Red Dead Redemption 2 had initially been announced with an intended release date for late 2017, making it one of the most highly anticipated releases for the year. So obviously, when Rockstar announced that the game had been delayed and that its release had been pushed back to 2018, consumers were disappointed. Their competitors in the market, though, are significantly happier.
We reported earlier that Ubisoft are quite pleased with the game’s delay, and now it turns out the EA’s CEO Blake Jorgensen also thinks that the game’s delay has opened up opportunities for EA. Jorgensen told his investors that the game’s delay had opened up “new opportunities” for everyone, while also recognizing that major releases like Red Dead Redemption 2 contribute a lot towards helping the industry grow.
“What we’ve found historically, we’ve had many times where we’ve gone into quarters that looked daunting because of the competition,” Jorgensen said. “Think back to [Grand Theft Auto 5] when it came out, and what we actually found is it grows the overall market. It drives console sales. Oftentimes, many of those titles get bundled to help drive or reduce the price of a console for the consumer, and it drives excitement in the marketplace, and we like that. It benefits the consumer and it benefits us because it generates a lot of buzz around games.”
“So I don’t think it bothers us, but it excites us, I’d say instead,” he continued. “And you might remember, no [Red Dead Redemption 2] 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.”
EA themselves have got quite a major lineup planned for the closing months of 2017, including the likes of yearly releases such as FIFA 18 and Madden NFL 18 to go along with major new games such as Need for Speed Payback and Star Wars: Battlefront II.