Bizarre Creations let out the news this morning that Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 will be releasing a week earlier than anticipated. Originally scheduled for August 6th, the frantic neon shoot-em-up will now become available next week, on July 30th. We’re quite eager to play the full version of this game, based on the fun we had with it during E3 last week. It’s excellent that we’ll now get to do so a full week earlier than we expected, but we’ve also realized that, along with Double D Dodgeball, this is the second Xbox Live Arcade title to see an early release in as many weeks.
In a press release issued last week, YUKE’S Company of America stated that its space-invader-ball-flinging title had been moved up due to “Xbox LIVE Arcade scheduling conflicts.” Bizarre hasn’t specified whether these same conflicts have resulted in the earlier release for Geometry Wars, but if it can happen once, it seems reasonable to think it could happen again.
As glad as we are to be getting some great games earlier than we expected, what might this mean for some of our other highly-anticipated titles? We have to imagine that these pushed-up releases are there to fill the sudden gaps left by other games — perhaps ones that weren’t quite ready yet. Does getting to play Geometry Wars a week early mean that we’ll be waiting several weeks longer to play Castle Crashers?
On the other hand, can there really be that much of a downside to early release dates, in general? Most core players are eager enough to jump on these opportunities when they present themselves, but what about gamers on a budget? Perhaps there is a kid or two out there whose allowance only lets them get a few select games per month, or one a week, or some such. Would a schedule change like this play havoc with their careful financial planning? Would splurging on Geometry Wars mean they were $10 short for Soulcalibur IV next week?
Think of the children. You know, in between rounds of blasting neon shapes to pieces.
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July 24th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
[...] this morning, we reported that the release date for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 had been moved up by a week, allowing us [...]
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