Escapist Magazine just posted an interesting news bit in which Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada says, "It takes too long for us to produce a game..." The article then goes on to mention that while five years is a long time to wait for their latest game, Starcraft II has been in the works since 2003 and Diablo 3 has been in development in one form or another since 2001. However, when you consider Blizzard's track record for making superb games that people are still playing over a decade after being released, it's obviously worth the wait. And as the article mentions, we can always look on the bright side because 3D Realms' Duke Nukem Forever has been in development for 12 years and we still don't know when it'll actually be released.
So this brings up an interesting question: What do you consider to be "too long" of a wait for the development of a game? Would you rather have smaller games with less refinement or are you a firm believer in quality over quantity and therefore willing to wait as long as it takes to get the game done properly?
A company with near unlimited resources should be capable of producing a AAA titled once every four years. Blizzard should be able to be putting out two AAA titles every four years without a problem.
Well I believe all in nature is about balance. I won't be calling for a crappy one-month-developed game on one hand, but on the other hand, I wouldn't be happy if the game is released in 10 years, cause I'll be already with wife and kids by the time the game is released. lol. So it's not only a matter of buyer's profit but also developer's profit (1 game every 10 years you're doomed to broke).
PS: This is my first post. I decided to create an account today, but I've been following this forum almost since d3 was officially announced. So hello to the community.
Heck no. If the game is going to be epic, I don't care in the end how long it takes for it to come out. It just makes me go a liitle crazy in the process, thats all.
Quality over quantity. I mean eventually the company should settle, because in theory they could just keep redoing different aspects of the game. Bottom line though, they should release the best product possible. Blizz has made such awesome games not only for their talent, but also for their "it's done when it's done" attitude. I mean, imagine how many years we will all be playing D3 (even those harsh critics of it so far).
you also have to think about the lives your risking with taking a long time to create a game...
The longer you take to create a game means more people find out about it, more anticipation, more people willing to line up to buy it on release day.
The more people to line up means the more people to get mugged or killed so others can get their game faster or "first"... so either blizzard needs to make games faster or buy online only.
for starcraft 2 i think the waiting time just became to be ridiculous... i just hope its gonna be in store in 2009.For diablo 3 it as been announced only last summer so we can wait til end of 2010 not more.
@ Kamori: I really hope your post was not serious, because that's really a low priority thing on any developer's schedule. That means more media coverage for their game.
I agree that they should take their time. I'm willing to wait, at most, another 5 years from now. I've already waited 10, so it won't be a big deal. I'd rather a great, thorough game be released than one that needs constant patching and expansions to make it what it was intended to be.
i am a firm believer of quality over quantity, but i believe a good set time is around 4 years for console games,
but for blizzard i will wait till the sun has a supernova. This exception comes about because there has never been a single game that i have played from blizzard that was anything less then a 9/10 for me.
but an example of a console game Halo 3 which was started shortly after the reseals of halo 2 in 2004, cam out with Halo 3 in sept of 2007 and the game is fantastic.
It's been proven over and over that it's necessary for developers to take their time polishing their games. They can't really cut away anything from the development process, and still be as successful. Short games are criticized for being too short, and long but unpolished games are criticized even more for their bugs.
Personally, I don't like short games, and I don't like buggy games, so I'm completely okay with developers taking their time. I would even encourage it.
Additionally, although perhaps not particularly prevalent in this case, with next-gen games things are becoming increasingly complex. Not just with graphics, but with UI, communication systems, story elements, musical scores- things are getting more and more complicated. It would be unreasonable to think that games should still be on the same production basis as those made two, five, or ten years ago.
The 2 teams producing Call of Duty games take turns releasing games in 2 year cycles, meaning 1 game per year. Granted, Infinity Ward (the better of the two teams) seems to make much higher quality games, but it still only takes them 2 years. I'm not saying I want Blizzard to work on a game for only 2 years, but I am saying that they might be spending too much attention on details. They make great games and Diablo 3 will knock my socks off, but I wish I had some newer Blizzard games to play while I wait.
@ Kamori: I really hope your post was not serious, because that's really a low priority thing on any developer's schedule. That means more media coverage for their game.
I agree that they should take their time. I'm willing to wait, at most, another 5 years from now. I've already waited 10, so it won't be a big deal. I'd rather a great, thorough game be released than one that needs constant patching and expansions to make it what it was intended to be.
so its worth getting sued, and know that people were killed just to get some media report on your game, and get more people to say "Games cause violence"
1) Blizzard has more than enough money to deal with it.
2) Blizzard would win the case because they did not force anyone to kill anyone, it was the choice of a hyperactive idiot.
3) Media attention just gives the game more hype and screentime.
4) If people are willing to kill other people over it, that probably means it's a good game.
Personally... i think blizzard is taking a ridiculous amount of time to make diablo 3... i know that they are tryin to make it as good as they can, but man i just want to play it. I know that this post probably wont do any good and make the game release earlier but imo im just tired of waitin
Good point on the IW (infinity ward) post. I was gonna say it myself. That game is THE game to play for FPS just like Diablo II was THE game to play for Action RPGs. And what? would you look at this? Modern Warfare 2 is coming by the end of the year. Well i think it is someone please correct me if im wrong about the release date. I dnt mind the wait btw. Just a little affraid that I wont find the time to play as much as I want since im going into my 3rd year of College.
Good point on the IW (infinity ward) post. I was gonna say it myself. That game is THE game to play for FPS just like Diablo II was THE game to play for Action RPGs. And what? would you look at this? Modern Warfare 2 is coming by the end of the year. Well i think it is someone please correct me if im wrong about the release date. I dnt mind the wait btw. Just a little affraid that I wont find the time to play as much as I want since im going into my 3rd year of College.
Well, I haven't seen an official release date for Modern Warfare 2, but they said they wanted to release a CoD game once a year, every year, taking turns between the two studios. In my book that's pretty much proof that Modern Warfare 2 will be released by the end of the year.
Afterthought: I did a quick Google search and it appears the game is coming out November 10th of this year. If that game is just as good as Modern Warfare 1 then it's proof that it doesn't take 8 years to develop a killer sequel.
I did a quick Google search and it appears the game is coming out November 10th of this year. If that game is just as good as Modern Warfare 1 then it's proof that it doesn't take 8 years to develop a killer sequel.
Yea i though I heard November. So there. Quality with Speed. IT does exist.
PS: This is my first post. I decided to create an account today, but I've been following this forum almost since d3 was officially announced. So hello to the community.
Correctamundo.
The longer you take to create a game means more people find out about it, more anticipation, more people willing to line up to buy it on release day.
The more people to line up means the more people to get mugged or killed so others can get their game faster or "first"... so either blizzard needs to make games faster or buy online only.
I agree that they should take their time. I'm willing to wait, at most, another 5 years from now. I've already waited 10, so it won't be a big deal. I'd rather a great, thorough game be released than one that needs constant patching and expansions to make it what it was intended to be.
but for blizzard i will wait till the sun has a supernova. This exception comes about because there has never been a single game that i have played from blizzard that was anything less then a 9/10 for me.
but an example of a console game Halo 3 which was started shortly after the reseals of halo 2 in 2004, cam out with Halo 3 in sept of 2007 and the game is fantastic.
Personally, I don't like short games, and I don't like buggy games, so I'm completely okay with developers taking their time. I would even encourage it.
so its worth getting sued, and know that people were killed just to get some media report on your game, and get more people to say "Games cause violence"
2) Blizzard would win the case because they did not force anyone to kill anyone, it was the choice of a hyperactive idiot.
3) Media attention just gives the game more hype and screentime.
4) If people are willing to kill other people over it, that probably means it's a good game.
Afterthought: I did a quick Google search and it appears the game is coming out November 10th of this year. If that game is just as good as Modern Warfare 1 then it's proof that it doesn't take 8 years to develop a killer sequel.
Yea i though I heard November. So there. Quality with Speed. IT does exist.