So here we are again. The end of another holiday season filled with all sorts of disappointments, surprises, and games. Lots and lots of games. As it has become a trend in recent years, the final months of 2008 saw an abundance of game releases in order to meet the holiday rush. For the most part, this year’s holiday season was quite impressive with lots of quality titles hitting the market: Fallout 3, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Mercenaries 2, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero 4: World Tour, Prince of Persia, and the list goes on and on. Now think back on how many memorable games were released in the summer? Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 come to mind.  These two games went on to be two of the best selling games of the year, which begs the question, “Why don’t companies release more games in the summer?” Well I’m glad you asked.

By now most companies have gotten accustomed to usually having a four to five year development cycle with most quality titles. Because of this, most companies have gotten in the habit of finishing a game near the fall and winter during their respective four to five year development cycles. And as you can no doubt guess, this has led to “bankable” products finishing right in time to be bought and wrapped under the Christmas tree.