On Launching Major Videogames Outside Xmas

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter for its column discussing major videogames originally due to launch in time for Christmas 2003, but which didn't quite make it. In the course of discussing these titles, which include James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing, the article notes: "Game publishers, in general, recognize that the Christmas rush... is a huge marketing problem. This past Christmas, they say, there were too many good games coming out at the same time and quite a few didn't sell well." A spokesperson for Microsoft elaborates on this: "My prediction is we'll be spreading out the releases and shipping some in early September and others in January and February of 2005... But we can only do that with really great games that can stand on their own." Is weak sales when launching outside the holiday season a genuine problem, or just a self-perpetuating myth?