Slashdot Mirror
Full Report On Holiday Game Crunch Released
Thanks to GameSpy for its article analyzing Banc Of America's in-depth report on videogame prospects for Christmas 2004. The report, previously referenced on Slashdot earlier this month, is now available for download [PDF link], and GameSpy explains the report "[isn't] trying to predict what the best games of the holiday are going to be. They're predicting what the best selling games are going to be, and which ones will meet expectations set by company leaders." The Banc analysts predict that Halo 2 "will be the second-best seller of the holiday season, just behind GTA: San Andreas", and suggest that certain titles, specifically "Bloodrayne 2, Terminator 3: The Redemption, The Red Star, 100 Bullets, Crash n' Burn, Predator: Concrete Jungle, and Shadow Hearts 2", should be moved beyond the holiday season entirely, to "avoid big-name products coming out on the same time-frame."
Seriously. First up, the article was on Gamespy, not GameSpot.
Secondly, Banc of America is an inventment advising company, not an actual Bank (though they do seem to be related to the actual Bank of America). It makes sense that _someone_ needs to investigate the trends in gaming so that the investors know when to buy or sell stock for Activision or whoever.
Bloodrayne 2, Terminator 3: The Redemption, The Red Star, 100 Bullets, Crash n' Burn, Predator: Concrete Jungle, and Shadow Hearts 2
So basically, if your game is crap don't release when everyone else does. Makes sense. These games all look horrible even from this early on.
Although what I'm much more concerned about are the Prince of Persias and Beyond Good and Evils of this Christmas, like, for example, um, Prince of Persia 2 which is set for November. You'd think that Ubisoft would've learned after last year, but once againt hey're sticking POP2 smack dab in the week before the storm. Why? It's like throwing an olympian runner into a ring with 5 500 pound men and asking him to sumo wrestle. Prince of Persia 2 will be amazing, but there's no way it can hold its own against a GTA, Halo sequel, Half Life sequel, and KOTOR sequel. There are other top tier 300 pound titles as well, like Call to Duty for consoles, or the Sims go ebonic (Urbz), or a LOTR EA game, or Need For Speed Underground sequel. You know, titles people know about.
Ubisoft, if you're reading, give POP the space it needs. Throw it out mid January when the kiddies are trading in GTA:SA and Halo 2 after playing it 14 hours a day during their break. I promise: it'll do better.