Talking Point: Does Days Gone Need a New Release Date Already?

I think it needs a No - because its a very different game and not in direct competition anyway.

If they are specifically going for the 'number 1' game that week, then maybe they will have to move date because Anthem is multi-platform but if they aren't bothered by that, then it shouldn't make a difference. Maybe there are some gamers that may be forced to pick 1 or the other but I bet a lot will be interested in one but not the other anyway. Release dates ONLY matter if you are bothered about 'chart position' - but that's not as important as overall sales...

February 1 seems a good date

anthem will sell very well in it's first week but will drop sales soon after. days gone will take those sales away after anthem's first week.

I think it's perfectly fine releasing 2 big titles on the same day.

calm down. anthem will get delayed without a doubt.

@get2sammyb I think Days Gone has already 'struggled' to shrug off the Last of Us copy and 'just another Zombie game' but there will be those that are looking for the open world single player experience that offers and others that will be looking for a more Sci-fi 'online' co-op game - even if it can be played solo.

It may depend on whether groups of friends are looking to play games together and I think Anthem will have much more 'youtube/twitch' appeal so they maybe persuaded to jump in with Anthem at the start so they don't get left behind but there are a LOT who will prefer Days Gone because its not online, not co-op focused...

Chances are they will still end up with both at some point if they are interested in both so it won't affect sales. Its ONLY going to affect their chart position and we know you put a BIG emphasis on that in your articles - even if the Number 1 game is only number 1 because there is little competition. We know if these games release the same week as CoD or Fifa, they won't be number 1 because these games sell more in one week than they sell in 2-3months.

Anthem may get delayed - although it won't be delayed beyond Q3 because EA want this to release in this financial year. I intend to buy both at the moment (things can change of course) and looking forward to both for different reasons.

The ONLY reason to move Days Gone will be if Sony want to brag about another number 1 game. Its going to be difficult for that due to the multi-platform nature of Anthem but I doubt it will have a 'major' impact in the overall sales of either - just whether Days Gone can call itself a number 1 selling game or not.

move it forward by a couple of weeks if necessary, i wouldn't delay it though. if both games were to release the same day, then all the reviews will start appearing at the same time.. let's say days gone scores a really good 80 average on metacritic, but anthem is scoring 90.. it might get overlooked regardless of its quality. plus EA will be schmoozing reviewers and commentators, of that i've no doubt.

Anthem has been announced as Gameinformer's game of month cover story. Might get more info but just watched one video and I would not be surprised if it gets delayed.

Move it forward. It’ll absolutely get overshadowed.
Days Gone was moved back, because of the busy holiday period. I’m sure they can move it forward a week or two.

If Sony are comfortable in announcing a date 6 months+ in advance, then there must be some leeway.

I voted yes, but for some reason it feels like Anthem might be delayed.

I think there are a lot of gamers who unlike us don't follow all the finer details about games online. You can bet EA will throw a ton of money advertising Anthem that if Days Gone does release the same day it will get drowned out. I think a moving even just a couple of weeks early if they can would help it out.

Nope, not in the slightest. There will be plenty of people like myself who are very much looking forward to Days Gone and don't give a damn about Anthem.

Anthem has already been delayed and, being a service based game, could leave some of the 'unpolished' or unfinished content and give it 'free' post launch. Any 'balancing' tweaks can be adjusted post launch too. It has to launch this financial year for EA.

There is also the 'bad feeling' that EA have to overcome and the fact that Destiny has burnt people too so those things ould work in Days Gone favour.

As I said before, the games are very different and whilst some may want both, there will be a lot who want one or the other. I know if I was looking forward to DG, I would be 'disappointed' if it was delayed again and I would feel that Sony hasn't got that much faith in their game. For me, buying both gives me that story driven single player as well as a co-op online only game to play with friends...

After seeing Anthem today, I'd rather get Days Gone. Nothing to worry about from me.

However, I honestly can't tell which title would do better between the two. Yeah, BioWare is more known, but they've taken a hit to the rep following Andromeda, Dragon Age Inquisition, and the ME3 ending hoopla. From my point of view, it could go either way. Days Gone could get it if it gets the advertising it needs, though.

Yup no interest in Anthem here. But this will affect sales for Sony because by all accounts, days gone hasnt inspired either

I love these 2 going against each other.

Its like that episode of Southpark when they voted for either a turd sandwich or a giant douche.

Couldn't care less about those GAAS (Destiny, Anthem etc...) so it won't affect my decision on which one to buy. Days Gone all the way.
Plus SP > MP.

They can delay until March and then Anthem will delay until March as well.

You might find that Anthem is the game that ends up suffering more due to this.

Nah. It will literally sell millions.

DG is probably going to be fine. Moving it forward or backward will jeopardize running into another big title (Soul Caliber 6 is going to drop in that relative timeframe for example), so Sony Bend should accept their draw and just take on Anthem. Anthem looks stupid anyway. 😉

I read someone comment on youtube that Anthem was up for pre-order, with the date, right after the show on the playstation store.
Surely it's resonable to assume Sony were aware of this date for at least a little while to have it ready to put up so they could have held back the reveal of the release of Days Gone if they were concerned?

First, I wasn't expecting a February release for Anthem, so I was caught by surprise. Then I thought oh wait that's Days Gone's release date. Like others have said, I'd move it up a couple weeks. Or wait and see if Anthem gets another delay.

A lot of people seem to think only from their perspective and if they have any interest in a game or not, without looking at the bigger picture. Sony should move this two weeks forward. Just look how other single player games tanked in such circumstances, e.g. Wolfenstein 2, rise of the tomb raider, even titanfall 2.

Days Gone I was already thinking doesn't look that interesting/unique, like a lesser TLoU. Anthem on the other hand whilst not everyone's cup of tea (Not the Mass Effect replacement people hoped for) so far is looking like something I'll enjoy playing through with a friend.

I could be wrong but I don't think Anthem is going to be the giant success that EA and Bioware are hoping for. I'd rather get Days Gone any day.

I don't think 2 weeks will work if someone is planning on buying Anthem that will not have the funds to buy 2 games. Picking one my choice would be Days Gone well over Anthem.

I'm picking up Days Gone and not buying Anthem until it goes on sale, but I'm not the average consumer. Those guys are dumb as hell.

Anthem looks crap.

The only game that needs a new release date is Anthem, especially given how pissed off people are at EA for trying to destroy single player games. I wouldn't be surprised if people buy Days Gone just to spite EA, I know I am O_O

@Paranoimia
Totally agree. I have zero interest in Anthem and most of my gamer friends feel the same and all of us are looking forward to Days Gone. It'll do fine.

nah based on reactions and comments all over the net they are blown away by anthem even game critics has this destiny ripoff take on anthem, by the looks of it xboners will be the one buying this game.

Won't be purchasing either one, so I don't care either way.

I don't think so, Days Gone is for the gamers who want a single-player experience, and Anthem is for the multiplayer crowd.

Currently, I see Days Gone coming out on top. Anthem looked bad when EA showed it so unless they show more, I don't think it will do as well as EA expects. Days Gone on the other hand should do fine unless reviews are bad or there are issues at release.

I'm still not completely sold on both games to be honest. The amount of zombies appearing on screen looks impressive but everything else seems like its been done before. Anthem lacks originality as well but gameplay seems like it could be fun if done right. They really need to remove or at least reduce the font size of the damage numbers, though.

Is ANTHEM a loot based game with a lot customisable options?

I'd actually go as far as to say that it might hurt Anthem more. Sony is gonna go all out with their marketing campaign for Days Gone, and Sony fans are fanatically loyal. But that being said, I'd still buy Days Gone over Anthem, simply because of preference

Not everyone likes multiplayer games, not everyone likes always-online games, not everyone likes EA.

@adf86 I think the difference is that the Switch was in super short supply at the time so a lot of people couldn't even get the console, let alone play Zelda. In this case...both games are on the same console and will be readily available!

I think that they need to move the release date. If Anthem can produce something that is everything that players wanted Destiny 2 to be, they will have 3 million plus sales just off the back of that, and that will have a negative effect on Days Gone sales for sure.

I couldnt care lass about anthem. Looks ok i guess. Apples and oranges and the citricity of days gone is lit af!

Remember when Rise of the Tomb Raider and Fallout 4 released on the same day? Only one game mattered that day/week.
This will be worse.
Bend NEED this game to succeed.

I reckon Anthem will most likely get delayed.

@Neolit Yeah. They need to fix some of animations shown in that "a positive Game Informer cover story campaign" clip as well. There's one at the 0:37 mark and then there's the motorbike on the railroad scene too. It's like the railroad track isn't even there.

@adf86 Don't ignore the fact that both Zelda and Horizon were console/platform exclusives, and addition to that is Zelda releasing on a brand new console (WiiU was irrelevant). On the other hand, Anthem is coming out on 3 platforms simultaneously, including Ps4 and that's a lot different. Besides that, Anthem is sure to have a huge marketing budget. So it's a very different situation to the one you are describing.

if I only could get one it would be Days Gone to contest for me

It all depends on just how good of a game Day's Gone turns out to be. Horizon and God of War were both question marks as to what exactly the game play would be like, how was the story going to be handled and was it any fun to play. Both had their obstacles to overcome. Horizon was a new IP without a proven track record and God of War was a known property that you either loved or hated.

Sony overcame those obstacles by putting the game in reviewers hands and letting them do the marketing for Sony. Horizon came out February 28, but the review embargo lifted February 20. Now I don't have any number to support this theory, but hypothetically speaking, the positive reviews could have only helped propel the property.

Same for God of War. It had an April 20 release, and the embargo lifted April 12. It's now a Game of the Year contender, if not Game of this Generation.

That's how Day's Gone beats Anthem. If it's a good game, let it be known a week or so before launch. Spread the news online and on T.V. Shout it from the hilltops! Anthem will need servers online and an established player base to accurately review the experience, and I don't see that happening until after it launches. Then there's the Destiny 2 factor...which may put Playstation owners in a wait and see position.

Ultimately, if Day's Gone holds its release date and we don't start seeing reviews around February 15, there's a good chance that the game is decent at best...total crap at worst. If the reviews do come out early, and they're positive, I see Day's Gone copying Horizon's success.

EDIT:
Speaking of...I just received the following from EA:

Triumph As One
Abandoned by the gods, humanity turns to the Freelancers for their survival. Armed with incredible Javelin exosuits, the Freelancers face a new threat greater than anything before.

I'm sorry, but that's about as generic as it gets.

I hope it doesn't get moved unless it's forward

Metro Exodus also out February 22nd.

Not sure why as a consumer I should be worried about how well a game performs commercially. Unless it performs extremely poor and it hurts the chances of a sequel, but when it's a decent game it shouldn't be a problem.