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Notorious games[]

The most notoriously delayed video game is by far Duke Nukem Forever. The game was officially announced in April 1997 and was delayed countless number of times. Duke Nukem Forever was finally released in June 2011.

Another first person shooter, Prey, was announced in 1995 and went through several development teams and game engines. The game was ultimately released July 10, 2006.

Several games were delayed from one system to a next-generation system. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was expected to be released for the GameCube in 2005 but was delayed to early 2006 and then surprisingly ported over to the Wii, while still releasing for the GameCube a couple weeks later. Perfect Dark Zero was intended for the GameCube, then Xbox, then finally Xbox 360. Too Human jumped 2 generations, from the original Playstation to GameCube and then to Xbox 360.[1]

Game systems[]

There has been no game console or handheld delay, as of 2008. Game companies specify a date that they are sure to meet. (true?)