Quantic Dream co-CEO, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, recently spoke about his studio’s highly anticipated game, Heavy Rain. When word got out the game would be pushed back to 2010, many gamers were hugely disappointed. However, Fondaumiere explained the motives behind the game’s delay.
The main reason Quantic Dream decided to push the game back is, quite simply, the game “needs space”. According to Fondaumiere, a Holiday 2009 release would be too risky for a new and original IP like Heavy Rain.
“The first and most important reason [for the delay] was the fact that I don’t think that such an innovative game like Heavy Rain and a new franchise should be released at the end of the year in the crowded period when everyone’s releasing their games.
A game like Heavy Rain needs space, needs to be explained and shown. At the end of the year, people can’t afford to buy all those games so we wanted to give Heavy Rain the chance to have its own release window, and for us to really talk about it so people really understand it.”
Going on, Fondaumiere explained that the industry will be looking hard at the sales of Heavy Rain, being how it is taking a new and original gameplay style.
“If Heavy Rain doesn’t succeed it’s going to have important implications for other developers and for ourselves – maybe people will think ‘those innovative games don’t work, games cannot really convey realistic emotions.’ And they will continue to do the standard shooters and the like that we have been doing for however many years.”
[Source]
