Yes, the game will be out in 2 months which isn't that long and means we will be able to play it. That doesn't mean that the way that NRS has handle reveals for this game isn't weird:
- Waited until The Game Awards to reveal the game, only to tell people that they still had to wait over a month to actually see the game at their own event.
- Showed the game off like 3-months before the game is out vs. showing the game like a year before the game is out like previous NRS titles at E3. .
Marketing strategies for products generally do look weird to the people on the outside because they don't see the sales figures for the year in detail like the company itself does.
Sony isn't going to attending E3 in 2019, at all. To many this is absolutely crazy.
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Shawn Layden from Playstation tried his best to explain:
"“Now we have an event in February called Destination
PlayStation, where we bring all retailers and third-party partners to come hear the story for the year. They’re making purchasing discussions in February. June, now, is just too late to have a Christmas holiday discussion with retailers. So retail has really dropped off. And journalists now, with the internet and the fact that 24/7 there is game news, it’s lost its impact around that.”
“So the trade show became a trade show without a lot of trade activity. The world has changed, but E3 hasn’t necessarily changed with it.”
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While the specifics of what NRS is doing with Mortal Kombat 11 are a mystery to us, their marketing team has a strategy to maximize the amount of money they'll make from the game throughout the entire course of the game's life.
This could mean that the reason they decided to announce the game IN DECEMEBER was because they literally have an entire year before the next holiday season, where they suspect they will make the most of those few months sales-wise. By working with retailers with such ample time, they could really do something as far as deals/promotions.
Again, who knows, but my point is that the marketing strategies NRS have decided on boiled down aren't as weird as you might think if you look at the big picture business-wise.