Next-gen games stalled by Ubisoft

By Josh Alfrey

Patience is a virtue for gamers who wait for Ubisoft’s products.

Last week, Ubisoft announced the releases of “Watch Dogs” and “The Crew” will be delayed. With anticipation high for the action-packed games, the move affected players and companies.

Since “Watch Dogs” was slated as a launch title for Playstation 4, Sony and other companies have faced challenges with the delay. Amazon originally offered a Playstation 4 bundle with this game upon release. With the pushed-back release date Nov. 19, the company amended all orders for customers to receive a Playstation 4 in November as originally advertised. Now it will have to wait for “Watch Dogs” to be released in spring 2014.

“The Crew’s” release date was originally set for this year but now could be pushed back as far as 2015. While this open-world racing game didn’t carry the hype of “Watch Dogs,” the delay hurts a significant demographic of the gaming market.

Though these changes may hold some problems for publishers and distributors, I can only see them as benefits for gamers. This shows Ubisoft is not rushing its creators and is determined to make the best experience possible with these great games.

With the recent bugs of “Grand Theft Auto V,” more time spent on these games may be what’s best. These games can only become more polished with the time players are waiting for them. Developers most likely won’t have time to add in major content, but time spent fixing bugs is never wasted.

These titles were advertised to offer the true next-generation experience of gaming. In both gameplay and graphics, its trailers showed top-of-the-line and unique experiences.

Ubisoft’s “Watch Dogs” is an open world action-adventure game akin to the Assassin’s Creed and Grand Theft Auto series. As a computer hacker, the player explores downtown Chicago as a vigilante.

Next-gen racing game “The Crew” features an online open-world environment. Players can team up and create crews to fight criminal organizations and perform racing challenges.

I am more than willing to wait for “The Crew” and “Watch Dogs” to bring out the best in next-generation gaming.