Several distribution companies are receiving complaints this morning as the street date for GH III has been broken. Sears is the best known retailer to release the game early so far. No word from Activision yet on any repercussions.
This isn't like BioShock, or Halo 3, where people were getting the game a week in advance. I don't think Activision will come down TOO hard for it, but I'm sure they're pissed.
just a continuous showing of the broken distribution & release of games. When will the industry get it's sh!t together and have games shipped to stores, for release, on their release dates?
I was at an EB Games last night and they had at least 10-15 cases of Guitar Hero III (the bundle with the guitar) behind the counter and every person that came in and saw the boxes wanted to buy it (I even asked). The only guy working in the store (who had no room to move because of all the boxes) kept telling everyone he can't sell them until Sunday.
First, put them in the backroom!!! Don't have something in the public's view if they can't buy it.
Second, if companies have the product ready and ship it early, let retailers sell them when they get them.
You want to get the product to everyone in time to launch. That requires shipping it early. But if you let certain stores sell it before others, then that screws the stores that receive it just before it's intended to launch.
Then you have angry retailers who got a late jump on possible customers who went elsewhere. These situations wreak havoc on the publisher > distributor > retailer chain.
Makes perfect sense, but instead of having different dates for each game, I think the game indusrty should do what the movie indusrty does and have one set day for releases (like DVD's all come out on Tuesday).
They honestly should have one day that handles releases. They're obviously leaning towards it (I think we all notice Tuesdays have the most launches), but if everyone was on board with that as you said, they wouldn't have these problems, because there would be no room for error.
Now of course it would only apply to retail and digital distribution (as it does with other media) could operate however. If this were the case it might actually pushe publishers to do more digital distribution so they could set their own time table.
This isn't like BioShock, or Halo 3, where people were getting the game a week in advance. I don't think Activision will come down TOO hard for it, but I'm sure they're pissed.
Jason Booth wasn't working on it so probably a much better game for it.
awwwwwwwww dammit I want mine too, I don't think my local gamestop would let me get mine early though..
just a continuous showing of the broken distribution & release of games. When will the industry get it's sh!t together and have games shipped to stores, for release, on their release dates?
who buys games at Sears?