Sims 3, Dragon Age, Godfather II delayed

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Feb 3, 2009 1:54 pm PT

Maxis' life sim now set for June 2, BioWare RPG pushed to back half of 2009, and open-world crime game cooling heels until at least April.

One might think that the slumping economy would have publishers pushing games out of the door to boost revenues in the near term, but Electronic Arts is pushing a trio of big game releases into its next fiscal year, lowering its expectations for the current one in the process.

This game needs a little more time in the oven.

Today, the publisher revealed that a trio of games that it had previously expected in its fiscal year 2009 (which ends March 31) have been pushed at least to April. The affected games include the open-world crime game The Godfather II, BioWare's fantasy role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins, and the much-anticipated The Sims 3. No explanation was given for any of the delays.

Previously announced as a February 20 release, The Sims 3 has been pushed back to June 2. Dragon Age: Origins' "early 2009" PC debut will now instead coincide with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game, reportedly due in Q4. EA's delay for the game has moved it to the back half of the year, "coinciding with the release of the console versions of Dragon Age: Origins." As of press time, the company had not offered any updated release window for The Godfather II, which had been set for release on February 24.

[UPDATE]: In a conference call with analysts after announcing the delays today, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello provided some light on the reasons for the postponements.

In the case of The Sims 3, Riccitiello said, "We see this as being one of the most important launches in our company's history, and certainly in the upcoming fiscal year." He added that the delay was called in the interest of investing more time and effort to make the marketing campaign for the game more innovative.

As for The Godfather II, Riccitiello said that it was set to ship in a competitive environment cluttered with the last wave of games selling at discounted prices. EA felt that by pushing it back a bit, The Godfather II would have better luck in the market.

Finally, Riccitiello admitted that the rationale for delaying Dragon Age may sound a bit odd, but said, "Too much quality can make you reassess your options." The game was shaping up to be so epic in scale, quality, and innovation--according to Riccitiello--that EA thought it would make for a stronger launch to have the console versions of the game arrive at the same time as the PC edition. Additionally, the time would allow for extra polishing of the content.

245 Comments

  • ShiroKitaHoshi

    Posted Mar 15, 2009 8:02 pm PT

    Sims 3 will have DRM.....AND in game advertising. Therefore, an internet connection will be required at all times. Yet the game price will not go down.
    At this point the game is definitely off my list permanently. EA keeps trying to extort it's consumers - when all they have to do is remove DRM and advertising to solve all of their public relation issues. It's common sense - alienating customers is not good business. How come they can't see this simple fix?

  • BoUnCiNBoOtY

    Posted Feb 28, 2009 9:30 am PT

    This is crap... I've been waiting for the Sims 3 for ages. I've been playing the series since the beginning... I was in the 6th grade when I got the original Sims. I'm 22 now and still faithful to the series. I play tested the Sims Online and The Sims 2. Now WTF EA!!! This is bull....

  • yocki

    Posted Feb 23, 2009 10:01 pm PT

    Why EA should pending the release of The Sims 3......
    it's ridiculous!
    i hope the sims 3 is not dissappointing coz we waiting too long...
    ok???

  • flawless_blade

    Posted Feb 21, 2009 8:36 pm PT

    GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! DANG IT EA!!!!!! greedy sons of.... delaying to make more money next year... WTF?!?!?!?!? I HATE EA! i would boycott these but i want sims and dragon age so badly. what else of theirs can i boycott....?

  • siggypop

    Posted Feb 16, 2009 10:36 pm PT

    I urge everyone to write to EA to express their disgust with the current decision. To delay a finished game for the purpose of advertising is unacceptable and it is up to us, the gaming public, to remind them of what they create and who they create for. While a few may not matter if they get a large response they may realize the amount of interest they have already created in the Sims 3 and may realize that further advertising is not necessary. Who knows what will come of things but if you sit and say nothing then you have as good as accepted their bull. Write away angry gamers, I will do the same.

  • cblink

    Posted Feb 16, 2009 6:54 am PT

    Yet another reason not to support EA. Not like I was planning on in it the first place, but this is the nail in the coffin.

  • Twilight-Ghost

    Posted Feb 15, 2009 10:33 pm PT

    ......It took about 5seconds..but i remembered why I hate EA

  • Twilight-Ghost

    Posted Feb 15, 2009 10:28 pm PT

    ha! to think i almost preordered. (it was going to be my b-day gift to myself.) good thing I Didn't. My Little sister, also was so hoping for this..it would of only got her hopes up more. I guess i'll be spending my money else where......

  • antipunt1

    Posted Feb 15, 2009 12:57 pm PT

    well this kinda sucks..
    especially since there's nothing that can be done about
    meh (smashes face into desk)

  • AlexLove

    Posted Feb 12, 2009 11:01 pm PT

    It`s all about money .....you should be ashamed

  • BrandonC3000

    Posted Feb 11, 2009 4:34 pm PT

    "We're delaying it to make it sell better."
    more like
    "We're delaying it so we get more immediate sells and jump to the top of charts for fastest sells in short period of time."

  • bugonguitar

    Posted Feb 11, 2009 1:09 pm PT

    Well, you gotta figure that it's these idiot CEO's who are primarily to blame for the economy being in the toilet in the first place. If we expect them to behave in a manner that in any way adheres to logic, it's really we who are at fault. The best part is, the chugnuts making these decisions will still take home their hefty salaries and bonuses even after running their company with all the foresight of a spider monkey on a case of Jolt and a felony's worth of crystal meth.

  • WulfenMortys

    Posted Feb 11, 2009 6:26 am PT

    I despise EA.

  • P90E21

    Posted Feb 10, 2009 11:41 am PT

    Riccitiello said that it was set to ship in a competitive environment cluttered with the last wave of games selling at discounted prices.-- Thus an excuse to why you don't see a game u want. But on a good note it helps me make up my mind on who gets my money on the 24th. Star Ocean and GF2 was the choice I had to make. Sorry to hear about Sims 3 for you die hards I know how you feel.

  • Nokoryous

    Posted Feb 10, 2009 9:01 am PT

    really? sims 3 is delayed so they can market it to more consumers? sweet. thanks for keeping the announcement within 20 days of the previous release too. awesome.

  • Desertdback

    Posted Feb 10, 2009 4:31 am PT

    This is exactly the stupidity that I was hoping EA would not become part of. The simple thought that gamers only buy games during the holiday season. We as gamers are starving for games throughout the year, not just two-three months out of the year. Pushing Dragon Age and Sims 3 back are horrible ideas, because yes the economy looks to only be getting worse, you would think they would be trying to get it out as soon as possible. But no they like to push it even further back. This makes me so frustrated that I will be calling EA tomorrow and demanding some type of explanation as I have already preordered these games, I will now be canceling both of my preorders. I am FURIOUS!

  • madglee

    Posted Feb 9, 2009 5:16 pm PT

    This is all doublespeak - CEOs are good at that. We may never see these games if layoffs keep rising and the economy keeps falling.

  • strykerwolfMLY

    Posted Feb 9, 2009 4:47 pm PT

    oh man,i cant believe this is happening.
    you guys are like asking for the sims 3 to be leaked.
    when it is so leaked,be prepared to lose even more profits.
    the faster the sims 3 release, the lesser the chance to be leaked.
    pardon my english,im not that good in speaking english

  • jndry

    Posted Feb 8, 2009 2:09 pm PT

    Wow, pushing the Dragon Age release back 8 months seems like a truly interesting move (considering it is supposedly a nearly finished game) ... I guess they are banking on the holiday spending spree, even though all accounts point towards the economy being worse 8 months from now than it is now. I guess we know where they got the "Age" from the title considering how long this game has been in development.

  • 123outlaw

    Posted Feb 7, 2009 6:57 am PT

    damn i was really looking forward to godfather II

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