Last week PS3 fans around SA were forced to swallow a tough pill when local distributers Sterkinekor pushed its release date back from Feb 27 to March 6.<\/p>\n
Well it seems that there has been a change of heart over at SK games, and the original release date has been re-implemented.<\/p>\n
Upon getting wind of the original delay, MyGaming contacted a Sterkinekor representative, who told us that “This was to ensure adequate promotional and PR coverage can be secured for the release.”<\/p>\n
Now on one hand, it’s not as though the game really needs much more hype.
However, in a further discussion with a Sterkinekor insider, the reasoning became more apparent, and to be fair, we could see where they were actually coming from.<\/p>\n
Basically, it came down to the fact that from a marketing perspective, the game would benefit significantly from a print media campaign. The most recent editions of the various local gaming publications featured limited advertising for the game. Therefore, Killzone 2 was, in a way, going into a dry launch.<\/p>\n
While the game has been flogged to death online, print media is undeniably important for a marketing campaign, as its reach is wider in some respects. <\/p>\n
Sterkinekor’s plan was to for a marketing campaign be spread across the likes of PlayTech and NAG magazines before the actual launch. The coverage would hit the shelves at the end of February, giving enough time for a fully advertised March 6 launch.<\/p>\n
Amidst all the irritated ramblings from SA gamers, we could understand where the various parties involved were coming from.<\/p>\n
On one hand, we can’t really blame the distributers for wanting to maximize marketing coverage before a big release, but on the other, we can fully empathize with people who have been heavily anticipating Killzone 2’s launch, only to have it delayed two weeks in SA.<\/p>\n
Well it seems that Sterkinekor has been paying attention. The original release date is back, and BT Games has already updated their release list.<\/p>\n