May nineth's conference call left us with just enough beta information to drive us crazy but not enough to mark our calendars (if you missed the coverage, see May 9th Conference Call.) The aforementioned beta is being "targeted" to hit testing audiences sometime in Q3 (third quarter) of this year. But just what does "targeted" mean? Today, we'll take a look at instances in which Blizzard has not been on time, and then we'll see what these delays mean for eager Diablo III beta testers.
If there's any one game developing company known for delays...Well, let's just take a look at the facts. The Diablo franchise, itself, is no spring chicken. There's the ten years we've been patiently awaiting Diablo III, and the seven years we had to wait for even the announcement during the final Worldwide Invitational (see Diablo III Announced). But how far back to delays go in Diablo's history?
Did you know that Diablo II was originally slated for a 1999 release date? According to a very archaic passage from the reputed ShackNews game news network, the second installment was delayed an entire year.
But the delays don't stop there. The Starcraft franchise has had its share of shortcomings, even establishing a hallmark among ghosted games. Starcraft: Ghosthas been on what Blizzard calls an "indefinite hold" since 2006, with a game announcement reaching as far back as 2002. Guess the game was dead before it even hit shelves.
For a more modern gaming audience, the delays of Starcraft II might be a source for more sorrow. In 2009, GossipGamerreported that the game was being delayed due to Battle.net conflictions (and the game still launched with Battle.net problems.) Before even that delay, it was further put off track due to the taskforce needed to push out Wrath of the Lich King.
As for the much-loved Warcraft RTS franchise, which is often differentiated by fans as being entirely separate from World of Warcraft, Warcraft III was delayed by as much as a year, with a purported release set for 2001 and later delayed to 2002.
Major game releases haven't been the only victims. The hit-or-miss Diablo IIPatch 1.10 (Diablo II) faced some sluggishness from it's announcement when it finally hit the scenes in 2003. Patch 1.13 (Diablo II), which we covered extensively from inception to implementation, suffered numerous delays due to patch work on Warcraft III and other unspecified reasons (see WCIII Patch is Up- Diablo II Patch 1.13 Soon to Follow?).
How should these details factor in to our beta date hopes, if at all? To be fair, several things should be taken into consideration with regards to the past. Diablo II was, of course, being developed under a much smaller team than the more modern one led by Jay Wilson. In addition to creating an entirely new game engine from the ground up for Diablo III, Blizzard has undergone several employment revamps since Blizzard North's time, making their last ten years nothing to scoff at.
Starcraft: Ghost was being developed entirely by third-party developers until Blizzard simply bought out the latest company, Swingin' Ape Studios, in 2004. Maybe there's something to be said for it not being directly developed by Blizzard Entertainment. And perhaps to Starcraft II's credit, the game was entirely finished and ready for release, but structural details with the latest rendition of the Battle.net system caused some unforeseen problems.
Years later, Blizzard now boasts dedicated development teams for each franchise, as well as a Battle.net team and a budget that would make most developers envious. With relatively little else going on for Blizzard development-wise, perhaps we can place more faith in "targeted" dates. Let's hear what you think!
I think they see some stuff to fix and estimate it gonna take a while to get it done but gets "lucky" and solves it quickly and therefore releasing it on August, not September.
Went with September. I don't see them missing a three month window, but I don't see them releasing it early on in the window either. So basically optimistic pessimism.
They've got months of internal testing yet before we even see beta and they've obviously been iterating a great deal concurrent with development; I think the 3-month window is very reasonably hittable and to get things into beta ASAP to allow it a good lifespan and still hit December release I think we'll see it mid July.
I think a good barometer will be how much of the unreleased material on the remaining systems is put out in the next two months. If they start dropping bombs of information in June, then July is my guess.
I still stand by my point from a previous thread - they wouldn't keep mentioning that their intention is to get it out this year, if they didn't have a plan to make that happen. Blizz isn't the type of company to lead on their investors, partners and fans - unless they think it is possible to release this year. I'm sure if they miss the 2011 window, we will know with plenty of time.
"Target" is a weasel world, used on purpose by Blizzard. If they were reasonably sure about when it would start, they would have given a concrete date (or at least a month).
What about those games that were on the "To be released in 2011" slide? Why was Diablo III omitted if they had any trust it would be finished this year?
I am voting November beta, after Blizzcon, because Blizzard seems unsure of itself.
Just the fact that they specifically spoke about it at the conference call it motivating. They wouldn't announce it on a call with major investors in attendance without a timeline that it done in 'erasable' pen. Not pencil and not marker but 'erasable' pen. If they were to have to drop things deep into development again it would significantly impact investors, so that won't happen. The light is dim but it IS at the end of the tunnel!
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Sometimes you don't always know where you stand... until you know that you won't run away.
I think it's promising that they keep mentioning that they are pushing for a 2011 release. If they weren't feeling comfortable with where they are at now I don't think they'd keep saying that (no one is really holding them to any sort of a deadline, they can do whatever they want). I voted August just cause I see them hitting a couple hiccups with internal testing. Not only that but they like to slowly feed us new info, and I'm still seeing a lot of different things they still need to tell us about before Beta. Plus they're supposed to be announcing the expansion for SC2 which will take the limelight this next month.
This is just speculation but during the conference call some guy asked about "other devices with a processor and a screen" and developing for these. For some reason the guy responding really elaborated on this (with out saying a whole lot though) but kept on mentioning how this was such a great question and how this was important for their business model and new developments. I was just curious about what everyone else thinks about this. Do you think this is a hint that they're going to be trying to release D3 on consoles? I know people were joking saying D3 for Facebook but I think more realistically (with Activision/Blizzard business model) they'd want to promote/develop better console sales.
Something I have been meaning to comment on over the past few podcasts try to cut back on using the word "obiviously", it starts to sound unprofessional especally on the level that Kevin was using the word during podcast 8.
Edit: I must say I do really enjoy your podcasts and I voted July
I voted July. I'm hoping that the thinking behind it is "the sooner beta goes out, the sooner the finishing touches can be put on before release". Of course, it's just a speculation.
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"Target" is a weasel world, used on purpose by Blizzard. If they were reasonably sure about when it would start, they would have given a concrete date (or at least a month).
What about those games that were on the "To be released in 2011" slide? Why was Diablo III omitted if they had any trust it would be finished this year?
I am voting November beta, after Blizzcon, because Blizzard seems unsure of itself.
Why do you think Blizzard seems unsure of itself? Pretty much every high ranking person within Blizzard thats had an interview since the last conference call has reiterated that they are aiming for a 2011 release. And as far as the slide goes, clearly it wasn't accurate, and it was labeled as from 2009 even if it was real.
I think it's promising that they keep mentioning that they are pushing for a 2011 release. If they weren't feeling comfortable with where they are at now I don't think they'd keep saying that (no one is really holding them to any sort of a deadline, they can do whatever they want). I voted August just cause I see them hitting a couple hiccups with internal testing. Not only that but they like to slowly feed us new info, and I'm still seeing a lot of different things they still need to tell us about before Beta. Plus they're supposed to be announcing the expansion for SC2 which will take the limelight this next month.
This is just speculation but during the conference call some guy asked about "other devices with a processor and a screen" and developing for these. For some reason the guy responding really elaborated on this (with out saying a whole lot though) but kept on mentioning how this was such a great question and how this was important for their business model and new developments. I was just curious about what everyone else thinks about this. Do you think this is a hint that they're going to be trying to release D3 on consoles? I know people were joking saying D3 for Facebook but I think more realistically (with Activision/Blizzard business model) they'd want to promote/develop better console sales.
Since it was"processor and a screen", I think that rules out consoles for this particular mention. They are hiering on the D3 team for console devs, though. I think the quote is referring to mobile devices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPWoj58Xwqc
If there's any one game developing company known for delays...Well, let's just take a look at the facts. The Diablo franchise, itself, is no spring chicken. There's the ten years we've been patiently awaiting Diablo III, and the seven years we had to wait for even the announcement during the final Worldwide Invitational (see Diablo III Announced). But how far back to delays go in Diablo's history?
Did you know that Diablo II was originally slated for a 1999 release date? According to a very archaic passage from the reputed ShackNews game news network, the second installment was delayed an entire year.
But the delays don't stop there. The Starcraft franchise has had its share of shortcomings, even establishing a hallmark among ghosted games. Starcraft: Ghost has been on what Blizzard calls an "indefinite hold" since 2006, with a game announcement reaching as far back as 2002. Guess the game was dead before it even hit shelves.
For a more modern gaming audience, the delays of Starcraft II might be a source for more sorrow. In 2009, GossipGamer reported that the game was being delayed due to Battle.net conflictions (and the game still launched with Battle.net problems.) Before even that delay, it was further put off track due to the taskforce needed to push out Wrath of the Lich King.
As for the much-loved Warcraft RTS franchise, which is often differentiated by fans as being entirely separate from World of Warcraft, Warcraft III was delayed by as much as a year, with a purported release set for 2001 and later delayed to 2002.
Major game releases haven't been the only victims. The hit-or-miss Diablo II Patch 1.10 (Diablo II) faced some sluggishness from it's announcement when it finally hit the scenes in 2003. Patch 1.13 (Diablo II), which we covered extensively from inception to implementation, suffered numerous delays due to patch work on Warcraft III and other unspecified reasons (see WCIII Patch is Up- Diablo II Patch 1.13 Soon to Follow?).
How should these details factor in to our beta date hopes, if at all? To be fair, several things should be taken into consideration with regards to the past. Diablo II was, of course, being developed under a much smaller team than the more modern one led by Jay Wilson. In addition to creating an entirely new game engine from the ground up for Diablo III, Blizzard has undergone several employment revamps since Blizzard North's time, making their last ten years nothing to scoff at.
Starcraft: Ghost was being developed entirely by third-party developers until Blizzard simply bought out the latest company, Swingin' Ape Studios, in 2004. Maybe there's something to be said for it not being directly developed by Blizzard Entertainment. And perhaps to Starcraft II's credit, the game was entirely finished and ready for release, but structural details with the latest rendition of the Battle.net system caused some unforeseen problems.
Years later, Blizzard now boasts dedicated development teams for each franchise, as well as a Battle.net team and a budget that would make most developers envious. With relatively little else going on for Blizzard development-wise, perhaps we can place more faith in "targeted" dates. Let's hear what you think!
Just a guess.
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Diablo 3 IS delayed already. Like a trillion years!?
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Find any Diablo news? Contact me or anyone else on the News team
I still stand by my point from a previous thread - they wouldn't keep mentioning that their intention is to get it out this year, if they didn't have a plan to make that happen. Blizz isn't the type of company to lead on their investors, partners and fans - unless they think it is possible to release this year. I'm sure if they miss the 2011 window, we will know with plenty of time.
Monkalicious: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/OptimusPrime-12194/hero/79139477
What about those games that were on the "To be released in 2011" slide? Why was Diablo III omitted if they had any trust it would be finished this year?
I am voting November beta, after Blizzcon, because Blizzard seems unsure of itself.
This is just speculation but during the conference call some guy asked about "other devices with a processor and a screen" and developing for these. For some reason the guy responding really elaborated on this (with out saying a whole lot though) but kept on mentioning how this was such a great question and how this was important for their business model and new developments. I was just curious about what everyone else thinks about this. Do you think this is a hint that they're going to be trying to release D3 on consoles? I know people were joking saying D3 for Facebook but I think more realistically (with Activision/Blizzard business model) they'd want to promote/develop better console sales.
Edit: I must say I do really enjoy your podcasts and I voted July
http://www.cipherwire.net/eternal_life.html
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Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
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Since it was"processor and a screen", I think that rules out consoles for this particular mention. They are hiering on the D3 team for console devs, though. I think the quote is referring to mobile devices.