This epic game 9 years in the making just got delayed again

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One of Sony's trump cards for the PlayStation 4 this holiday just got hit with a delay.

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the last guardian

Sony

In "The Last Guardian," you play as a small boy with a massive cat-bird-dragon friend.

The gorgeous game you see above is named "The Last Guardian." It's a long-in-development game that's exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 4. You can only play the game on Sony's console.

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But now, rather than the game launching in the crucial October, pre-holiday time period usually reserved for blockbusters (like "The Last Guardian"), the game is launching on December 6.

the last guardian

Team Ico

Much of what we've seen of the game involves puzzle-solving in a cooperative way between the boy and creature.

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The move doesn't impact fans dramatically, but could certainly impact how well the game sells during the holiday season.

The month of October is stacked with blockbuster games: the latest from "Call of Duty," "Gears of War," "Battlefield" and "Titanfall." There's a good reason for that - October is the month to release your blockbuster game. That's because games tend to see explosive sales at launch, with rapidly-decreasing sales after that. Releasing your blockbuster game in October means you can extend that sales window with - what else? - the holiday sales season.

playstation 4 system

Chris C. Anderson/Business Insider

On top of that, customers are more inclined to buy your game because of the nature of the holiday season: People buy and give games to friends and family.

With a December 6 launch date, "The Last Guardian" may get some of that bump, but it's missing the crucial post-Thanksgiving sales week in the US.

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