SEGA have a bit of a problem on their hands, and in some ways it’s a good problem to have, but in others, it’s quite tricky.

Plainly speaking, the publishers most known for Sonic the Hedgehog currently have two games in production at two different development companies that involve the Alien movie property in one way or another, one by the name of Aliens VS Predator (from Rebellion) and the other called Aliens: Colonial Marines (from Gearbox Software).

Not only that, but the two games are looking pretty similar, both played from a first-person viewpoint and both looking dramatically dark and moody in presentation.

The problem, then, is that SEGA cannot possibly release these two games in quick succession, not only because consumers might become confused, but also because the publisher would probably like to eke out as many sales from each title as possible, and not cannibalise awareness and marketing surrounding each game.

Aliens VS Predator is already slated to release at the beginning of next year, while Aliens: Colonial Marines still doesn’t have a concrete release window attached to it. What’s a mega-publisher to do?

SEGA President Mike Hayes recently commented on the matter, referring to Aliens: Colonial Marines:

“I think the detail of that [release date] is probably still too early,” said Hayes. “What I would say is it’s unlikely that we’d launch anything within six months [after Aliens vs. Predator], but probably nine months, eight to 12 months possibly. Though we literally are looking at that at the moment and a lot of is going to depend, as well, on how successful AvP is at the box [retail].”

“It’s what level of ‘well’ does it do. Do we then determine when we want to bring the next one out and then, of course, determine what the third one in the series is likely to be.”

So it’s looking more and more as though Aliens: Colonial Marines, the title that has been teasing eager Alien gamers for years, is looking likely for a late 2010 release at best, in favour of Aliens VS Predator. Poor Randy Pitchford…

Speaking of which, you can watch the latest trailer for Aliens VS Predator from gamescom below:

Source: 1UP