A slew of delays has hit Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain, Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption and Mafia 2, pushing all of them back to 2010.
Bioshock 2 has been delayed in order to give the game more development time says publisher Take Two. Who said the same about Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption and Mafia 2.
To quote CEO Ben Feder: “The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2. We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve.“As a result, we will now be launching sequels to several of our strongest franchises – including BioShock 2, Mafia II, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption – during the next fiscal year. These titles will anchor our lineup for fiscal 2010, and along with other products planned for next year, provide a platform for enhanced financial performance in what we hope will be an improved retail environment.”
Heavy Rain has been delayed due to an overcrowded holiday season which the co-CEO of developer Quantic Dream, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, says is not an ideal environment to release an original IP into. He says that development has been going smoothly on the title and that it is “on budget”. He also says that 2010 has always been their release window and that it is important for them to polish Heavy Rain up to “the last minute.” He continues, “Most publishers today realise that it’s not ideal to release a new IP or a new genre just before Christmas,” he says. “It’s a very crowded place to be, and certain games need more space to live their life.”