PlatinumGames' upcoming classic arcade shooter, Sol Cresta is being delayed. The announcement for Sol Cresta's delay came today via a live stream on PlatinumGames' YouTube channel.
Sol Cresta was announced earlier this year as part of an April Fool's stream from PlatinumGames. It turns out it wasn't a joke and PlatinumGames would be finishing up a 40-year-old trilogy.
The news of the delay came from a live stream on PlatinumGames' YouTube channel titled "Hideki Kamiya's Very Sorry Stream." In the 62 minute long stream, the creative director for Sol Cresta explained that the initial release date of December 9th was no longer possible. The development team ran into scheduling and quality issues that they want to focus on. As of this writing, an updated release date has not been made available.
Sol Cresta marks the third entry in the "Cresta Saga" that began with Moon Cresta in 1980 and was followed by Terra Cresta in 1985. Sol Cresta is being produced by PlatinumGames in conjunction with HAMSTER Corporation. Hideki Kamiya serves as the Writer and Creative Director, while music is produced by acclaimed Yuzo Koshiro. Hideki Kamiya is a veteran of the industry, serving as Director for Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry before moving onto Clover Studio and directing Viewtiful Joe. Finally, Kamiya settled at PlatinumGames and was involved with both Bayonetta titles.
Delays are an unfortunate part of video game development. But, it goes to show that any project, be it indie or a AAA studio, can run into issues. The real trick is how the development studio identifies the issue, attacks it, and then communicates updated expectations with the community. And for a genre of the market that doesn't see as much attention as it used to, fans of the arcade shooter are most likely used to waiting a little longer between anticipated releases. But for an established developer with a stellar track record like PlatinumGames, a little trust has been earned.
As Shigeru Miyamoto once said, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever." No one likes delays, but sometimes they are necessary for several reasons. It could be that things changed during development, the studio would like to prevent crunch, or they need a little extra time for that polish. No matter the reason, a delay is always preferable to rushing out a product and having it flop because it needed more time.
Sol Cresta will be available for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Source: PlatinumGames on YouTube