The joys of far off release dates.

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Once Upon a Release Date

At least a dozen days ago I was glancing though an old issue of PC Gamer. In its February 2001 issue (on page 25), there was an interesting blurb about Duke Nukem Forever “on course for a mid-2001 release.” It made me laugh out loud.

Then I checked my email and was surprised to see that Doom III (for PC) had gone gold and probably ready for store shelves the first week of August. Most had pegged the game’s release for the 4^th Quarter – you know, that time of year when a bazillion games are released as publisher’s try to cash-in on the holiday season, then bitterly complain in January that their games didn’t sell as well as they thought they would – so it came as a surprise that the game is coming out sooner rather than later.

Duke Nukem Forver (left, ETA: Unknown) and Doom III (right, ETA: soon!)

Doom III was one of those titles that was allowed to use the ambiguous “when it’s done” release date. Developer id Software’s past successes allowed them free hand to ship the game when they felt it was done, not when a publisher dictated. We’ve seen the same thing with Half-Life 2 (which is reportedly close to going gold itself) – getting even a hint of a release date was like trying to nail down spaghetti. Most developers don’t have this luxury – it’s do or die, meet the deadline in a race against time.

“Technology and art moves so fast in this business that there’s always something new you can add to a game,” says Jeff Brown, EA’s vice president of corporate communications. “It’s important that studios draw a line in the sand and say, this is when it’s done, after that, the new stuff goes into the next game.”

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In a perfect world, I’d like to see a ban on release dates because there’s nothing worse for a hardcore games than looking forward to a game’s release only to see it continually miss the (seemingly arbitrary) ship date. While it’s certainly not a realistic – withholding release dates for all games, not just the “blockbusters” – I asked myself the question anyway, “Why not just trash release dates altogether?”

Jeff Brown says, “Release dates are important for commercial reasons like letting

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retailers and consumer know when the game will be in stores. They also let shareholders know when they can expect a return on their investment. Just as important, they let the studio team know how much time they have to finish the game.” On the one hand it boils down to a money matter – return on investment, etc. – but there’s also the human element. The folks at Double Fine (hard at work on Psychonauts) point out, release dates shouldn’t be trashed “because the team needs to know when they’re going to see their families again.”

I suppose what the gaming public – particularly the hardcore gamers – wants is realistic release dates. I remember smirking when I heard the original release date for StarCraft Ghost. Here’s one of those “blockbuster” titles that will be picked apart by the hardcore crowd once it’s released. On top of that, Blizzard has a reputation as being perfectionists, so it’s understandable that the line in the sand is continually redrawn. For a game like Doom III, informing the public that the game has gone gold is more useful than issuing a statement about a delayed release date.

StarCraft: Ghost (left, ETA: Q1 2005) and Half-Life 2 (right, ETA: 2004)

Besides, it’s cool being surprised – honestly surprised – by something in the gaming industry. It’s kind of like walking into a surprise birthday party a couple of weeks before your actual birthday. Sure, some signs are there – retail outlets seemed to be really pushing Doom III pre-orders the last couple of weeks – but you’re still surprised.

As an outsider to the development process, I still feel that too many release dates are arbitrary lines in the sand – most of them drawn on the crowded beach of the 4^th Quarter. Be that as it may, games need release dates. Imagine working on a project that never ends – think about those poor souls working on BC and Fable! I’ve worked on home projects like that and it becomes discouraging and demoralizing, to the point where you just want to give up as nitpicking minor flaws starts to be all-consuming. But if you have the kind of track record of id or have a very dedicated publisher then, and only then, can a game be given the “when it’s done” label, everything else must stick to a realistic release date, no matter how arbitrary. Then maybe we can live happily ever after.

- Omni

(July 26, 2004)


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