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[JEMC]

caffeinade said:

JEMC said:

I admit that I didn't know that they had a publisher for the console versions of the game. Still, given that they're also the publishers of the PC version (if Steam is right), they could have asked for a couple more weeks to further polish and optimise the game. But what can I say, I'm a romantic that still remembers the old days when game were launched and worked without day 1 patches and the other shit that we're (sadly) used to see today.

*sigh*

Oh, if the fate of a whole company depends on launching one game in time, with a delay meaning doom for the Co., then they should be more worried about finding someone competent at the helm of the studio than about the game they're making.

 People react quite positively to delays, right?
Didn't the No Man's Sky devs get death threats when they delayed their game.
Further threats when it became clear they should have delayed the game a year or two longer.

My understanding is that console versions require weeks or months before they are approved by the publishers and platform holders.
Potentially making it difficult to map out when a polished product can be delivered to the game's backers.
Now the Steam version of the game doesn't have this issue.

Gabe has made it Very clear that he doesn't like platform holders dictating when and how companies can interact with their fans / customers.
I'm sure we all know at least one downside to this, but whatever.
Steam having low latency publishing is pretty cool.

Keep in mind:
It takes time to publish to a console.
You need a stable enough version of the game to print a physical copy.
The developer / publisher had already done their marketing.
Crowd funding backers were expecting the game in a timely fashion.
The game's PC version Cannot come out after the console version (given the way the game was funded).
Warhorse is a small company, putting out their first game.

Delaying the game could have costed the developers more than a month of extra time in development.
That could've easily been the difference between the company's success and their bankruptcy.
Better management can only do so much.

Some people don't like delays, it's true, but only a very small minirity react the way you said. Most simply curse something and move on. And, as you also said, if the end product is good, the delays are forgotten, like the ones of that suffered The Witcher 3.

At the end of the day, there are a lot more people that dislike buggy/unoptimized games more than delays.

As for publishing a game and how long it takes, I'm no expert either, but the longest part of it seems to be at the beggining of the process, not the beginning. After all, we've heard a lot of times how a game has gone gold and then launched roughly a month after that. Besides, any delay during the development will only translate into a similar delay at launch, not more.

And better management means not getting involved into the development of one game that can bankrupt your company. To put it simple, it's the old "don't put all your eggs on the same basket" approach.