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Hot Stories
Release Me
The Sheer Power That is Amy
April 28, 2010
I don't like to whine--ok, maybe just a little bit--but dude, can I get a reliable release date? Seriously, the companies come up with killer games, sending out all kinds of teasing commercials and awesome trailers. You'd think in the midst of all this planning and hyping they could figure out minor details such as when the game will be finished. You get all excited for a game, anxiously wait for that magical time called release date, and then find out it's been pushed back days, weeks, months, or worse--indefinitely. Aaah!
Oddly enough, nobody really seems to know when these games are going to be released until they show up in the store. You can check several different gaming sites, and all might have a different release date for the same game. Go to pre-order on Amazon, and all you get is a promise, "that we will deliver it to you when it arrives." They are selling it--how come even they don't know when it's coming out? Stop the insanity! Pick a date, and stick with it. I was so hoping to be playing my new copy of LOTR: Aragorn's Quest last week. But I can't, because they changed the release date to September. I did some quick searching online, and found several reputable sites that still listed the release date as April. Sure, I can pre-order, and wait for the mystical Amazon box to show up unexpectedly at my door, but I won't be holding my breath in September either.
And while I'm whining--ahem, constructively criticizing--what is the deal with multiple release dates? "I have my wonderful game, and I shall release it on Saturday--to PS3 owners. Xboxers--you can have the game next Tuesday. Wii players can purchase the game three weeks from Monday, at a single Best Buy outlet in Hoboken. Europe--we'll get back to you." What is up with that? Sure, there are differences in the consoles, and that might take a bit of extra time, but it is essentially the same game, right? One would imagine that developing the game itself would take up a greater portion of time than tailoring it to each console, so why the staggered release? Why do those poor Wii owners standing in line in Hoboken have to wait until every aspect of the game has already been played, reviewed, discussed, and dissected by those lucky PS3 dudes?
Seriously, now--you guys have to get it together. Figure out a release date--you can pad it with a few months, we won't know--and stick to it. Release the game for all of the consoles at the same time--how hard can it be? Get a planner or something. Take a memo. Jot it on a Post-It. Perhaps one of your developers could write some sort of organizational app for you--thing is--he won't provide a reliable release date for it...
