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In truth, there are cornucopias of big budget, Nintendo releases that have missed their target window, and missed it on more than one occasion. Taking a retrospective look at Wii, need I remind folks that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was originally intended to hit store shelves in 2005, but didn’t make its way there until December 2006? Skyward Sword also fell victim to this trend after it was given a projected release date of December 2010, but finally arrived a year later at the end of 2011. Both are examples of games that were delayed by an entire year, but managed to sell skyrocketingly high numbers upon their eventual release.
Sigh … I can’t read the subtitle to Rayman without feeling at least a little bit sad …
Aww man, me too, now. Thanks a lot. ;^)
Interesting choice of username, by the way.
But you actually bring up a good on-topic point, in a roundabout way…
Sometimes, delays matter a lot, and all too often contribute to cancellations. We were really looking forward to Megaman Legends 3D, and I’m guessing the prototype demo version they had in the works was a last-ditch effort to convince management that the project had interest and shouldn’t be killed. Alas, it was too little too late, or not ready in time, or both, and the businessmen in charge decided to spend the company’s resources turning Resident Evil into a cover shooter instead.
Great, now I’ve made _myself_ sad. ;^)
Skyward sword didnt sell that well, actually it had poor sales less than 4 million. Compared to other zelda games.
I see what you’re saying, Lukas, though I’m not sure I agree with you. Skyward Sword has sold nearly 3.5 million units. While that may not be as many as previous Zelda’s, I’d be very hesitant to call those numbers “poor”. In fact, I think Skyward’s sales are especially commendable considering the Wii’s rapid decline in 2011, along with stiff competition it faced last holiday season. Skyrim, Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3, Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3, and Battlefield 3 all came out within the same time frame as Skyward Sword (between the months of September and November).
Considering those factors, along with recognizing that 3.5 million units is an impressive feat for any series, I’d argue that, in context, Skyward Sword was quite a success. Though one could debate that if the game made its initial launch window it may have sold better due to a less saturated market, I’d be inclined to say that, had it been pushed out for the mere sake of timing, we could’ve ended up with a game that wasn’t polished. This ultimately could have impacted sales far more than those elements outlined in the above paragraph.