Game Developers: Stop Overpromising

Andru Edwards writes "Recently, there has been a flurry of game developers releasing games which did not live up to expectations the developers set earlier on. Due to this pratice of overhyping upcoming games, gamers have become wary of those games which have major hyoe behind them. Here is a look at which developers are falling victim to the hype, as well as why Nintendo's frustrating strategy might actually be the best approach after all."

Comments

Re:Open letter to the citizens of the United State

[nounderscores]

Stop overpromising.

No words needed

[lou2ser]

Just a link: http://www.3drealms.com/duke4/

Re:No words needed

[adamjaskie]

I had a PC Gamer mag back in '97 or '98 talking about that game. It looks like it's gonna be really neat. I can't wait to play it!

Re:No words needed

[RAMMS EIN]

All you people are missing the point. It's called Duke Nuke 'm Forever, because it lasts forever. Computer games don't last forever.

The game is already out. It's being beta tested by none other than G. W. Bush. Now that he's completed the Iraq mission, he's waiting to see the stats. If they're satisfactory, he'll move to the next level.

So, if you can't wait, get your RPG and get nukin'. Come get some!

Re:And this is news!

[nounderscores]

Yeah, I remember how pong was going to simulate real tennis in every minute detail.

Wow.

[theparanoidcynic]

Marketing promises more than engineering can deliver. News at 11.

Re:Wow.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think this image sums it up nicely: link

Developers? What about the product managers?

[Code-Ex]

In my company, the developers have no direct contact with customers (usually). It's the product managers that interact with the customers, but the product managers tend to be deaf to all negative information.

Product Manager: When will Project A be delivered?
Lead Developer: There is a 50% chance we can deliver by March next year.
Product Manager: Good, I'll tell the customers we can deliver by February. We can deliver Feature B right?
Lead Developer: We don't have enough people to finish developing it by March.
Product Manager: You developers work overtime all the time anyway right. February it is.

Re:And this is news!

[EvilTwinSkippy]

Truth may be timeless, but new people enter and leave this world every minute.

I personally try to get out of the respawn area as quickly as possible. Damn campers.

In soviet Russia...

[Anonymous Coward]

...Hyoe pwns joo!

Okay, I'll get some sleep.

Re:And this is news!

[dirkdidit]

Yeah, real tennis was a pretty big let down for you, too, huh?

Ed MacMahon Support?

[dbretton]

Hyoe?

I'm always wary when Ed MacMahon is backing up a game.
"I'm Ed MacMahon. Buy Halo2. Hyyoooooe!"

Re:Um can we Say...

[fugginsuds]

Sorry, I don't understand "Jump To Lightspeed"...Don't you mean Star Wars Galaxies Alpha release 2?

Re:TF II

[Ford Prefect]

To quote Valve's Greg Coomer in a recent interview:

TF2 is definitely one of the next things on our plate.

So, not dead, merely resting. Yes, that's it. ;-)

Re:And this is news!

[Anonymous Coward]

As long as it has Anna Kournikova in it...

Re:And this is news!

[Lonath]

I think you mean lawn tennis, old chap. Real tennis is a far superior game.

Oh lord, spare me. I'll bet you think "football" is played by kicking a spherical ball into little nets, too.

Re:Doom III

[mausmalone]

I think I may write a DOOM 3 text adventure. Here's the code.

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
#inlcude <coniio.h> // I hope you have Turbo C

int room(void)
{
char input;
printf("You entered the room, which is well lit. Would you like to proceed? (y/n)\n");
input = getch();
if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0;
printf("The lights turned off. Would you like to turn on the flash light?(y/n)\n");
input = getch();
if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0;
printf("You see a monster, would you like to switch to the gun and shoot it? (y/n)\n");
input = getch();
if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0;
printf("You have killed the monster, and are moving on to the next room.\n");
return 1;
}

int locker(void)
{
int lockercombo = rand()%1000;
printf("You've found a PDA, would you like to listen to the messages? (y/n)");
input = getch();
if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0;
printf("Playing back message ... ");
sleep(120000);
printf("The combo for the locker is %d, would you like to open the locker? (y/n)\n", lockercombo);
input = getch();
if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0;
printf("You found some ammo and a medpack.\n");
return 1;
}

void main(void)
{
srand(time(NULL));
int stillrunning;
do {
if (rand()%10<2) stillrunning = locker();
else stillrunning = room();
} while (stillrunning);
printf("You were killed by a zombie. GAME OVER\n");
}

Re:And this is news!

[aonifer]

Nah, football is played by flicking a piece of paper folded into a small triangle between another person's index fingers. I hear that's also how sex is made.

Re:Don't shoot the messenger ....

[Incoherent07]

By that standard, Duke Nukem Forever is the best game ever.

Duke Nukem Forever: Game of the Year of 2009.

Re:Doom III

[FurryFeet]

I actually thought this was the code to System Shock 2, until...

printf("You found some ammo

Obviously I was wrong.

Re:Article makes a good point, but...

[thoth]

For example, as recently as 10/28/04, they released a patch for Diablo II, which was first released 6/29/00 Damn they are good. 10/28/04 is 6 days in the future!