Blizzard: Shipping Unfinished Games "Devastates" Developers
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Every industry is diverse when it is new, then consolidates. There are only what a handful of companies that make tons of different kinds of sodas. Only a few shoe companies left, even through you can find 100 different brands in the malls. There are also only a handful of movie studios left, and only three major studios. Why should the gaming industry turn out any different?
Why did you remind me of this. I waited patiently for what felt like years for this game. It was one of the few titles I can really remember being wildly interested in before it came out, actually following the news on the games development. It might be in the top 10 list of the largest disappointments in my life.ultimaavalon said:
I'd just like to point out John, that Blizzard had this policy of giving developers all the time they need long before World of Warcraft existed.
Sams is right, shipping a game out before it is finished has killed so many games that had such great potential. Games such as KOTOR II, it was going so well until they chopped off the ending.
And I hardly think the financial constraints on the publisher are as much of a problem as you make them out to be John. As I already mentioned, Blizzard has maintained that policy long before World of Warcraft, and considering that whole speal about giving developers enough time was coming from Blizzards Chief Financial Officer, I'm thinking the trick for the publisher is simply a matter of proper budgeting. No doubt planning for extended development times and staggering their projects. I'm just guessing, I'm not an accountant.
Sams is right, shipping a game out before it is finished has killed so many games that had such great potential. Games such as KOTOR II, it was going so well until they chopped off the ending.
And I hardly think the financial constraints on the publisher are as much of a problem as you make them out to be John. As I already mentioned, Blizzard has maintained that policy long before World of Warcraft, and considering that whole speal about giving developers enough time was coming from Blizzards Chief Financial Officer, I'm thinking the trick for the publisher is simply a matter of proper budgeting. No doubt planning for extended development times and staggering their projects. I'm just guessing, I'm not an accountant.
Now I have to wonder... would you have been MORE disappointed if the game HAD come out, and been a steaming pile of rhinocerous droppings? I think I would've.manaman said:
Geez, Funk, so much spite towards Blizzard. Did a Blizzard employee run over your dog or something? Maybe you need to hop into a time machine to before WoW was released. Blizzard was still the same company they are today with the exact same philosophies (albeit a lot smaller of a company). This isn't "We make truckloads of money through WoW so now it's okay for us to delay games", this is "We've always pushed games back until they were as perfect as we could make them, because that's just how we roll." The only thing that's really changed about then vs now is that they can afford to have both Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 in development at the same time. Before WoW it was always just one game at a time.John Funk said:
And frankly, they're entirely right. Duke Nukem For-never aside, I'm sure you could fill a novel's worth of game titles that were making good progress towards getting finished, but hit an unexpected snag that slowed production a little. So a game that could have been great in a few months was instead mediocre and buggy today. I can certainly understand investors wanting to get a return on their money spent, but there should be more of a thorough review process on how much progress is being made before they decide to just shove the game out the door.
Reminds me of what happened to Hellgate: London. Sure, it had a few other problems (annoying subscription system and poorly-balanced classes are all that spring to mind), but those were being fixed in patches (not the subscription thing though). What really killed it was EA pushing it out the door to meet a Halloween release date. The result was that events that were supposed to be subscriber-only were available to everyone and that was just the tip of the iceberg as far as bugs went.
By the time I got it; the game was running pretty smoothly. Sure, there were still some class balance problems (the Blademaster was worthless, for example) but it was still an enjoyable game and some of the things they did to prevent loot-hogs (by having a player only able to get at his share of the loot and not even be able to see what his friends found) were simple and effective*. But because of it's buggy launch, it got a reputation as being a buggy game and eventually the developers went bankrupt and the servers were shut down.
An impatient publisher and 'bam'; a bankrupt development company.
By the time I got it; the game was running pretty smoothly. Sure, there were still some class balance problems (the Blademaster was worthless, for example) but it was still an enjoyable game and some of the things they did to prevent loot-hogs (by having a player only able to get at his share of the loot and not even be able to see what his friends found) were simple and effective*. But because of it's buggy launch, it got a reputation as being a buggy game and eventually the developers went bankrupt and the servers were shut down.
An impatient publisher and 'bam'; a bankrupt development company.
Investors and publishers need to realize that putting out a polished end product makes consumers happy and puts both them and the developer, as well as the IP, in a positive light. This means an easy sale for any sequel coming out, merchandising opportunities and even more profit.
Rushing a big game before it's finished not only devastates the developers, it also devastates the game and the consumer good will, effectively ruining the ENTIRE investment. If development is extended a game can recoup much more than the relatively small investment to keep it going a few months more, due to having a polished product out which garners favorable reviews and results in more copies sold.
Rushing a big game before it's finished not only devastates the developers, it also devastates the game and the consumer good will, effectively ruining the ENTIRE investment. If development is extended a game can recoup much more than the relatively small investment to keep it going a few months more, due to having a polished product out which garners favorable reviews and results in more copies sold.