TGS 09: Splinter Cell: Conviction has a release date

To be honest I've never really been into the Splinter Cell series and haven't played one since the first came out. Well Splinter Cell: Conviction showed incredibly well at E3 2009 and got me really excited about coming back to the series this holiday season. Then sadly came the news that it was delayed to sometime in 2010. Well the time has come and we now have a date, February 23rd 2010 Sam Fisher will be back in action.

Video Games | Splinter Cell: Conviction | TGS 09: Release Date Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Red Steel 2 and Dark Void Pushed to 2010

HOLY CRAP is this list getting long. For anyone who hasn't been following here is a list of the 2009 games that have been delayed to 2010 SO FAR.

Delayed games:

1. Heavy Rain
2. Bioshock 2
3. MAG
4. Bayonetta
5. Splinter Cell: Conviction
6. Red Steel
7. Dark Void

There were about 20 or so games that I REALLY wanted this fall. The list above accounts for 7 games off of the list. There have been delays before (i.e. GTA IV) but I've never seen anything like this. I don't really have a problem with it I just think these companies should start following the Blizzard policy. Don't tell us dates and then don't hit them, wait until you know you can hit it. I know some games would be delayed still but we are at 7 so far and I have a strong feeling a few haven't been delayed just yet.

Now for Red Steel 2 and Dark Void

Ubisoft delayed Red Steel 2 because well I don't really know. here is their direct quote:

"We are disappointed that we have to postpone the release of several major games but we consider that this choice is the best one in the long-term interests of Ubisoft. Lastly, we are having to adjust our full-year targets to take into account the fall in business over the first half. The excellent response to our games at E3, as well as the high buzz generated for titles such as Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and Avatar, reinforce our belief that the company can achieve strong growth in the second half of the fiscal year."

Their delay doesn't really give a direct reason but as you can see they are rearranging a lot of their products.

Capcom delayed Dark Void for pretty good reasons. The main of which is to get the new IP out of the crowded fall lineup. Much like Heavy Rain the fall just isn't a good time for new IPs.

"Dark Void is moving into Capcom's fiscal Q4 in order to get the game out of the crowded fall game season and to allow the development team more time to polish and enhance the game experience."

Good to know with the extra time will come a few more months of polish. The game has been on my radar since E3 2008. So I've waited a long time for this one so I hope they use the extra time well.

Splinter Cell Conviction delayed

Splinter Cell joins 4 or 5 other games

SEE OTHER GAMES DELAYED

Now to be fair the Younger article states that work was STILL being done on the game, implying that delaying it would help that.

That is fine, but honestly after looking at Ubisoft's comments that they want the game to be enjoyed by all I just throw my hands up and declare stupidity. For some developers, the lack of many competitive games would make Splinter Cell an easy choice.

All i'm looking forward to is Shadow Complex and Modern Warfare 2, as many others are. But Splinter Cell could easily fit in to the Holiday rush instead of pushing back to 2010, doing so puts them with the 4 or 5 other games going in that area. So Ubisoft is taking a risk by trying to mix with other games, it is going to hurt sales somewhat. However how much it hurts sales is a dangerous scenario considering how many games moved to 2010 before this game, oh well.

Face it, this is a tough economy and people are limiting their gaming choices, how loyal is the Splinter Cell fanbase in these economic times?