Analyst says Ubisoft could’ve been worried about Watch Dogs sales

A couple of days ago we were hit with some very disappointing news: Watch Dogs has been pushed back until spring 2014. We didn't get an exact reason, but many were optimistic as now the developers have more time to fine tune and polish off the game before it hits the market.

Well Wedbush Securities analyst, Michael Pachter, thinks that might not be the only reason for the delay: Ubisoft could have been worried about the crowded release window. Not only was Ubisoft facing competition from it's own franchise, Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, but Watch Dogs would have been fighting for wallet shares with GTA V, Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty Ghosts.

Pachter then went on to add:

“Grand Theft Auto V is only adding to industry uncertainty, as while it is bringing many previously-disconnected gamers back to the market, it also has achieved record-breaking sales that have tapped a certain percentage of gamer holiday spending months ahead of time.”

The analyst points out that he agrees with the decision to delay the new release, letting the developers have more time to add extras into the game and therefore giving it a better chance of establishing a strong franchise.

The new release window isn't completely danger free though. In Q1 2014 we'll be seeing Titanfall, Destiny and possibly Halo 5 all of which are expected to sell in huge numbers, but this extra waiting period will no doubt build up even more hype for the Watch Dogs release.

KitGuru Says: I was pretty excited for Watch Dogs and while I am disappointed it got pushed back so far, I can understand why Ubisoft didn't want to risk the game's success in the tough holiday market with all of these huge franchise releases to compete with.  I have no doubt that this extra time will be used to make the game better, but do you guys think Watch Dogs might will retain its hype through to the new year? 

Source: VG

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