Why dont companies release better games for Summer?

[<3frosty]

This kinda bugs me. As a person who goes to school, i have alot of free time during summer. Video games and school dont mix well, so this tends to be a time when i get most of my gaming done (admittedly, not this year though). Why is it that big-time games aren't targeted for a summer release? It seems to me to be an untapped market of dull and dry months in the VG world.

There are 2 primary time-spans for big-budget movies. Summer and Christmas (or, Winter Break for some easily offended).

So, why do video games no follow the same trend? In fact, i seem MOST big time movies come out in the summer months. Look at this summer alone. Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, Transformers, etc etc.

I just cant seem to wrap my finger around why video game makers dont go after this time span.

[curryking1]

Because Jesus hates us. Literally. He chose to be born in December. Like, what the ***k is that about? What a retard.

[HPK]

Releasing some AAA titles during the summer does make sense, doesn't it?

Perhaps the time is used to further the developement of the games coming out in the later months. Or, perhaps it is easier to sell games in the later months. Think of it this way: November and December are winter months for us in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter usually brings bad weather and usually, we don't like to go outside. More incentive to play video games if the weather is already bad. Not to mention everyone is more willing to spend the money on games during the holiday season.
Also, during the summer, people are usually busy with other things that'll divert their attention away from video games. For the younger audience, parents probably want their kids to do more stuff outside in the summer months. Or they're saving their money for family trips and vacations.
It makes sense for movies to come out during the summer, since people want to be out of the house more. Why not go see a movie at the theater? For video games its a bit more difficult. Why stay in the house when there are other things to be done outside of the household?

[masteratt]

It gives me time to catch up on games I couldn't play during school times and even catch up on few titles that I forgot to buy so I enjoy this daft season.

Except for one summer I'll never forget, the PS2 had no games leading upto or during OR after summer so I was like "eerrrrr".
It was the only time where I started to fear my PS2 had finally died.



That's the personal stuff out the way and as to why companies don't release games at summer....Well good point but I guess there is too much fierce competition from more mature markets out there to grab everyone's summer time that video-game market can't hold anyone's attention and don't even bother risking it.

But now thanks to downloadable games, maybe companies will save a few gems for the summer release on the downloadable front.

[curryking1]

That's the personal stuff out the way and as to why companies don't release games at summer....Well good point but I guess there is too much fierce competition from more mature markets out there to grab everyone's summer time that video-game market can't hold anyone's attention and don't even bother risking it.

But now thanks to downloadable games, maybe companies will save a few gems for the summer release on the downloadable front.

That's a good point too. Summer time is blockbuster movie time, and come on, it's summer. There's so much more to do in the summer. It's the easier time to have vacations too.

And ya, it would be nice if d/lable games could sneak their way into the summer spotlight for us gamers.

[Zeep]

I usually think the same thing, but in the past five days I've bought Heatseeker and RE4 for Wii, I might buy Pokemon Battle Revolution on Monday, and I just got Ouendan 2 a few weeks ago (though I guess that doesn't count since it was released for the Japanese market). And then Mario Strikers Charged comes out in July and Metroid Prime 3 in August. Could be a busy summer.

[Lucent Beam]

Maybe it's because there are holiday rushes in the fall, and somewhat in the spring. Then summer when people have enormous amounts of free time, companies don't release something new so that consumers will go back and by what theymay have been eyeing during the holidays and didn't pick up. No idea though. But summer's always feel slow.

[Phoenix]

If they delay them just a little more, they get more time to work on them and they're out for the holidays.

[<3frosty]

If they delay them just a little more, they get more time to work on them and they're out for the holidays.

You mean, if they delay a game 6 months, they can release it for the holiday? Sounds like a shitty excuse to me.

And i have yet to see a real economic answer for this predicament. EVERYONE complains about the summer months being slow. Yes, maybe this summer wont be that slow, but between May 11th and now, i havent seen much to speak of in terms of games. Which to me seems dumb. Like i said, there could be just ONE killer game and people would buy it. Much like the Guitar Hero crazy swept through last summer.

[BananaBabeQT]

It does make more sense from a student's point of view for more games to be released during the summer (and by summer I mean June-August since some people here are from Australia and are actually going through winter right now...). However, I think the holiday season is more targetted because that is when the majority of people are out spending money and trying to get gifts.. but nevertheless.. more games during the summer would be a plus

[koten]

The holiday's are the biggest rush of the year and publishers know it. So they take advantage of that and put as many new games on shelves at once to get that coveted "Maybe they'll like this..." purchase.

[Applefiend]

It's still all weird, you don't see all the good music, books and movies coming out from September to November.

[Boggy700]

I think it's also like how during summer the good TV shows stop, and reruns are played.
You know, because summer is when people go out and live.
Not me though.
I'm inside watching the shows I know I like.



But I guess the 'summer party people' aren't the demographic that videogames are usually aimed at.

[D3adcell]

Because of the holiday rush. Say a game comes out in november, even though it's not a great game and gets say #20 on the sales charts, it will still probably sell more then a game that got #1 on sales charts during the summer.

Though there are alot of good games coming out this summer, The Darkness comes out next week, it looks to be really good. Resident Evil 4 Wii, though its a re-release still a good game. Metroid Prime 3 comes out in August.

[TheGreenElf]

More people will purchase them around the holiday time.

[Applefiend]

You know what's really wrong with this picture, all these games are coming out near christmas because they're being bought as gifts, and I ain't getting ****. :(

[<3frosty]

Because of the holiday rush. Say a game comes out in november, even though it's not a great game and gets say #20 on the sales charts, it will still probably sell more then a game that got #1 on sales charts during the summer.

Though there are alot of good games coming out this summer, The Darkness comes out next week, it looks to be really good. Resident Evil 4 Wii, though its a re-release still a good game. Metroid Prime 3 comes out in August.

The Darkness is far from an AAA title. The only one that is truly of note here is MP3, and that comes out in AUGUST. Clearly not the time im looking to fill. I want games NOW, released before or right at summer's beginning. Not near its end.

It's just weird to me that games are marketed for summer.

[woundingchaney]

The Darkness is far from an AAA title. The only one that is truly of note here is MP3, and that comes out in AUGUST. Clearly not the time im looking to fill. I want games NOW, released before or right at summer's beginning. Not near its end.

It's just weird to me that games are marketed for summer.

So far with the only rating of a 9/10 Im not sure why it wouldnt/couldnt be a triple A title. Unless of course we only allow high profile console exclusive titles to be AAA status.

[curryking1]

^Depends what you want to use to define AAA status :O

Lol, I don't see it selling super well, even though I think it's probably a pretty cool game.

[woundingchaney]

^Depends what you want to use to define AAA status :O

Lol, I don't see it selling super well, even though I think it's probably a pretty cool game.

The sales are a big question for me, if it does turn out to be a quality title released during a time with little to no shelf competition then it could very well sell around a million.

[Hisham]

I'm thinking exactly what Boggy said, companies see this as the time for vacation and people parting. Naturally that means less time for games.

Think of it this way, say you go on vacation to some distant place. You see sights, and all that stuff. Then you come across a movie theatre. You think, why not, and you go and watch a movie. Now while you are on vacation, will you stop and buy a game from a store, knowing that it will just be sitting there untill you get back home? And if you did bring your system with you, or can play it elsewhere, will you be spending time on vacation playing a game which you can play when you get home? For me, I would say no.

And yeah you could say the same things about movies, but they don't take as much time to watch as video games do to play.

[<3frosty]

I'm thinking exactly what Boggy said, companies see this as the time for vacation and people parting. Naturally that means less time for games.

Think of it this way, say you go on vacation to some distant place. You see sights, and all that stuff. Then you come across a movie theatre. You think, why not, and you go and watch a movie. Now while you are on vacation, will you stop and buy a game from a store, knowing that it will just be sitting there untill you get back home? And if you did bring your system with you, or can play it elsewhere, will you be spending time on vacation playing a game which you can play when you get home? For me, I would say no.

And yeah you could say the same things about movies, but they don't take as much time to watch as video games do to play.

Thing is, not many people go on a month's vacation. For a week or so, yea, i could see you not wanting to get a new game. But once you get back home, there typically is at least 11 more weeks left.

[The Dude]

Because videogames do not sell during the summer months. People are spending their money on gas, vacations,air conditioning bills, and spending time in this strange place called "outside"

[curryking1]

Because videogames do not sell during the summer months. People are spending their money on gas, vacations,air conditioning bills, and spending time in this strange place called "outside"

:O

What's that!?

[HPK]

Thing is, not many people go on a month's vacation. For a week or so, yea, i could see you not wanting to get a new game. But once you get back home, there typically is at least 11 more weeks left.

Right, but there a lot of other people taking vacations during the 11 weeks you want new games. People's interests are pretty jumbled during the summer months. During the holiday season, everyone's slightly more focused and more people have "off" during a shorter time period.
I'm not particularly bothered by the lack of "awesome" summer games, though. I usually spend time replaying older games or playing older games that are new to me.

[<3frosty]

Right, but there a lot of other people taking vacations during the 11 weeks you want new games. People's interests are pretty jumbled during the summer months. During the holiday season, everyone's slightly more focused and more people have "off" during a shorter time period.
I'm not particularly bothered by the lack of "awesome" summer games, though. I usually spend time replaying older games or playing older games that are new to me.

I agree whole heartedly. This time allows me to catch up on games because i dont soak myself in them during the school months. However, i have a lack of time on my hands now because of work and being active on a daily basis. In the past though, i would typically beat 3-5 games over the summer where i would be lucky if i beat an entire game over the course of the school months.

[Applefiend]

Because videogames do not sell during the summer months. People are spending their money on gas, vacations,air conditioning bills, and spending time in this strange place called "outside"

*shivers in the new zealand winter* Really? Brrr..