Quick Rant

elays of games are as common to P.C. games and the consoles as it is in the rest of the software industry. Games are routinely pushed back leaving legions of gamer fans out in the cold. Any game consumer has to figure on a couple of delays for any game they are excited about. And while this is commonplace and something, many of us know it doesn’t negate the frustration.

The bigger complaint stems from the lack of information out there. With the plethora of gaming sites and magazines information should be just as widespread. However, this is just not the case with release dates. A push back on the release of a game is one thing. When a game is scheduled to ship to stores and no one knows it hasn’t until release day is just plain criminal.

The biggest gaming websites are typically left in the dark. Retailers advertise games with low prices and when you arrive to pick up a copy, no one seems to know anything about the game. Frustrating. Shipping delays and the like should be communicated within the industry. If a game isn’t going to make it onto store shelves by a week or two, websites should do their homework to find out. And retailers should have better informed employees working their game departments.

I won’t go into the specifics but in recent weeks, I’ve had experiences at all the big box and local retail game outlets where the master list of games isn’t even close to being right, let alone the pimple faced kid at the counter who supposedly is a gaming freak.

For this site and the other columns I write I’ve tried contacting a few game companies to find out if I can offer this service to my readers. The three majors I’ve spoken with have all commented on having not had this request from any other gaming source. I have a hard time believing this, but it may go to explain why this information is so rare.

If we are supposed to be living in the Age of Information, they why are so many so ill informed. We need more substance and less fluff from those who provide our information.