That’s my fragile sense of optimism Sam is crushing against a dingy men’s room mirror.

All those publishers who hoped to escape the crowded holiday release season by pushing their titles to next year are starting to realize the Q1 2010 lifeboat is riding a little low in the water.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has predicted that the now crowded first quarter calendar will force many heavy hitting titles to be pushed back even further, according to an interview with MCV. Among the games that could be postponed is Ubisoft’s own Splinter Cell: Conviction, which was originally slated for a pre-Christmas release.

“We now have a situation where there are a lot of good games due for release in the first half of next year, but I think some publishers will move again,” he said. “The first quarter of 2010 is looking pretty crazy. So I expect some movement from the other players – some of those delayed games will be moved again.”