We Missed You at Christmas, but We’ll See You Next Year

The closing months of 2007 showed us quite a finale with the
releases of Super Mario Galaxy, Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction, Uncharted:
Drakes Fortune, Bioshock, Halo 3, and the Orange Box. However, publishers
pulled a few punches, delaying a few triple-A titles until the first quarter of
2008. We’ll examine a few of these titles, and speculate on the reasons for delay:

Grand Turismo 5 Prologue(PS3) – Strangely, this game is prominently
featured in Sony’s current television ad campaign. Currently enjoyed by European
and Japanese gamers, GT5 Prologue was delayed in the U.S. until February 19th. With
recent critically acclaimed titles like Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank selling
less than 200K units, perhaps Sony is waiting for a surge in $399 40Gb PS3 sales,
before releasing the game. In the past, the GT series has been quite a system
seller, we remember gearheads buying Gran Turismo 3 along with a PS2. Time will
tell if Sony’s delay proves fruitful.

Home(PS3) – Sony’s oft-delayed project was at one time, due
for an October release. This enigmatic, ambitious software allows users to
create an avatar, roam virtual worlds, and ultimately, have Sony’s network
compete with the functionality of Xbox Live. Now due for a Spring 2008 release,
to presumably coincide with Little Big Planet, Sony did mention a fall open beta for the US. We expect one of two things to happen with Home: One,
decreased functionality to meet the Spring deadline, or two, further delays.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl(Wii)– At E for All, we played a
fully playable, complete version of SSBB. When we heard the title was being
pushed back until February 10th, we assumed Nintendo was maximizing the size of
Super Mario Galaxy’s spotlight. Little did we know that Nintendo was adding
online capability to take snapshots of gameplay, and stage building options. This
is one title we’ve happy to see delayed.

Wii Fit(Wii) – Released in Japan to brisk sales, Wii Fit is
a game designed to work with a balance board. Players are weighed in, body mass
indexes are calculated, and 40 calorie-burning exercises are performed, along
with daily goal monitoring. What’s puzzling is Nintendo’s reluctance to release
the title in the U.S. at the end of December- the traditional time of year when
gym memberships are purchased and quickly forgot. Apparently, the title has a
large amount of localization issues; the game’s ‘coach’ speaks in high-pitched Japanese.
Perhaps Nintendo  will get squeaky voiced
exercise guru Richard Simmons to record the English voices.

GTA 4(360 and PS3) – In August, it was announced that Rockstar’s
proverbial golden goose was going to be delayed until early 2008. Most
journalists were more than happy with the news; early betas were impressive in
scope and vision, but lacking in execution. Recent showings of GTA 4 still had
problems; framerates were chuggy, loadtimes were present, but the game had
improved noticeably in hand-to-hand combat and weapon aiming. Bioshock brought
an influx of cash to the starved Take 2, thereby buying GTA 4 a few more months
of time. Success if nearly guaranteed upon release, regardless of sales
figures.

Also missed this year in the U.S.:

– Sony’s Dual Shock 3 in the U.S., unless you want to pay $80 for an import.
– Hot Shots Golf 5