Ben-DutkaGame delays are not normally seen as a good thing, especially as far as the publishers are concerned. The latter group will purposely push a title if they don't believe the estimated release window is optimal, but if the designer falls behind schedule, that's when the relationship gets shaky.
But it certainly helps to have a publisher who is utterly and completely confident in the developer, so when the developer says, "hey, we need more time," the intended distributors just say, "sure, you got it." This apparently happened when Rocksteady Studios asked for three more months before launching Batman: Arkham Asylum . Warner Bros. and Eidos didn't balk at the question at all and they freely granted the extra time. In speaking to Kotaku , Batman game director Sefton Hill said the publishers were "100% behind" the idea:
"We discussed it with Warner Brothers and Eidos and said, 'Look, we believe we have a really good game here.' What we all agreed to do at the outset was put the time in and make sure we deliver a game worthy of Batman. … [We] said what we really need to do here is spend this additional three months to make sure we tidy the game and deliver the game that we all set out to do. To give Eidos and Warner a lot of credit, they backed that 100%."
The delay only turned out to be two months in length and gamers ended up with one of the best experiences of 2009. The idea that they pushed the game in order to rake in extra sales is untrue; they were "still working on it like crazy," according to Hill. They were trying to finalize certain aspects of the project, like the game's fluidity; you never see any loading screens when playing, do you? They also worked hard to make sure the frame rate was solid, too. Now, you can bet this bit of polish is likely what vaulted the game into the generation's elite – and sales were excellent, too – so perhaps this little story will allow publishers to be more lenient with devs in the future.
Related Game(s): Batman: Arkham Asylum
One of my favorite games of 2009, can't wait for the sequel!
What i really appreciate here is how the the publisher full backed up the developer, that alone is what can make the difference between a good game, and a great game.
I'm glad to see a publisher put 100% faith into Rocksteady, now like Ben said, did they deserve that kind of automatic confidence? I don't know. But It really makes the difference when you have a publisher blindly trusting you and backing you 100%.
Publishing companies should take a look of how Rocksteady and Warner Bros. worked together, it really is refreshing to see that. Not to mention it worked, one of the best games I've played this year. They didn't disappoint. Really looking forward to the next installment.
Time is of the essence, but when there is no time, there is no essence. Nothing can be done.
So I'm glad that they decided to give Rocksteady extra time =D
well said victor:)
Thanks Cheng ^.^
Pretty much =3
got it for christmas love it
It depends on the developers though… do they have the track record or not? If not, can the work done thus far prove to the would-be publisher that this crew deserves more time in the slammers to finish the game?Part perception, but greater part true ability to produce a quality product; delay or no delay…
Q!
"i am home"
Last edited by Qubex on 12/28/2009 11:44:05 AM
Well, that's what's so interesting about this…did Rocksteady deserve that kind of automatic confidence…?
not really about their track record.
maybe eidos and warner saw the game, and could see it needed more polish.
will be interesting to see how rocksteady and SE get along now since they bought eidos and SE are notorious for delays.
SE games and delays go together like coffee and sugar.
i remember being pissed at the delay but in the long run id have to say it was way worth it.
Doesn't everybody do that already? Certainly seems that everything I'm looking forward to keeps getting delayed and delayed. First quarter 2010, no wait, too many games in Q1, how 'bout we push it back even farther.
I'm looking forward to everything being perfect next year.
Warner Brothers are no strangers to quality entertainment and they've most likely been through enough deadlines to know what makes a good product and what makes a great product. One look at this Batman game probably told them to give Rocksteady more time. You wouldn't want to ruin a great game by rushing it and I'm sure they saw that.
We are treading a shaky area here. If they have a schedule with WB and Eidos and need some more time that's okay with me. Where it gets bothersome is when there is no schedule or at least we as gamers are unaware of it, cuz you know we tend to get pretty antsy 🙂
I'd be tempted to say I hope the 10,000 delays for GT5 and LA Noire help as much! But yeah, we have no idea what the schedule is, if there ever was one. By my count FFXIII has been delayed about 3 years.
couldn't have said it better myself
Grand Torismo 5. anyone?
I don't believe in time, only happiness.
Girls = Time X Money
or
Time / Happiness
Yes? 😉
Finally, a story involving developers and publishers agreeing and releasing a solid gaming experience!
I have never been a huge fan of Batman, but after reading all the great reviews from fans and critics, I decided to give it a rental from Gamefly. After a day of having my hands on it, I decided to keep it. One of the best gaming experiences in recent memory!
Other publishers and developers can take a great lesson from this story.
1-3 months of delay is fine but never ever ever ever delay a game more than that.
But you know what's worse? Or should I say what's the worst?
Delay a game for months and then weeks after the game is released, the developers announce a DLC.
Definitely one of the best games to come out this year. I wonder if the success of the last two movies gave Warner Bros. the confidence to say it's ok to take more time. Seems most companies want to rush out their titles to capitalize on the popularity while it's still fresh in people's minds. Kudos to Warner Bros. for not following suit and allowing the developers to do what's needed to finish their project.
And off topic. That full page Guitar Hero ad is getting really annoying lol
i know! hahah
yes that ad is driving me nuts!
Yup, I'll 4th those emotions….
And I'll go as far as adding that I predict that f*cking full page ad has already won the 2009 "AdOTY Fail Award" here.
theres nothing worse than having to wait a extra 3 months for one of your most anticipated titles.
but than theres nothing worse than having such a brilliant game brought down by bugs, so im glad eidos gave them the extra time to polish things.
a perfect example of a game thats so good, had so much potential but did not live up to it because of the bugs is mercenaries 2.
that game had everything, tanks, hellis, massive explosions, NUKES, EVERYTHING!
i was soooooooooooo excited for that game, and since it released like 1 year after its original release date i was convinced it would be polished as chrome.
oooooooooooooo boy was i wrong 🙁
Like most of my qualms about today's gaming scene, I blame Nintendo 🙂
As those of us who were around when Nintendo reigned supreme, that company would routinely delay games not just a few months, but a few YEARS. Seriously — The Nintendo 64, originally the Ultra 64, was delayed at least a full year. Ocarina of Time was delayed endlessly. So was Perfect Dark. I knew I for one grew fed up with waiting for those jerks to finish up there friggin' games already, which inevitably would ship with a whole lot of polish, but still ultimately be just a game on an inferio piece of hardware when compared to the PS1.
These days, it's pretty amazing to think about all of the top shelf games that missed their holiday targets for the sake of improving their product — Mass Effect 2, God of War III, Bioshock II, etc. If I was young and counting on Santa to provide me with a sweet title to last through the spring, then I'd be pretty ticked off. As an adult who doesn't mind waiting for the good stuff to be even better, this is a very welcome trend.
As long as all developers don't turn into Nintendo circa 1996-99, I'm ALL for taking a few months to get the product RIGHT before asking gamers to shell out 60 bucks. A fe months I can wait. If God of War III slipped until 2011, I'd light a goddamn torch and storm SCEA's offices 😉