The fiscal year is very rarely used except for paying taxes. The conference call was referring to the quarter that ended with 2010. There was even a question about Activision's DLC sales and they said "Its not a big number because Black Ops First Strike wasn't released until 2011."
They should have given us a timeframe for the beta, a between "this" and "that" would have received a lot better feedback than "fuck you guys nothing new here dev is slow as usual don't get your hopes up for 2011 as it is looking to not be the case."
In my mind thats not at all what they gave us. What they gave us is "In 3 months we'll tell you when the beta will come out" and they've previously given us "The beta will go for 6 months before release." The combination of those two pieces of information leads to a rough estimate of when the game could come out. Far from a fuck you. And I can more than live with an early 2012 release, which seems to be one of two possible scenarios (the other being late 2011).
Because the market, and shareholders, expected a D3 2011 release.
Says who? Optimistic people expected a 2011 release, and Blizzard has a tendency to dissapoint in that case. The stockholders still have WoW, SC2, and all of Activision to buoy their stocks in the meantime. Part of being a stockholder is dealing with possible dissapointments, and as far as dissapointments go, a Q1 2012 release isn't all that bad if you were expecting it to be Q4 2011, which still isn't out of the picture anyways.
Exactly my point. I don't see any evidence of coherent planning and vision. They seem only to use iteration. Just look at how many times resource systems and skills have been re-designed.
So? How can you claim to know the thinking behind each decision? Just because you only see the iteration part of the planning/vision/iteration combo doesn't mean the other two aren't there. I would understand your complaints if this was any other company (except maybe Valve) but Blizzard is known for dissapointing when it comes to release dates and amazing when it comes to the end results. This conference call gave us the closest thing to a release date for Diablo 3. Any other conceptions of when the beta or game should be released was based on small hints and a possibly true leak, and if you're disappointed that those speculations ended up being not true then thats understandable but by no means does it mean that Blizzard is a bad company.
Very few if any software companies in the world don't know when their products are going to be released. They set a deadline and they meet that deadline. They tell their customers what that deadline is. They have internal "stretch" deadlines, and externally facing "committed" deadlines beyond which they do not pass. This is BASIC project management. Why does Blizzard feel so above this process? Obviously it's outrageous to their customer base.
Right. And very few software companies get revenues from the largest subscription based game in the world or consistently release games of the same quality as Blizzard. Blizzard feels so above this process because they are so above most video game developers. Not in terms of consistent releases, but certainly in terms of quality.
He's not uncertain about the beta release? If he was not uncertain about the beta release and if he knew when it is gonna come out he would have said it... Nowhere did he say that "if there were not huge problems after the beta it would be late 2011, while if there were more problems it would be early 2012." You are making your own words here.
He said that he wasn't saying that 2011 is out of the picture, but he said that it all depends on the feedback from the beta. Obviously he didn't give any exact dates.
What other information can they say about a beta? Well, let's see... They've been making this game for like 6-7 years now and you can go ahead another year which makes it 7-8 years. Now, when someone has been making a game for THAT LONG they should AT LEAST have SOME information on a beta... They are totally uncertain about the beta let alone the release of this game...
How is information about the beta in 3 months so much worse? Again, they probably have at least the month down for the beta at this point if they plan on talking about the beta in any detail in 3 months, and if they didn't plan on talking about the beta in detail in 3 months they wouldn't have said anything about it during this conference call(and again, theres not much to say about a beta other than when its coming out).
Mentioning that if D3 gets pushed back to 2012 will equal two games that year I would assume that would mean D3 and SC2 expansion - so does this mean that WoW will not get it's 2-yearly expansion
I just means that the WoW XP and HoS are coming out in 2012. The language is very clear in terms of not even implying that D3 will ever be released.
This is just more evidence of what I have been saying here consistently - sorry if people are too blinded by faith to realize that HoS is probably coming out first.
Blizzard's arrogant dismissal of the importance of time-to-market never ceases to astound me. They want to confuse us by saying : More time causes more quality. Not necessarily true. Better development and quality assurance models improve quality. Iteration is ONE way to achieve quality. Planning and coherent development vision is another.
You also have to consider the way their developers, artists, storyboard artists, programmers, etc., think. The majority might only function creatively in a reiterative production model. Many great artists, writers, etc., only function well this way. Forcing such people to work in a more strict time frame is often bad in terms of the outcome. Therefor, I don't think it's necessarily as bad as you're making it out to be.
Just a different way of looking at it. Not from a business perspective.
And they don't seem to be doing so bad to me. I don't care about their stocks. I care about their games. If they could make awesome games with hardly a a couple ten thousand back in the late 1990's, I'm sure they can do so today.
You could be right, but I don't necessarily agree at this point.
It better come out the summer on 2012 no sooner (unless it's this summer or the start of winter break 2011). The last thing I want is for it to come out while I have school. I wouldn't be able to play it at all or very little. It is too much of a distraction/temptation.
Obviously, the best news would have been "The game is coming out tomorrow". However, considering we were not sure what info we would get, any sort of time frame, whether it be next week or next year is good news. Just having some sort of date to go by now is good news, in my opinion. Much better than the complete unknown and speculation that we had.
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I wouldn't say its good news, but its not bad news. Going in to the conference call I optimistically thought that we might get a Q4 2011 release. This call points towards a Q1 2012 release. Thats really not that bad, especially considering a beta coming out about 8 months before that (6 months of beta, then 2 months, then release). Considering the Q4 2011 release was based purely on speculation, I don't see how some people are giving up hope because it might be coming out 3 months later than that. Obviously "good news" would be that our speculation was confirmed, but a bit more time than that definitely doesn't make me angry at Blizzard or something.
I understand what you are saying. The news is something you hate to love/ While we all would love the game sooner, getting this information at least gives a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Exactly. Just the idea that we know a range as to when the game will be released is considerably better than the situation we were in before the conference call.
Like I've said before, I've been waiting so long for this game, that just the beta alone will be considered the release date for me. So hurray!!!!! A 2011 Release!
I don't enjoy any of it - WoW is holding the whole computer gaming industry hostage, and it sucks for every gamer. I feel sorry for the kool-aid drinkers that can't see it.
In any case, 2013 estimates aren't rubbing it in - if I wanted to do that, I'd dredge up quotes about "Ghost" from seven years ago.
ive been reading these forums for a while now, and just signed up to say this: late 2011 or early 2012, its not a big time span, i will take either and care less. My eyes hurt from reading all these "no 2011 release" posts. If u can read, you would not rule out 2011. i hope all you 2012 folk look like idiots in the near future for this.
I don't know why people are taking this as good news
Either man, this is just getting retarded. Im honestly embarrassed about how long Ive now been waiting for this game. Its, pathetic, really. Ive got caught up in Blizzards ridiculously long hype cycle, now Im under hostage to 'like' their facebook page or we're not getting any more info. What the hell kind of campaign is that? Now they aren't even listing D3 in the financial reports for this year? If we have to wait around for blizzcon before any solid info comes out, thats just fucked.
This game better be on the Peter Molyneux level of epic (the level he can never get out of his head, into code).
Edit: I'll tell you one thing for sure, Im not even going to look at any information Blizzard talks about with this rumored coming MMO, not a chance Im doing this to myself again.
Most Recent Blue Post: Bash suggested that we shouldn't rule out a 2011 release. Even still...
My schedule allows for me to be very happy with a D3 release that occurs before May 2012, and I think it has a good chance of being "done" by then. If it comes out after that, oh well, I'll still enjoy it when I have time.
I think we are down to the home stretch for this game's release (like the last year or so of waiting)... And as we've waited so long as it is, it's not really that much more time.
But if you sit around and bitch and moan all day about the lack of release date or beta; or if you can't handle the thought of a Q1 2012 instead of a Q4 2011 release, you're doing it wrong. Many of us have waited for D3 for a decade or more, another Quarter(!) is insignificant especially if it means that they will be that much closer to putting out a product worth the wait and the Diablo franchise logo.
My suggestion to the true Diablo Fans, many of whom are probably like myself and working at careers and succeeding at adulthood: spend the next year working hard to improve your life. Blizzard will reward you with Diablo 3 before you know it and you'll really enjoy it after having worked so hard...
Oh yeah and video games are supposed to be a fun diversion. So if you get your panties in a wad and throw a temper tantrum because "Bwizzard won't rewease D3 soon enough!" I think that you have personal problems. Maybe try to prioritize your life and work toward that antiquated virtue of delayed gratification.
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The best possible outcome of the conference call was a confirmation of a Q4 2011 release. It wasn't getting any better than that. To hear that it has a chance at being released Q4 2011 and possibly Q1 2012 is not bad news at all. I understand people wishing that a Q4 2011 release was confirmed, but as Pure Physics said I don't get the people who are mad that the best possible date we would possibly get from the conference call ended up being of by +/- 3 months.
In my mind thats not at all what they gave us. What they gave us is "In 3 months we'll tell you when the beta will come out" and they've previously given us "The beta will go for 6 months before release." The combination of those two pieces of information leads to a rough estimate of when the game could come out. Far from a fuck you. And I can more than live with an early 2012 release, which seems to be one of two possible scenarios (the other being late 2011).
Says who? Optimistic people expected a 2011 release, and Blizzard has a tendency to dissapoint in that case. The stockholders still have WoW, SC2, and all of Activision to buoy their stocks in the meantime. Part of being a stockholder is dealing with possible dissapointments, and as far as dissapointments go, a Q1 2012 release isn't all that bad if you were expecting it to be Q4 2011, which still isn't out of the picture anyways.
So? How can you claim to know the thinking behind each decision? Just because you only see the iteration part of the planning/vision/iteration combo doesn't mean the other two aren't there. I would understand your complaints if this was any other company (except maybe Valve) but Blizzard is known for dissapointing when it comes to release dates and amazing when it comes to the end results. This conference call gave us the closest thing to a release date for Diablo 3. Any other conceptions of when the beta or game should be released was based on small hints and a possibly true leak, and if you're disappointed that those speculations ended up being not true then thats understandable but by no means does it mean that Blizzard is a bad company.
Right. And very few software companies get revenues from the largest subscription based game in the world or consistently release games of the same quality as Blizzard. Blizzard feels so above this process because they are so above most video game developers. Not in terms of consistent releases, but certainly in terms of quality.
He said that he wasn't saying that 2011 is out of the picture, but he said that it all depends on the feedback from the beta. Obviously he didn't give any exact dates.
How is information about the beta in 3 months so much worse? Again, they probably have at least the month down for the beta at this point if they plan on talking about the beta in any detail in 3 months, and if they didn't plan on talking about the beta in detail in 3 months they wouldn't have said anything about it during this conference call(and again, theres not much to say about a beta other than when its coming out).
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I just means that the WoW XP and HoS are coming out in 2012. The language is very clear in terms of not even implying that D3 will ever be released.
This is just more evidence of what I have been saying here consistently - sorry if people are too blinded by faith to realize that HoS is probably coming out first.
You also have to consider the way their developers, artists, storyboard artists, programmers, etc., think. The majority might only function creatively in a reiterative production model. Many great artists, writers, etc., only function well this way. Forcing such people to work in a more strict time frame is often bad in terms of the outcome. Therefor, I don't think it's necessarily as bad as you're making it out to be.
Just a different way of looking at it. Not from a business perspective.
And they don't seem to be doing so bad to me. I don't care about their stocks. I care about their games. If they could make awesome games with hardly a a couple ten thousand back in the late 1990's, I'm sure they can do so today.
You could be right, but I don't necessarily agree at this point.
There's almost no connection between the company then and now, especially in regards to the Diablo franchise.
Thus, go go summer 2012
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:starwars:
I don't enjoy any of it - WoW is holding the whole computer gaming industry hostage, and it sucks for every gamer. I feel sorry for the kool-aid drinkers that can't see it.
In any case, 2013 estimates aren't rubbing it in - if I wanted to do that, I'd dredge up quotes about "Ghost" from seven years ago.
Either man, this is just getting retarded. Im honestly embarrassed about how long Ive now been waiting for this game. Its, pathetic, really. Ive got caught up in Blizzards ridiculously long hype cycle, now Im under hostage to 'like' their facebook page or we're not getting any more info. What the hell kind of campaign is that? Now they aren't even listing D3 in the financial reports for this year? If we have to wait around for blizzcon before any solid info comes out, thats just fucked.
This game better be on the Peter Molyneux level of epic (the level he can never get out of his head, into code).
Edit: I'll tell you one thing for sure, Im not even going to look at any information Blizzard talks about with this rumored coming MMO, not a chance Im doing this to myself again.
My schedule allows for me to be very happy with a D3 release that occurs before May 2012, and I think it has a good chance of being "done" by then. If it comes out after that, oh well, I'll still enjoy it when I have time.
I think we are down to the home stretch for this game's release (like the last year or so of waiting)... And as we've waited so long as it is, it's not really that much more time.
But if you sit around and bitch and moan all day about the lack of release date or beta; or if you can't handle the thought of a Q1 2012 instead of a Q4 2011 release, you're doing it wrong. Many of us have waited for D3 for a decade or more, another Quarter(!) is insignificant especially if it means that they will be that much closer to putting out a product worth the wait and the Diablo franchise logo.
My suggestion to the true Diablo Fans, many of whom are probably like myself and working at careers and succeeding at adulthood: spend the next year working hard to improve your life. Blizzard will reward you with Diablo 3 before you know it and you'll really enjoy it after having worked so hard...
Oh yeah and video games are supposed to be a fun diversion. So if you get your panties in a wad and throw a temper tantrum because "Bwizzard won't rewease D3 soon enough!" I think that you have personal problems. Maybe try to prioritize your life and work toward that antiquated virtue of delayed gratification.
- Ernest Rutherford
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