Growing up I can remember 1, maybe 2, really great games coming out every month. I rarely felt that I was missing much when my parents refused to buy me multiple $50 games a month. Boy, am I lucky I am not growing up in today’s crowded 3 console market or I would only get to play a quarter of the great games that are getting released on a monthly basis. Within the last 2 months, well over 10 A+ games have been released across platforms, the majority of them being cross platform and a couple of them paired with peripherals that escalate the price to over $100 a pop. My question is, how is everyone collecting funds to support their favorite obsession? I’m selling text books, re-selling free curb alerts posted on craigslist, and trading in more games than I should to GameStop.

Whatever happened to spacing releases out over a longer period of time to ensure that they won’t be crushed by the likes of a Call of Duty or the new “Hero” game? Therein lies the problem, most of the games released in the last 2 months have all been A+ titles that don’t fear their competition. As a consumer we are being forced to choose whether we should grab this excellent game or that amazing game. A decision that in the end leaves us all happy, but not necessarily content. I found myself rushing to finish Uncharted 2 to ensure that I’d have it completed by the time Modern Warfare 2 released a few weeks later. Let’s not forget that Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Borderlands, and Left 4 Dead 2 were all released between that month long gap. I could always go back and spend more time with Uncharted 2, give it a few more play throughs and really give the co-op and multiplayer the time it deserves, but I’m too busy playing Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer and trying to complete a few more quests in Dragon Age: Origins to bother. It’s a shame, I know, but that’s the reality we are facing right now. The publishers are creating a hierarchy within A+ titles.

Is this model even working for publishers? I know it’s the holiday season and many parents and friends are picking up more-than-usual-amounts of games, but is anyone really getting every title that they want this holiday season? I’m sure you’ll all get your top picks (I nominate Uncharted 2, Borderlands, and COD:MW 2), but what about all those games you would have gotten if you had a fair chance?

The problem doesn’t end with full retail versions of games, DLC has been a bit excessive as of late too. Not only am I expected to buy every game that gets my geek on, but also rock out to my weekly Rock Band/Guitar Hero update, play through the Ballad of Gay Tony, and explore Warden’s Keep and the Zombie Island of Dr. Zed. What is unfortunate, is that I actually would purchase all of these updates if they were spaced out a bit and I actually had the time to dedicate to all of them.

I hate to say that having an overabundance of great titles is an issue, but when I’m unable to pick up titles that I would have otherwise, given a more spacious launch calendar, it most certainly is a problem.

Is this a trend that think will continue and worsen as time goes by or do you think a restructuring will have to take place at sometime or another?