Why 2011's Game Frenzy May Not Be A Good Thing

Mass Effect 3; Elder Scrolls V Skyrim; Batman Arkham City; Gears of War 3; Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3; Battlefield 3; Forza Motorsport 4; and Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword are all on their way in 2011, and unless by some twist of fate a few of them make it into the sparse Summer line-up it's looking mighty likely that most, if not all of these big names will be returning to our consoles this Autumn. Great, I hear you say, that gives us a lot to look forward to at the back end of 2011, but step back and think: how will the gaping hole, burnt in your pocket from the sheer amount of cash required to buy every single title you want, ever be filled? In my view, the race for Best 2011 Game in the second half of the year is like a stampede with thousands of humans trapped inside: once, many of these people were renowned in their professions, but now they become like anyone else, trampled upon and defeated, and only the people who do something different and inventive can survive. In much the same way, developers known for their expertise with key franchises getting new instalments are going to be thought much less of if there shooter doesn't match up to Gears of War, or their RPG to Skyrim or even their racing game to Forza. Should these companies, dedicated gamers that have worked for years to perfect a formula and bring innovation to the market, have to suffer simply because they released in the 'wrong' quarter of the year? By wrong, I don't mean the likes of Spring or Summer- quite the opposite, in fact I commend the likes of Marvel VS Capcom 3, Portal 2 and L.A Noire for turning up on the scene sooner rather than later; no, the three months of the year I'm talking about are September-November, where past greats are going to fail to get the attention they deserve due to bigger entries gaining more interest. Most likely to fall into this category are games such as the Tomb Raider reboot and hopefully improved JRPG sequel Final Fantasy XIII-2, both probably great titles in their own right but undoubtedly not popular enough to trump the likes of COD and Gears. It's inevitable, of course, that some titles will be pushed back to early 2012- who honestly believes BioWare and Obsidian can get Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim out respectively, carrying such weight on their shoulders to provide massive role-play experiences before the end of this year?- however we're not even considering that E3 usually brings a heap of game announcements in July for new titles due out in the remaining six months of the year, so if that's the case then 2011 will become even more packed once that event is here. I'm not saying that the dozens of games on offer this year is a bad thing by any strech of the imagination; looking back on 2010, we only received about five killer games so this is a major improvement. What I am saying, though, is that if games like Arkham City are released a little bit earlier (Arkham Asylum was released in August 2009) than expected or a title you've been waiting for is delayed by a couple of months, don't be disappointed: the developer is probably doing it so that your opinion of their game won't be marred by comparisons to the other big names of 2011, and thus so you will enjoy the experience that much more. Go on, developers, take a leap of faith- the fans will follow, no matter when you bring it to the market...well, provided you don't do a Gran Turismo 5 and take a decade to release it!