Quantic Dreams really seems to need some great sales on Heavy Rain as they are looking for the perfect launch window and taking a chance in delaying the game too far.
Hopefully they will refine the game even more using this time to their advantage.
I can say that after their most recent “Love” trailer, they have at least one sale as the story looks to be and epic drama.
Quantic Dream co-CEO, Guillaume de Fondaumiere told CVG that the key reason for Heavy Rain’s delay from late 2009 to early 2010 was because the game needs “its own release window”.
“The first and most important reason [for the delay] was the fact that I don’t think that such an innovative game like Heavy Rain and a new franchise should be released at the end of the year in the crowded period when everyone’s releasing there games,” de Fondaumiere told CVG. Modern Warfare 2 immediately springs to mind.
“A game like Heavy Rain needs space, needs to be explained and shown. At the end of the year, people can’t afford to buy all those games so we wanted to give Heavy Rain the chance to have its own release window, and for us to really talk about it so people really understand it.”
Fondaumiere believes that HR will be a test bed for how ready the industry is for this sort of innovation.
“If Heavy Rain doesn’t succeed it’s going to have important implications for other developers and for ourselves – maybe people will think ‘those innovative games don’t work, games cannot really convey realistic emotions.’ And they will continue to do the standard shooters and the like that we have been doing for however many years,” he said.
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Written by: Eddie
- Contributing Editor 
#1 by Tosh on September 3rd, 2009 [ 87591 Points ]
I can understand that, it’s a very unique take on a game. It could easily be overlooked if it was part of the holiday releases.
I hope it does well.
#2 by Fleakitten on September 3rd, 2009
The 1st 6 months of ’10 are getting pretty crowded already. You’ve got MAG, GOW3, FFXIII, WKC.
This still could get lost in the crowd.
#3 by Watcher on September 3rd, 2009
I agree with Fleakitten.
There are more games coming out in 1st Q 2010 than 4th Q 2009. Almost every publisher who originally wanted to release their games in 4th Q 2009 jumped to next year when Modern Warfare 2 was announced for this Nov.
Right now there are TOO many games slated for 1st Q 2010 and quite a few are going to get trampled.
It’s a shame because so many great titles are coming out during that time. Gamers are going to have to pick and choose and after the dust settles, publishers will probably blame lackluster sales of their “great titles” on the economy among other things.
As for Heavy Rain, I’ve been hearing about this game for years. I’m tired of the trickling of information coming from the developers. Looking for a particular period to release their title in order to avoid competition is a bad strategy. There should always be a great game coming out at any given time. If you feel you have a great product, them market it and release it!
Any publisher looking for a “dead period” to release their title doesn’t assure me that they have much confidence in their product. Revolutionary or not, if you’re afraid of the competition, it’s not going to look good in the eyes of gamers.
#4 by JimmyStewart on September 3rd, 2009 [ 710 Points ]
I think early 2010 is becoming the new Christmas holiday season. Don’t forget about Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2.
Personally there are easily more games I’ll be trying to budget for in the first half of 2010 than there are coming out this holiday season.
#5 by paxPacis on September 4th, 2009
I think the dude in the picture looks like
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard from Stargate Command
#6 by teedub on September 10th, 2009
If you’re bailing on this game based solely on the last trailer, let me alleviate those concerns. I got about 10-15 minutes of hands-on time with this game at PAX, and let me tell it is the real deal. Even just the demo evoked emotion. It was bloody intense, and after I’d finished with my turn, a watched two other people take two completely different paths through the same demo. I’m stoked for this release, and it will benefit from having it’s own release window. It would get buried this holiday season.
#7 by Watcher on September 10th, 2009
I’m sure it’s going to be a great game Teedub, but if the game is done it should have a release date sometime this year.
I believe the publisher and / or developers are making a huge mistake waiting for a window where there won’t be any serious competition. That just isn’t realistic.
Next year is going to be choking with excellent titles all year long. They need to have a little faith in their product, advertise it, and release it. Gamers will be able to tell the great titles from the so-so ones. If Heavy Rain is so good, it won’t have any problems holding it’s own among other great titles.