Just like to start you off with a quick story. Today, I was planning on picking up Lego City Undercover for the Wii U. I've been following the game for quite some time, ever since it was first announced for Nintendo's underperforming machine. I've always enjoyed the Lego games and the concept of this one being pretty much a Grand Theft Auto for kids made me excited. I hop on over to Best Buy after work today and head to their games section when I come across their stack of pre-order cards. "Interesting... hummm..." Well, my Best Buy has a tendency not to put out their stock in a timely fashion, so I call GameStop (BOOO GAMESTOP! -_-) and ask if they have it. I learn there's been a delay thanks to Nintendo shipping the game out late. So, I walk out of the Best Buy store with a screw face on.
"What?! Y'all ain't got dat new Lego City in? Dat sh*t's whack, yo!"
Yeah, I was pissed. Turns out, the game will be in Thursday or Friday, and well, that's only a couple of days. No need to be angry, right? So I get in my car and breathe and mellow out. Now, I'd like to have reason that my case of having a game delayed on me is different than an actual delay of several months for fine tuning or whatnot, because I actually went to the store to buy the game and it wasn't there. I had to make time to get to the store, and I even adjusted my previous week to finish up on things so that I would have a clean slate for when I picked up the game today. Ah well, I'll just wait.
So 99.9% of the other cases of game delays, we receive much further notice. Yes, some get delayed within just a couple of weeks of release, like Rayman Legends, and that can produce some disappointment in us. Others like Grand Theft Auto V should have really been predicted to be delayed and come as no shock to anyone. The Last of Us was another recent game that I heard got delayed, and yeah, it's all quite disappointing. But it certainly isn't worth crying about. Unless you do it in an entertaining way, such as good ol' Francis.
But the sad reality is that there are gamers who act just like this when games are delayed. It has some part to do with what Francis said, "You are ruining people's lives! This is the face of the life you have ruined!" Games mean a lot to us. They are hobbies to some, lifestyles to others, and well... lives to a few. When you've been looking forward to something for so long and you know it's just a few weeks or a couple months away and it gets pushed back even further, it just makes you want to rage.
It's ok, though. There really isn't any need to rage. It's not warranted to go out and start swearing up message boards and make YouTube videos of yourself screaming and crying at a publisher who will never hear you to begin with. There isn't even a reason to be disappointed at all, really, and I'll give you a few reasons.
There are other games to play. Unless you only play the popular mainstream titles, you should never be without a few stop-gap games to play. There are so many good games that have sat on the shelves for years while everybody else scarfed up the big budged AAA games, and they've been going down in price ever since. Why don't you go to the store and pick up a few to tide you over.
You could use this time to finish the games you already have. This was my problem years and years ago. I was buying so many games that I couldn't finish half of them, which is why I have the backlog that I have now. A NEW UPCOMING GAME DOES NOT INVALIDATE THE NEED TO FINISH GAMES YOU ALREADY OWN. Consider the extra time a blessing, because now you can work on getting something productive done.
You could use this time to maybe save up more for the game. If you're on a budget, you can probably not sacrafice as many things as you were going to. You might even be able to come out ahead if you balance things out right.
Read a book?
I also realize I talked about game delays before with Rayman Legends, but that was a special case. There, a finished game that was fully ready to be published was instead delayed for the sole purpose of being released simultaneously with other systems. For the other games that I've mentioned, Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, etc., those games are going to be polished. They will benefit from the delays, so there shouldn't be anyone upset about them.
I think anticipating something so intensely is actually bad for you. It causes the brain to fixate on something at the cost of awareness to other issues. If Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, or any other major league game that got delayed was so important to you, seeing it pushed back somehow makes other games less desirable. That's why I think points 1 and 2 have merit' it will help alleviate the sting. The last thing you should be asking is, "What am I going to do until then?!"
I try to be a patient person. Being patient is a great way to curb negative energy, but unfortunately you get to a point where it starts to consume your positive energy. Then, there's the whole thing about waiting for something for so long that you just stop caring. Also, we get instances in gaming where waiting for so long turned out not to be worth it at all. Do the names Too Human and Duke Nukem Forever ring any bells?
To be honest, I'll tell you a little secret... I'M SICK OF WAITING FOR THIS GAME!
Yes, with everything that I've been saying in this blog, I'm becoming a hypocrite by saying that I'm sick of waiting for this game. I've wanted it for such a long time. And that's the problem right there. The want. It's powerful with this game, it really is. It seems like I want it so much, I need it, and that's scary. I should never feel like I need any game, yet that's just how it is with The Last Guardian. The rest of the gaming industry can crash and go up in flames, but it will be fine with me so long as I get this game before that happens.
And well, those four points that I brought up ealier can easily be applied to myself. In fact, there's a possiblity that all these years of delays have given The Last Guardian a major benefit; it could move to the PlayStation 4. From what I've seen of this game so far, it's already drop-dead gorgeous, but imagining it on a much more powerful machine? I don't have words for it. I hate saying this, because half the time I don't believe it coming from other people, but this game will definitely be worth the wait. No doubt about it. Patience, Lucas... Patience.
Stuff like this annoys me at times, but I don't think it's the wait alone that annoys me. It's mostly the annoyance caused by the simple fact that they delayed Alpha Protocol and the game wasn't as good as it should have been even with the delay. The fact is, the game looked exactly the same on release day as it did when it was first delayed, and that should never happen, especially when the game is delayed for almost an entire year. Gamespot had Alpha Protocol's original release date listed as October 6th, 2009, and on that same day, they delayed the game until June 1st, 2010. I was really looking forward the game too. Then, I realized that with more time, Sega and Obsidian could make the game look and play even better than it did before. Well, no, we released the same game a year later that should have been released in 2009, without any changes, and with bugs and glitches that shouldn't appear in a game that was delayed for as long as it was. I was very disappointed by that turn of events, and while I enjoyed the game, it could have been much better than what it was.
So it's not so much the wait that annoys me, it's that in many cases nothing is drastically improved over the time of the delay to make a game well worth that wait caused by the delay.
I want Last Guardian too but there is zero waiting for the reasons you numbered up. Who actually "waits" for a game anyway? It releases when it releases and up until then I have plenty of other great games to play. Or yeah, continue with the books I read as well.
There is no problem here. The real timer starts when the game has actually released. Then you can buy it in four months time and expect to have a well functioning game after patches and a lower price. If not, you'll know about issues at hand and can factor that into the purchasing decision. Buying a game on release and then raging about it not being fully functioning is pretty ignorant. We know how things should be but we also since long know how things are. Act accordingly.
it feels good to return back and JustPlainLucas your articles are the best your articles are more in depth and you talk about the cause in the video game industry which is exciting.
Well a video game does take a year or even more to make and it cost ALOT of money to make as well. We taking about buying engines, advertising, hiring people, to write the story, music and also hiring celeb or normal people for voice work etc Making a video game does take ALOT of time and effort and it not a easy job lol.
I hope everyone knows that developers can't make video games like it's candy. their (parent) publisher tell them to make a certain game and must follow, but powerful companies like EA and activision and Ubisoft is a great example because games like COD,AC and EA (have lots of games backing them up) are called flagship products and annually games EX. Nintendo Mascot Mario that type of thing. The game you mention like the last guardian is not a flagship product the only way for it to become a flagship product well of course it must do well in sells, but that not the case as well. The video game industry is very unpredictable as well. you can kinda grasp the concept if you know what I'm taking about.
As for Impatence gamers I don't what to say everyone different and how they do with their time and schedule, but as for me I play Halo 4 multiplayer on a regualer. I also get out more with friends and once a game comes out that I want I wait for a couple weeks then get it beaucse lol they not going anywhere. I'm learning more about the video game instruty because one day I hope to became a video game designer and that's what I'm studying in college so Im preparing myself for what to come.
I don't mind waiting a bit longer for a more polished games, Rockstar always delay there games and you always end up with something special that always delievers. Other publishers like activision and EA always rush there games and end up with games that are OK but could have been a lot more if they weren't held to a tight dead line. Ubisoft are the same, they make some really good games but sometimes you feel a few more moths in production and they could of had something so much more refined and polished.
I don't care much about delays, one way or another, as long as the game is good when it comes out. If it isn't, then I have to wonder what they were actually doing when they were delaying the game.
I don't usually purchase on the release date so delays don't really bother me that much. I do play other games or replay something that I've been wanting to for a long time but just didn't have the time. I would rather have a good game and wait for it than have an ok game just to satisfy my impatience.
I really dont care all that much. But when its just before release and they push it back MONTHS, surely they could announce the delay before everyone gets excited. I doubt they suddenly realise that they need 6 months more to finish the game 1 month before release. Although I guess thats a good marketing technique.
that francis has to be acting...i mean, i know some people might act like that a little bit...but good god...heaven help us if that dude is not acting....fuck.
I'm on a tight budget right now so I can't afford too many games at launch, so I don't mind waiting. You made some excellent points. And of course, I'm with you on the backlog. Mine is so huge that delayed games don't faze me much anymore.
Just check out that video. Ummm the guy is insane. He doesn't really help the argument that violent video games don't turn violent. Anywah if Rockstar Headquarters burns down tomorrow. I think we know who to blame. This guys nuts games are fun, but this takes it to an extreme. Ruins lives, i've play plenty of games that have been pushed back and I'm pretty sure my life hasn't been ruined. just whoa this is nuts
One thing that people disregard about delayed game releases is how expensive it is both to the development and the developers, losing the chance to have a break from programming and being with their families after 2 years or so. Delays can be a frustrating thing to developers, not a good thing despite having more time to polish their product.
@True_Blu3 "losing the chance to have a break from programming and being with their families after 2 years or so" - oh...I didn't know programmers were sucked into the 'grid' when working on a game. i wonder if any of them met flynn? hope they don't get derezzed by Rinzler or Tron!
@Anteares@True_Blu3 Crunch time usually involves 12-16 hour days, and work on weekends. Sometimes projects require so much from programmers/artists that they end up sleeping in the office.
Fire Emblem Awakening. MIA Category 1. Missing at Retail for over a month after the release date. In fact, it is still missing for a lot of people. The rarity makes many gamers think that they are buying an Atlus game a month after its release and not a first party Nintendo title. *rage*
My friend and I finally managed to snatch up what apparently were the only two copies available that week at an EBGames outlet just a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, I had many other quality games to keep me company.
Did Nintendo honestly expect everyone to pick up the game from the eShop? Shipping delay? Where have I heard that one before? =(
Rayman Legends, Lego Undercover, man... you've got a monopoly on 'waiting' on really crap games :) You're disappointed if they're late, I'm disappointed they exist. I am highly suspicious The Last Guardian will be a complete borefest as well.
I don't really care, for a very long time I live in a small city that got everything at least a week after release because of the extra distance ... Also now that gaming is so mainstream, the distribution is also a lot better and we get all the game on the right day.
I'll wait for a review or better yet the opinion of the gamers community to know if it is good. Some game got too much hype or you know everything because of the net ...
I'm not entirely sure wtf is going on with Lego City, Toys R Us had plenty in stock day 1. (honestly, Toys R Us seems the best place to get new games anymore).
@iminsanescott Gamers are impatient, publishers are demanding, but at the end of the day it's the developer that chooses to do what is done. The publisher is the evil of the gaming industry, but developers still choose to take orders from them.
@ShimmeringSword@iminsanescott Publishers aren't evil. Some are but then again there are people in every walk of life that will abuse their power. Then many that are labled evil are simply making decisions that have to be made in order to try to help the game turn a profit so the devs can go on to make games in the future.
But there are also publishers who don't try to force devs to rush out games (outside of reason of course obviously there comes a point where the game needs to ship whether the dev feels its completely finished or not, and honestly no dev ever feels a game is completely done when it ships), who don't try to force features int, who don't try to interfere with development. 2k, Bethesda, and Rockstar come to mind here.
On top of this publishers allow developers to do things they wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Having someone to fund and market the game can help tremendously in allowing devs to focus on their work and put the most into their work.
I get what you mean. I'm absolutely tired of waiting for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Yet at that same time I feel that perhaps I don't have time to complain much because I don't know what the developer plans. It seems that The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy Versus XIII have been anounced since the dawn of the PS3. Honestly by now it would be wiser to just make them PS4 Launch Titles and work on upping the graphics a bit for the system.
If Diablo 3 players knew then what they know now, do you think they would rage on, lets say.. hmmm.. one year delay? Delay is not always a bad thing... :)
I actually prefer for a game to get delayed. Or rather, when it needs it. Do you want a buggy, slapped together piece of crap now, or a masterpiece later? I want the game when it's ready, not before. How many awesome games have been ruined because they were forced to meet a deadline?
@RedLegZeff You have to take into account though. Deadlines are necessary. Gaming is a bussiness and they can't afford to just keep the game in development forever. There comes a point where if they don't release it becomes impossible to turn a profit and at that point no matter how good the game may be it is still a flop.
Sometimes delay is good .... Guys every game go through many process of approval ... If the big boss is not happy then we have all to wait and the employee will be really in deep **** got it .... Some of these employee are free lancer its for their own benefits to make the thing done very well otherwise the time will extend and that is not what they want.....
I concur. I too have been waiting for Lego City Undercover (and I may have to wait for it to arrive next week since I bought it online at Target with their B2G1 promo), and was disappointed that this has happened. So what am I doing while I wait for LCU? Well I'll just keep at my first playthrough of this enjoyable little title called Earthbound. :)
This is a great honest blog. Thank you for writing it. It's refreshing to read a blog that addresses something we as gamers have to learn to control, amongst blogs that simply talk about the state of the gaming industry and game companies and why it, or they, are lacking in some way or the other (although those are good reads too). This sort of introspection has me thinking about my own gamer vices, amongst those, rage and impatience :)
I like the idea of "The Last Guardian" but we've heard and seen so little that at this point I'm more inclinded to think... meh!
I've always had a problem with Sony announcing games way too early so that by the time they arrive you just don't care anymore... LBP was revelaed and then wasn't released for 18 months, by which time I no longer gave a flying fig, what looked new and exciting when they announced it was lessened by the wait.
With you talking about going to Best Buy and Gamestop, I never go to either of them, and actually I just went to Target on Tuesday 3-19 and the Lego game you're talking about was there. That's the only store that I go to for new CDs and games, the new CDs are usually on sale on day 1 there and the games are never sold out like ever at the one I go to plus they keep their stock up unlike stupid Wal-Mart which never has anything new or old.
the waiting game I know that feeling very well I've been hungryly waiting for news on FF13 versus for what seems like an eternity. Oh yes I sometimes cry at night thinking about it too... = (
