Nintendo's Kaplan Explains Super Smash Bros. Delay, Considers Unconventional Release Dates
"I think we're actually starting to look at the annual calendar differently," said Kaplan in an interview with MTV Games. "The first two quarters of the year tend to be more quiet. But now we've seen some evidence of sales in that period. Other than the holiday quarter, I think the traditional way of viewing it is not necessarily a slam dunk. I think a really good product can be a slam dunk any time of the year."
The anticipated Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl was recently delayed to a new release date of February 10, 2008. Kaplan stopped short of saying the game was delayed for scheduling purposes, instead noting the reason was to "tinker and further refine the product."
"People get unhappy about it because they really want the product now," she added. "I think people will be very thrilled with the end result. And I guess we realize people see it as a delay, but we see it is a little bit of a perfection program to make sure the game is absolutely as perfect as Japan knows it can be and it will."
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I hope more companies start thinking like this. I'd rather have one or two good games every month than two or three in the first nine months and twenty in the last three months.