Mirroring what so many other threads have said on the topic I think there are roughly 3 camps / possibilities on release from the information and speculation we have at hand:
1- The ridiculously optimistic (yet not impossible) hope that we see in ~6 months (in time for the 2008 holidays). I see the slightest of chances for this, mostly based on speculation that Blizzard is much further along in development and testing than they've let on. It is important to keep in mind that just because they haven't announced system specs / classes / etc. it isn't necessarily true that these things aren't locked in or mostly locked in and they just don't want to announce them yet (spreading it out, keeping excitement and hype up. It is possible we could see a trickling of announcements over the next 4 months and eventually an announcement of Christmas 2008, but as so many have stated this is a very tiny possibility to consider at this point.
2-The more realistic (and still optimistic) and logical opinion that we'll see a release in June 2009 that coincides with the D2 / LoD launch dates and celebrates the 10-year franchise anniversary. This gives them a year yet of solid development and testing, which on top of the past 4.5ish years of development makes for a very lengthy and healthy development time frame (in my opinion). Announcing the game 1 year prior to launch gives them plenty of time to build / maintain hype as well. Also the holiday season (Q4 2009) is logical.
3-The cynical yet not unjustified view that we won't see the game until 2010 / 2011. Not unrealistic, considering the amount of genuine effort that seems to be going into the game and Blizzard's track record of pushing back release dates (frustrating for us, we all know to make this game what Blizz wants it to be is in our best interest, no-one wants to see a black mark on the franchise -- this hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will despite the ridiculous call to arms about alpha-stage graphics. Change isn't always a bad thing. In Blizz We Trust!). This does seem a bit long though, considering the previously stated fact that the game has already been in development for ~4.5 years.
* * *
I hope this locks the dozens of new threads a day asking 'WHEN DO U THINK THE GAME WILL BE OUT?'. Based on the information we currently have and all of the speculation that has been floating around, I don't think much more can come from discussing it until we have more to work with.
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A dripping sword / removes all memories.
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1- The ridiculously optimistic (yet not impossible) hope that we see in ~6 months (in time for the 2008 holidays). I see the slightest of chances for this, mostly based on speculation that Blizzard is much further along in development and testing than they've let on. It is important to keep in mind that just because they haven't announced system specs / classes / etc. it isn't necessarily true that these things aren't locked in or mostly locked in and they just don't want to announce them yet (spreading it out, keeping excitement and hype up. It is possible we could see a trickling of announcements over the next 4 months and eventually an announcement of Christmas 2008, but as so many have stated this is a very tiny possibility to consider at this point.
2-The more realistic (and still optimistic) and logical opinion that we'll see a release in June 2009 that coincides with the D2 / LoD launch dates and celebrates the 10-year franchise anniversary. This gives them a year yet of solid development and testing, which on top of the past 4.5ish years of development makes for a very lengthy and healthy development time frame (in my opinion). Announcing the game 1 year prior to launch gives them plenty of time to build / maintain hype as well. Also the holiday season (Q4 2009) is logical.
3-The cynical yet not unjustified view that we won't see the game until 2010 / 2011. Not unrealistic, considering the amount of genuine effort that seems to be going into the game and Blizzard's track record of pushing back release dates (frustrating for us, we all know to make this game what Blizz wants it to be is in our best interest, no-one wants to see a black mark on the franchise -- this hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will despite the ridiculous call to arms about alpha-stage graphics. Change isn't always a bad thing. In Blizz We Trust!). This does seem a bit long though, considering the previously stated fact that the game has already been in development for ~4.5 years.
* * *
I hope this locks the dozens of new threads a day asking 'WHEN DO U THINK THE GAME WILL BE OUT?'. Based on the information we currently have and all of the speculation that has been floating around, I don't think much more can come from discussing it until we have more to work with.