Why release games on Tuesday?

[VanityGirl]

I love video games and most importantly, I love being able to spend as much time as humanly possible playing my newest video game. Being able to play all weekend is really the best thing after a stressful week of school or work.

I've always wondered why games are released on Tuesday. A Tuesday release date doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Most people (like me) have either school or work on Tuesday. I'm not going to take off school and most of my friends would rather take off work on friday rather than at the beginning of the week.

Today, I will be purchasing Halo:Reach. Many of my friends asked if I would be attending the midnight release, to which I replied "Hell no, I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow and have a meeting with the head of my department." I sure as hell am going to get a good amount of sleep before I meet with the head of my department. It would look terrible if I came into the meeting looking tired and as if I didn't want to be there. Sorry if I'm complaining a bit, I'm a bit irritable at being up for a meeting so early. -_-

So does anyone know of a GOOD reason why games are released on Tuesday and not the weekend?

 

[Autofaux]

All the games I've gotten on release day are usually on Thursday, which is late night shopping, which I completely understand. Medal of Honor, my next purchase is gonna release on a Thursday.

 

[Swny Nerdgasm]

Because it's one of the slowest days for retail so games and movies are released on tuesdays in order to boost sales

 

[getbonus]

I wish game releases were truly as simple as being on Tuesday, as music releases actually are. Game releases, by comparison, are a complete cluster fuck. Most game publishers traditionally ship games on Tuesday, to be sold on Wednesday, but this depends on a number of factors, like how much the various parties want to pay for shipping. Other publishers, like Nintendo, ship games on Monday, or wherever else the dart should land. Street dated titles avoid this tomfoolery by shipping games out well ahead of release, which is grand until someone breaks the date and it all goes to pot. Tuesdays would be swell.

 

[SonicWaffle]

So does anyone know of a GOOD reason why games are released on Tuesday and not the weekend?

So you'll have finished it by Friday, and will need to buy something else for the weekend.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

My theory is that at sometime in the past my GPA and the video games industry were dating. But they had a really nasty breakup, and now the video games industry has a passionate hatred of my GPA. So it always releases games at the worst possible time in order to spite my GPA.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Yah, tuesday is just the slowest day usually. It helps pick up business.

 

[Lucane]

Yah, tuesday is just the slowest day usually. It helps pick up business.

I wouldn't say it picks up business so much as it splits it up.

A ton of people will go to the midnight release others will buy it later in the day And others with who might only have free time on weekends will get it on Saturday or Sunday

Which is good since everyone isn't showing up at the same time causing lines going out the door every weekend.(PLus games are also sold in non-game oriented)

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

I thought it was probably to generate hype for the weekend.

The reviews and word of mouth spills out then people flock in on weekends.

 

[Billska]

It's just like how movies are released on Thursdays. They just have an obsession with days starting with T.

 

[Gralian]

Maybe they're doing the Blizzard method. Someone above me simplified this.

Take Cataclysm. It's a massive release that guarantees at least one million in sales from the fan base alone right? So why do Blizzard outright refuse to tell us the release date and then say one week before release 'Guess what guys! It's coming out November this year!'

It's just to generate more hype. You can't get the game right now, so you -must- get it at all costs. You are no longer on the fence about it, you simply must get it out of principle and out of expectations built up for it. Imagine you take a ball away from a child that isn't playing with it right now. The child will scream and throw a tantrum to get that ball back, even if he or she won't play with it when they do. It's exactly the same thing, except in this case it's not that the ball has been taken away but the parent is saying "I'll give you the ball when you behave yourself" and so the child does its damnedest to get ahold of that ball. Note that it may just be a shitty ball, but it's the fact that you've gotta have what you don't. It's just a human trait, but it works fantastically in marketing.

Just my two pence.

 

[AfterAscon]

Maybe they're doing the Blizzard method. Someone above me simplified this.

Take Cataclysm. It's a massive release that guarantees at least one million in sales from the fan base alone right? So why do Blizzard outright refuse to tell us the release date and then say one week before release 'Guess what guys! It's coming out November this year!'

They probably don't outright tell us because they can't be certain of the release date. Cataclysm is still in Beta and has yet to add all the features for testing; there are still dungeons missing, character models etc.

I'd rather they didn't give a date and then constantly miss it like Gran Turismo 5.