This has not been a good year when it comes to delays on the games we're really hoping for. News that BioShock 2 was pushed back hit recently, Splinter Cell Conviction and Red Steel 2 have also been pushed back, and at this rate, we aren't going to have many new blockbuster games to play this Christmas. It's a lump of coal in a gamer's stocking, if you will.

A Yahoo! Finance article detailed that Activision had pushed Starcraft II back, coming to our attention mere moments before recieving an official email from Blizzard PR. Read a bit of that right here:

Today we announced that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will not be ready for release by the end of 2009. Over the past couple of weeks, it has become clear that it will take longer than expected to prepare the new Battle.net for the launch of the game. The upgraded Battle.net is an integral part of the StarCraft II experience and will be an essential part of all of our games moving forward. This extra development time will be critical to help us realize our vision for the service.

Our mission is to develop games that deliver an epic entertainment experience. As part of that commitment, we will always take as much time as needed to ensure that our games and services meet the expectations of our players and the standard for quality that we set for ourselves as developers. As we work to make Battle.net the premier online gaming destination, we’ll also continue to polish and refine StarCraft II, and we look forward to delivering a real-time strategy gaming experience worthy of the series’ legacy in the first half of 2010.

It's no surprise to hear Blizzard is taking their time on a game -- how long have we been waiting on Diablo III, after all? Still and all, this is sure to cause waves of disappointment in the Starcraft fanbase. Do you mind waiting a few months longer for the next installment?