ELECTRONIC ARTS OFFICIALLY DELAYS MERCENARIES 2

I'll keep this one short as I'm running massively late at the moment and haven't had much time to prepare any kind of a post for today. It seems I forgot to mention that Electronic Arts has officially delayed Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a few weeks back. 

According to Kotaku, while retailers are listing the game as coming this November, EA will only commit to a fiscal 2009 release, meaning the game could ship anywhere from April of this year to March of 2009. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again until the end of time – these delays don't bother me so long as the end product benefits from teh added time. I would far prefer to see Mercenaries 2 be the kickass funfest the first game was than The Outfit v2.

• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – Official website
• Mercenaries 2 Officially Delayed By EA – Kotaku 

LAZY DAY TRAILERS: DUKE NUKEM FOREVER

No, it’s not the apocalypse, though that may have indeed been a pig flying past your window yesterday afternoon. 3D Realms has released the first teaser trailer for… Duke Nukem Forever. Yup, after 10+ years in development, we’re finally getting a teaser trailer.

It’s not something to get overly excited about, as there isn’t much to see as far as actual gameplay footage goes, but the way I figure it, any big announcement about the most famous piece of vaporware in gaming deserves a post. Hell, what’s next – might Phantom Entertainment actually ship a Lapboard or two?

Check it out below courtesy of GameTrailers.com;

Duke Nukem Forever is slated to ship … sometime this century?

• 3D Realms – Company website
• Duke Nukem Forever – Official website
• Duke Nukem Forever – Teaser – GameTrailers

ELECTRONIC ARTS DELAYS ARMY OF TWO

According to a story running over at Gamespot, Electronic Arts has announced that Army of Two will be delayed until early 2008.

“Previously expected to see release on November 13, Army of Two has been shuffled back into EA’s early 2008 lineup, with the publisher saying it needs the extra time to polish the shooter.” – Gamespot

While I applaud Electronic Arts for not pushing an unfinished title out the door in the name of profits, this move does bring the issue of the company having three very similar games (Army of Two, Battlefield: Bad Company & Mercenaries 2: World in Flames) falling into roughly the same release window to the forefront once more. I can’t help but think at least one of those titles will see another delay in order to avoid the potential lost sales a near simultaneous release would create.

Looks like November is getting more and more affordable for gamers.

• Army of Two – Official website
• Army of Two furloughed ’til ’08 – Gamespot

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV DELAYED UNTIL 2008

Take Two Interactive has announced that due to "additional development time required to complete the title", Grand Theft Auto IV will be delayed until some time in fiscal year 2008.

"Take-Two is reducing its fiscal 2007 guidance primarily to reflect the movement of the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to fiscal 2008, due to additional development time required to complete the title. The title is now planned for release in the Company’s second quarter of fiscal 2008." – Take Two Interactive press release

Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick’s further elaborated on the situation by stating that the specific problems can be tracked back to both the cutting edge nature of Grand Theft Auto IV as well as the need to develop it simultaneously on two different platforms. This view was further backed up by Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser who stated that both Microsoft and Sony now have teams working with Rockstar on their respective versions of the game.

"With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games. Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms." – Strauss Zelnick

"The new consoles are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about. Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms." – Sam Houser

All I can say on this one is just… wow. I’m quite sure this one has blown a hole in the game lists of many, and to see one of this holiday’s biggest titles drop into 2008 is huge. I can’t imagine Take-Two’s shareholders are all that thrilled at the moment as this announcement further hurts the company’s 2007 bottom line – one that already had taken a pounding from the fallout surrounding Manhunt 2.

Take-Two also took the time to list their remaining titles for 2007 as well as the list of games expected to come out in fiscal 2008 – as expected, Manhunt 2 is nowhere to be found on either. For more information regarding Take-Two’s future plans, check out the full press release linked below.

• Take-Two Interactive – Company website
• Rockstar Games – Company website
• Grand Theft Auto IV – Official website
• Launch of Grand Theft Auto IV Now Planned for Fiscal 2008 – Take-Two Interactive press release

LAIR DELAYED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 4TH

In a surprising move, Sony has reversed course and announced that, despite their earlier statements, Lair will be delayed until September 4th so that several community features of the game can be properly tested. While it is unclear whether that’s really the situation or if Sony is bringing Lair back in for some control tweaks following some supposedly very unkind early reviews, what is clear is that the game won’t be on the shelves in August.

"Wow, even I didn’t see this one coming! Due to an extra step in QA testing to enhance the community features in the game, the release of LAIR, originally set for August 14th, has changed to September 4, 2007. Natural challenges that arose while finalizing the offline game to include key online features – such as leaderboards and medal systems – have led to the difficult choice of pushing back the release date. We appreciate everyone’s excitement and patience for the game and look forward to its release on September 4." – Ryan Hamlyn, associate producer, SCEA

If the game is indeed being brought in for a control scheme overhaul, one has to wonder whether or not September 4th will be a reasonable release date – after all, the game would have to go to press again, wouldn’t it? (after all, you could just patch "online" features and ship in August, but in order to change the control scheme you would have to change the game itself as customers who are unable to patch online would have to be taken into account – you couldn’t ship a game that didn’t control correctly right out of the box without facing serious repercussions)

Before any fanboys go running with this one, please keep in mind that officially the game is being delayed due to additional quality assurance testing centering around the community features of the game – the rest is just my own speculation.

• Lair – Official website
• Lair Update – PlayStation.Blog
• Early EGM Reviews for Lair Look Grim – Gaming Today

MANHUNT 2 GETS SHANKED AND YANKED

I’d love to go into detail on my thoughts regarding the whole Manhunt 2 rating issue right now, but unfortunately, time is working against me right now – hopefully I’ll get to talk at length about the situation over the weekend. What I will talk about right now is that Gamespot is reporting that Take-Two Interactive has decided to "temporarily suspend" the release of the now embattled Manhunt 2 while the company takes a long look at what it’s options are as far as the game is concerned;

"Take-Two Interactive Software has temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board. We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment.” -Take-Two Interactive (as reported by Gamespot)

The big decision here is whether Take-Two will attempt to change the game enough for the ESRB to drop it’s rating to "Mature" or shelve the title entirely. There’s no middle ground on this one as both Nintendo and Sony have already stated they will not certify Adults Only rated games for play on their consoles, which means the rating no longer just makes the game a pariah to most retailers, but now makes the game (which was scheduled to release on the PS2, PSP and Wii) completely unsellable.

So there you have it – Manhunt 2 will not be making it’s scheduled July 10th release date or quite possibly any other release date. Sounds like Thrill Kill all over again.

• Take-Two shelves Manhunt 2 – Gamespot
• Manhunt 2 – Official website
• Take-Two Interactive – Company website
• Entertainment Software Ratings Board – Official website

ELECTRONIC ARTS DELAYS SPORE UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 2009

Say it isn’t so! – Kotaku is reporting that Electronic Arts has confirmed that Spore’s release date has been pushed back from fiscal year 2008 to 2009, meaning the game will be hitting sometime after September 30th 2008. While that news is extremely disappointing for those of us who have been waiting for this game with baited breath, it’s at least better than the report that lead to Kotaku looking into the matter – a report in Game Informer magazine that stated that the game had been postponed “indefinitely”

Now, I’m a huge proponent of not rushing a game, so I can’t sit here and gripe about how long it’s taking for Will Wright and crew to get the game done – especially considering that based on what I’ve seen of the game so far, I’m still not clear on just what exactly the game will have to make it a truly unique experience. Sure, you can create your own creature from scratch, but just how much of that creation process will really matter in the long run? We’ve seen the game in the early ages of a race’s existence and a few snippets towards the end, but there’s been precious little about that all important middle.

Anyway, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that this is at least the last delay notice we’ll hear about Spore and that the game will be something just as addictive as Wright’s other works. Still, it’s time to take Spore off my “most anticipated” list as it’s just too far off now for me to feel any kind of real excitement over.

• Spore – Official Website
• Spore Slip Sliding Away – Kotaku

MLB 07: THE SHOW FOR PLAYSTATION 3 DELAYED UNTIL MAY

While talking to a friend on IM late last night, I heard that Sony had announced that the PlayStation 3 version of MLB 07: The Show has been delayed until May. Now, it’s not that I don’t trust my buddy, but he often attempts to poke fun at the fact that I purchased a PS3 despite all my misgivings about it (not that I don’t do an excellent job of that myself) – so when he mentions that one of the few first party titles expected in stores anytime soon is getting kicked back on the release schedule, it’s time to hit the newswires.

Sure enough, Gamespot is reporting that the PS3 version of MLB 07 has indeed been pushed back to an undisclosed date in May… which isn’t a good thing when you consider that depending on when it releases, the baseball season could already be 2 months old. Anyway, thanks for the tip nyisles, looks like "The Shoe" certainly doesn’t fit on April – just like you said.

IF THESE GAMES ARE READY, WHY AREN’T THEY ON LIVE?

Gamerscore Blog, Microsoft’s in-house employee blog posted a story about their upcoming “Summer of Xbox Live Arcade” party in San Francisco. According to the article, in addition to the festivities, playable versions of several unreleased Xbox Live Arcade titles such as Frogger and Pac-Man will be available to attendees during the event.

Far from me to complain, but if these games are done, shouldn’t they be up in the Live Marketplace? It seems to me that Microsoft is missing a crucial slow summer period in which a good stream of Live Arcade titles could make up for the lack of retail releases. Further, rather than concentrating on the parties and such, how about an update to the Wireless Weekend or MU Monday contest winners list?

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the games are going to drop onto Live, because if they don’t it’s probably a good sign that Microsoft really has no clue what the hell they’re doing with the Live Arcade.

Check out the Gamerscore Blog story here and ask yourself what kind of a “Summer of Xbox Live Arcade” it’ll be if Microsoft doesn’t get off their asses and get some fresh content up.

ELECTRONIC ARTS DELAYS SUPERMAN & MEDAL OF HONOR

Gamespot is reporting that Electronic Arts is delaying both their upcoming games Superman Returns and Medal of Honor: Airborne. Superman Returns, based on the upcoming film of the same name, was scheduled to be released at this June alongside with the film, and will instead release sometime this holiday season in conjunction with the DVD release of the film. Medal of Honor: Airborne will not make it’s Holiday 2006 launch window and instead will be released sometime in the first quarter of 2007.

ELECTRONIC ARTS DELAYS SUPERMAN & MEDAL OF HONOR

Gamespot is reporting that Electronic Arts is delaying both their upcoming games Superman Returns and Medal of Honor: Airborne. Superman Returns, based on the upcoming film of the same name, was scheduled to be released at this June alongside with the film, and will instead release sometime this holiday season in conjunction with the DVD release of the film. Medal of Honor: Airborne will not make it’s Holiday 2006 launch window and instead will be released sometime in the first quarter of 2007.