Previously expected: Late 2009
Delayed until: January 5, 2010
Why was it pushed? We actually posed this very question to Keith Dwyer, producer of Bayonetta, duringComic-Con – the official line is that 2009’s holiday lineup was just too damn crowded (a popular reason, for sure). He said there were other action games this year that “beat them to the punch” and spacing Bayonetta into early 2010 gives it a much better chance at standing out. Most companies tend to avoid January, but Dwyer thinks gamers will have gift cards burning a hole in their pocket, or perhaps could be done with their late December gifts, and looking for a flashy new fighter that out-cries Devil May Cry.
Why are we disappointed? Sega catches a lot of heat for the deluge of crappy Sonic software, so anytime we see it producing new, interesting content, we genuinely want it to succeed. We’ve played bits of Bayonetta and absolutely love how intentionally cheesy and over-the-top the action gets; what other game stars a demon-haired, shape-shifting witch that poses and winks at the camera while she pulverizes a giant into the next dimension? We once joked that Heavenly Sword would become the female successor to God of War’s crown – now it looks like Bayonetta will be the true Goddess of War.
Also delayed by Sega%26hellip;
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Sega’s supposedly got three Alien games still in development. This one was a four-man squad shooter being handled by Gearbox Software, the studio responsible for Brothers in Arms and the upcoming Borderlands. Unfortunately, the publisher has decided to make a new Aliens vs Predator title the priority for early 2010. That’s right, Colonial Marines – originally slated for late 2008 – may not see store shelves until 2011. And if its calendar replacement doesn’t sell well, we may never see it at all.
