As we all know by now, Red Dead Redemption 2 has been delayed past its original fall 2017 release date. That’s a bummer for those who want to escape into the Old West and ride off into the sunset. However, it’s created a massive business opportunity.
Here’s the thing about Red Dead Redemption 2: there’s a huge amount of interest in the game. If even a fraction of the number of people who bought GTA 5 pick up a copy, the game will be a big seller in no time. This means the sales will be there, regardless of when RDR2 releases.
This is important for everyone else, because the fall is a big video game release time. It’s right before the holidays, and the weather outside is getting colder for the northern hemisphere. This means people are inside more, playing games and giving them to friends and family. Instead of everyone buying Red Dead Redemption 2, there’s opportunities for other games to dominate the season.
EA’s CFO Blake Jorgensen expressed this in an earnings call for the company, transcript courtesy of Seeking Alpha. When responding to a question about competitions from games like Call of Duty and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds , Jorgensen was excited for the fight, saying it helps drive business as a whole, especially with console bundle sales.
However, Jorgensen really called one game out when talking about competition this fall. “ We've always competed against most of those titles you mentioned or all those titles you've mentioned,” he said referring to the above games. “And so I don't think it bothers us, but it excites us, I'd say instead. And you might remember, no Red Dead that was originally in the plans for our third quarter, fourth quarter of the calendar year, so that does open up a little bit of opportunity, I think, for everybody.”
While this opportunity is obviously beneficial to EA with games like Star Wars Battlefront II and the annual sports line-up, it’s also sure to be a blessing for Ubisoft with Assassin’s Creed: Origins and South Park, as well as Activision, Nintendo and everyone else.
This may sound like I’m praising a game’s delay so other companies can get money, and that is somewhat true. The better EA’s, Ubisoft’s, Nintendo’s and everyone else’s games sell, the more games get made. Developers get paid. It’s a win-win, right?
Also, to mirror the sentiments of IGN’s Alanah Pearce, a delayed game means a better game. A rushed game may be out earlier, but it would be a worse product. Let Rockstar take the time to craft its experience, we have all these other games like Super Mario Odyssey to play anyway.
So what do you think? Do you wish Red Dead Redemption 2 was coming out this year? Am I totally off my rocker? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
