NEWS - Monday, December 20, 2010
Deus Ex Human Revolution Delayed
While it was originally planned for release in early 2011 (with some retailers listing it as early as February), today Square Enix announced that Deus Ex: Human Revolution will be delayed to instead release in their next fiscal year, which begins next April.
The delay was revealed along with Square Enixs announcement that its reducing their earnings forecast for the remainder of its fiscal year by a whopping 91 percent. Part of the reason is in fact because theyve moved Deus Ex out of the current fiscal year, although Square Enix also cited the "harsh market feedback regarding a key title" -- almost certainly referring to Final Fantasy XIV.
As for the specific reason behind Deus Exs delay, its unclear how much of it had to do with simple market strategizing, and how much had to do with the game needing more time. Square Enix cited "weak sales performance of console game titles that have been newly released during the current fiscal year," and that "we therefore have decided to spend additional time to further polish our upcoming game, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, resulting in a shift in release timing from our prior plan of the current fiscal year to next fiscal year." This at least seems to suggest its partly an effort to close their books on the current fiscal year and bolster their next fiscal year instead.
Source: http://www.1up.com