I hate to report it but it seems like that release-heavy month of March has lost some weight. The already once delayed Max Payne 3 is suffering (or mayhaps benefiting from) another delay.
Originally dated for October of 2011, Max Payne 3 slipped into quarter one of 2012, only to fall into a May time frame which Take Two has confirmed as May 15th. As with any delay, the publisher assures us the extra time is being taken to develop Max Payne the Third into a tighter running machine. So says Mr. Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take Two:
“This short delay will ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality, groundbreaking entertainment experience that is expected from our company.”
Sometimes a game’s last, best saving grace is a bigger chunk of development time, I won’t deny this. A handful of my favorite releases have flown past rejected release dates and were better products for it. On the flip side, hyped up titles rush to hit the street date and turn out to have a lot in common with undercooked meat; they need more time on the grill before being considered remotely palatable.
But you have to wonder whether two missed release dates are for the sake of quality assurance or if Max Payne 3’s development cycle is more troubled than Rockstar and Take Two would ever be comfortable sharing. Perhaps taking Payne’s reigns from Remedy Games was a harder feat than how it appeared from the offset. Oh, ponderings. I can’t wait to see this console generation’s take on Max (though, now, I have to). Hopefully the game is in need of upkeep instead of renovation.
Following this bit of unhappy news, Take Two has confirmed that the deadline for pre-orders towards Max Payne 3’s Special Edition have been extended to April 2nd. The collector’s set clocks in at $99.99, let no one dissuade you from putting some collateral aside before May.