So it’s that time of year again, the time of year where 99% of publishers release their “triple A” titles.

Gaming has always been a seasonal hobby, and it’s inevitable that publishers are going to release games in the run up to Christmas, but I think things are getting silly. For example this year in the next 3~4 weeks we have coming out: Fable II, Fallout 3, Dead Space, Little Big Planet, Mirror’s Edge, Far Cry 2, Gears of War 2, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Prince of Persia, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty 5. And that’s just the ones I want off the top of my head, that’s a LOT of games. Four of those games all come out on the SAME DAY.

Now personally it’s not about the cost, although I appreciate for many people this is a major complaint. Really how can we give our time and dedication to these games, to do them justice? Titles like Fable II and Fallout 3 I’m hoping to get a good 40~50 hours of play out of, which is probably a month or so of play each.

Something will have to give, some of these games will not be bought straight away. Using a bit of willpower I will wait - maybe till next summer when there will be no games being released and play them then. The games will also be half the price at that time.

I’m curious how the game publishers expect to benefit by this glut of choice? Inevitably some of these games will sell far less than others in the face of all the competition, and I think the publishers are shooting themselves in the foot.