NEWS - Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Fall 2004 Could Set Record
A report on the financial side of the gaming business at Reuters notes that publishers have saved up an impressive collection of AAA titles for release during the rest of the year. The lineup looks so strong that Bank of America Securities analyst Gary Cooper called it a "Murderer’s Row" of blockbusters. What caused him to take such a strong stance is a release schedule starting in August that includes: Doom III, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Metroid Prime 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Half-Life 2 and Gran Turismo 4. "The second half of 2004 should witness the largest sales of video games in any six-month period in the history of the video game industry" Cooper said in his report. This comes as no surprise to gamers who for years have clamored about the glut of titles over the holiday season that leaves the rest of the year so empty. Cooper added his voice to the call for better distribution suggesting that some publishers should delay their releases to simply get out of the way and avoid the bruising competition. Whether that helps the message get heard only time will tell.Source: http://www.1up.com
