PS3 Informer

Heavy Rain Misses Holiday Release, Slips to 2010

Not a good sign for Quantic Dream's ambitious suspense thriller Heavy Rain, which is hoped by many to be the definitive exclusive that will rejuvenate excitement around Sony's PS3 console. In earlier trailers for Heavy Rain, it had been given a 2009 release window. The game is already in a near-completed state and was shown at E3 this year. The demo footage featured some atmospheric interactions in a creepy junkyard, but did not grab journalists they way that perhaps we thought it would.
The developer seems to feel that the game needs both more polish and less competition. Speaking to journalists, CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere voiced his hesitation about a holiday release:

"[P]urely from my perspective, most publishers today realise that it's not ideal to release a new IP or a new genre just before Christmas. It's a very crowded place to be, and certain games need more space to live their life. Everybody at working on the project, both at Quantic and Sony, believe this is the right time."

What is going on here, Quantic and Sony? For the past 18 months, both companies have been hyping the game as the next greatest thing to arrive on the PS3. Now they feel that it isn't strong enough to compete with a good but derivative lineup of winter action titles? Frankly, we're worried about Heavy Rain, and we hope that the developers can allay those fears soon with some strong and innovative demonstrations of gameplay.

Put your hands in the air... and wave them like you just don't care...