John-ShepardThese days, we often hear about games long before they launch; sometimes the hype gets rolling a year and more before the actual release date.
But Bethesda doesn't like this practice and in fact believes they could wait longer before officially announcing their projects.
They think they did it right in regards to Fallout 4 , for instance. Though we saw leaks about the project back in 2014, Bethesda didn't officially reveal it until June 2015, a mere six months before the game hit store shelves. And director Todd Howard told GameSpot that this feels about right:
"I really prefer it, for multiple reasons. There are moments when you get excited about hearing about something. I think that's a special moment. Then you take Fallout, people already wanted it and that helps tremendously."
Howard added that announcing a game too early can cause problems, as development is a very fluid process. And he says that if it's too early, people "aren't getting excited, they're getting anxious." That's because fans want information the designers simply can't give them at that point, and this makes the gamers nervous. "It's just a bad conversation to have," Howard said.
Recently, Bethesda revealed they've got "three long-term projects" in the works and Howard was asked if the team would approach the unveiling of each title in the same way (i.e., in regards to when the game is officially shown to the public). Howard simply answered, "Absolutely."
I'd have to agree with this. Games are often announced way too early and I don't think it does anything for either the developers or the fans. It might even be counterproductive in some cases, as Howard implied.
Related Game(s): Fallout 4
i agree. in fact i lost a bet to beamboom (who i still need to honor that bet, where you at beam?) about them not releasing the game that fast. it has become one of those things in gaming we just accept at this point. much like having to patch our games and games coming out broken, we also know about them for 4+ years before they come out.
look at all the bad publicity that square has gotten over the ffxv thing. if they never would have told us about all the games they are working on the same day they decided to make them, maybe people wouldnt be so damn upset about these games. it has become an industry standard to tell people about your game as soon as you decide to make it. 10 years later we still know nothing about "agent". where is this game? what do we know about it? nothing.
several companies know how to do it and at what stages of development to talk about their game. look at naughty dog, they tend to talk about their games far sooner then bethesda but i think sony may push that from them. they also give us just enough to keep us happy and waiting for more from them. when everyone expects quality from your products they know they have to wait for it.
after so long of a game not being released and information not coming out it becomes more of a joke. when you cant plan the release of information about your game it makes you look unorganized internally.
I agree too.
Just look at all the games that announced their game & launch dates way too early, & then had to eat crow once they realized that the game needed delays because it wasn't ready when promised.
The Last Guardian keeps reminding me of its failure every time I go on Amazon.
Then there's Square Enix who announces a game as soon as they think of it, then try to make it and fill it with things focus groups like.
I agree. I used to love hearing about games early. But its nor for the best. Bethesda and Rockstar are masters of their craft regarding game announcements.
Agreed
I'll say it. -cough- uncharted 4 -cough-, -cough- How many times has been delayed now since the original Announcement. Three or four times….
That's likely not Naughty Dog's fault though, if there's one franchise that can be a system seller for Sony it's Uncharted and I'm guessing Sony wanted to announce the game far earlier than ND would have liked in order sell more ps4's.
As for the delays, they only delayed it once after giving it a firm release date, no? Again, saying holidays 2015 is likely Sony trying to sell more consoles.
Last edited by matt99 on 2/22/2016 8:24:31 AM
Blame Amy Hennig, she forked it all up.
Yeah I'm pretty sure it's only been delayed once.
I know I'm gonna miss Amy Hennig, world. That bothers me.
I agree. Bethesda's presentation last E3 was the way it should be done.
hi we've been busy making a game here ake a look, it will be on store shelves in 5 months,you're wecome *drop mic exit stage left*
the polar opposite to that is last guardian and final fantasy [name subject to change depending on if it ever gets released]
Six months seems about right. Tell me now about games that you're planning for Christmas, and not only do I have to temper my enthusiasm because Christmas is still 10 months away, but we both know there's a good chance you'll just tick me off if the release date slips to next year. Tell me in July, and not only are you more likely to make your date, but I'm more likely to be excited about it.
Personally, however, I find I don't pay a lot of attention to the release notifications anyway. I probably won't be playing Uncharted 4 this year – not because I don't think it's going to be a great game, but because I'm going to wait for the price to drop – and we all know it will, about a year after release. I might be looking at Fallout for Christmas this year…or not, depending on what sales there are. They will still be the same games whenever I do pick them up (with patches to fix the bugs), and since I generally don't care about online multiplayer, there's not a lot of risk in waiting.
That means my perception of the whole "when do you announce a new game" question is different, because I'm internally adding 12 months to the release date, to get a price I can afford. So for me, the later the better, period!