February 22, 2022: The next big novelty release date to watch
About every 11 years¹, something interesting happens: One or more dates contain a repeated number. For example, August 8, 1988 can be written as 8/8/88. On the whole, these patterns are meaningless, but in the past 22 years, dates containing repeated numbers have been significant for the game, and another good date is coming: February 22, 2022.
On that doomed Tuesday early next year, the light of Scorpio’s gibbous moon will shed light on a simple fact: unforgettable dates will attract large-scale product releases.
A brief history of novelty release dates
I like novel release dates like 2/22/22. No one has its date (even Monsanto), so everyone can give them any meaning they want. Sometimes they are anniversaries, birthdays or holidays. Sometimes they are lucky, evil, or the end of the world. Choosing a particularly cool date for a large product launch is like a challenge for the rest of the world: can you make this meaningless number sequence more important than me?
I think no one beat Sega September 9, 1999 (9/9/99), The date it released Dreamcast in North America.I know mine Life is changed by the energy stone, then Talking Murloc It may also change the trajectory of some people’s lives. Final Fantasy 8 was also released in North America on September 9, 1999. ² At least in the game console world, this is a real day.
Then, more than ten years later November 11, 2011 (11/11/11), One of the most influential games of all time: The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. If there was no Skyrim, what would “Grandma Skyrim” Shirley Curry do today? Streaming Fable 3? I don’t even want to think about it.
The year 2011 is a bit special, because a year ending in 11 will produce four repeated dates. The weakest of them, January 1, 2011 (1/1/11), This is an exception, cool dates have always been a magnet for game releases. ³ A holiday known mainly for hangovers is not a good day to release new games, and it doesn’t help if it falls on Saturday.
The next string in 2011 is January 11, 2011 (1/11/11), It falls on Tuesday, which is the regular day of the week when major games are released (at least when most games are on CD). On January 11, 2011, the major version is DC Universe Online. On Nintendo DS, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective were also released in North America.Incomplete Skyrim, But it is something.
Things are heating up on the other side of the year.exist November 1, 2011 (11/1/11), The independent classic “War on the Moon” and the less classic “Lord of the Rings: War of the North” came out. Outside of the PC, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and Sonic Generations took advantage of the unforgettable 1 series.
10 days later, we ushered in a big event: “Skyrim” was released on November 11, 11, which is the only date in each century where the same number is repeated six times. ⁴
11/11/11 is also the most recent repeated number date, although there have been other interesting dates since then. December 12, 2012 is cool, and December 13, 2014 was the last time we saw a perfect sequence in this century (for British readers, the first day to write was December 11, 2013). But it is indeed 9/9/99 and 11/11/11 that are the important video game era.
These two days have come
Now we are about to usher in another day of repeating numbers: February 22, 2022 (2/22/22)Even better, it happened to fall on Tuesday, which is both the traditional day for large-scale game releases. In this case, it is also a simple pun: Two days are coming.⁵
Currently, Twosday contains only a few confirmed major game releases: Sifu and Destiny 2: The Witch Queen. Kung fu brawler Sifu (Sif2?) is my most anticipated 2022 game, and Destiny 2: The Witch Queen will keep our staff Destiny awake before going to bed, but they are not as memorable as Dreamcast or Skyrim.
However, I think 2/22/22 has not shown all its cards. Here are some games that are expected to be released in early 2022 but have yet to set a date:
A complete surprise may also appear. Deuces is wild! As we observed earlier this year, 2022 is full of games, So I will pay close attention to this slightly interesting date to see if anyone is trying to surpass ’99 or ’11.
I haven’t forgotten February 2, 2022 (2/2/22), 2/22/22 not too interesting brothers and sisters, this happens to be Groundhog Day in the United States.There is no big plan for that Wednesday, but I have to imagine that it has been considered Endless loopThe release date of Groundhog Day takes into account the time loop connection of Groundhog Day and the importance of it having two protagonists. I don’t like the novel release date so much that I hope Deathloop will be postponed, although postponing the game for a cool release date is not something I will surpass Bethesda. Its next big role-playing game, Star field, Will be released 11 years after Skyrim on November 11, 22.
Regardless of whether Twosday will become a landmark day for games like 9/9/99 and 11/11/11, 2022 will be a vibrant year for computer games.
¹The gap between the years ending in repeated numbers (1955, 1966, 1977, 1988, etc.) is obviously 11. However, when we reach the end of the century, the rule does not work. The addition of 11 in 1999 brings us to 2010. 10/10/10 is cool, but we are looking for a repeating number, so we need to add another year to 2011. The gap also differs according to the month and day of these dates. In the case of the 11’s, it falls on months and days.
²Final Fantasy 7 also has a slightly interesting North American release date: 9/7/97.
³Well, I admit: I can’t find any major games released on 88/88 either. However, “Super Mario Bros. 2” was released in North America on September 10, 88, which is a different novelty date.
⁴Including the whole year, the number with the most repetitions since the first year is 8, which occurred on 11/11/1111. In 9,090 years, this situation will still exist until 11/11/11111, which is the possible release date of The Elder Scrolls 7.
⁵Do you Bring your coat?