I hate and love this news. I am happy they are willing to delay release if it needs it however I was feeling the competition between Blizzard and Bioware growing. It seemed like they were each throwing out jabs each week trying to one up each other. Now it feels like the excitment is going to die down again.
They haven't hid the fact it may slip to 1st quarter of 2012. It was news during the summer, not now.
Actually they said january, not 1st quarter. But when they said january i immediately knew the game was going to be published spring 2012 or later.
Do you have a quote regarding January? From what I recall from that conference meeting earlier this year was stated clearly Q1 2012 as a window that there was a slim chance that they might slip into, not the month January. As for the rest, you may speculate about spring 2012 or later or 2013 or whatever, I guess we'll find out how far off you were with your guessing automatically in the months to come
here is the quote mav:
"While we fully anticipate launching Star Wars: The Old Republic in Q2 or Q3, the low end of our guidance range assumes the outside possibility of a January launch."
Huge post on the official boards about all of this (incoming copy paste):
Let's break down a couple of those statements from Eric Brown, from the latest conference:
"In terms of timing, again, we haven't given a street date yet. We won't do so for some time, possibly at our next upcoming earnings call towards the end of October."
Indeed, we have not given a street date (AKA launch date) for The Old Republic. While some of you have suggested that we 'promised' a launch date announcement before that time, in fact what Eric Brown said was that a date could be announced in September or October.
It's important to also note the word 'possibly' was used in Eric's statement above. Just as he didn't promise that you would get a release date announcement in September, he isn't promising a release date before the next earnings call. It could happen, but it's not a promise.
Let's look at this second statement:
“…we did hold out a slight possibility that it could slip to our March quarter. And the factors that would cause a slip is, for example, us not being completely satisfied with the scalability testing, and wanting to tune it for several extra weeks.”
There is absolutely no change to our previous messaging with this statement. We are in active and extensive testing for The Old Republic. We're aiming to release the game in the holiday 2011 window (or, before the end of the year, to speak in non-American for a minute).
However, as with any large and complex game project, there's always the possibility of slippage. Always. That is why we have always said we're aiming for that window, because it's possible that unforeseen issues may push the date. Eric Brown is doing what he's paid to do - letting investors know that the possibility exists. A possibility doesn't mean a certainty.
Despite what doom-sayers may try and tell you, we are still very much aiming to ship in the holiday 2011 window (AKA, before the end of the year). We're pushing out a major new build, we're getting in our external testers to look at it soon, and then we'll re-start our Game Testing Weekends.
Are there risks? Yeah, that goes with game development. Do we think we're getting much, much closer? Yes we do. And when we feel confident about an exact date, you'll get one. Rest assured.
Until then, try not to assume the sky is falling every time an investor asks a question and our CFO does his job, which is to let them know about every possibility.
Kind of says it all really. To be honest, an early calendar 2012 release wouldn't surprise me. Depends on when the beta weekends get going again, and how European testing goes as well I guess.
I don't mind. What I mind is, letting people preorder now when a release date is uncertain. That's just wrong. Also, it is not the first delay. They already said it would be out in spring 2011 once.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
The reason there is no release date yet is they have stress tessed there servers or the game. They are doing that now. I fully expect a release date to be released by mid october at latest maybe sooner.
that said pre orders will allow them to get players into game on there schedule as to not overload the starter zones. i have no issue with no release date.
I know people want a release date but bioware has stated they dont plan to announce one more then 4-8 weeks prior to launch.
If they need to push it to early next year, let them do it I say. I want a sold launch, I want them to be pleased with the beta testing and let them roll out as many closed beta's as they need, until they feel confident with the results.
MMO's can't be rushed, there are so many could be great MMO's that didn't do well at launch and have struggled to fine there ground. Bioware do what you need to do and I wish you the best at launch. Bioware is doing something completely different from there normal comfort zone.
If 2012 has to happen, let it happen. I can wait.
Wildstar (2013) & Elder Scroll Online (2013)
Playing: Diablo 3, WOW, Far Cry 3 & X-Com.
Enjoyed: WOW 5 1/2 yrs, LOTRO 3yrs, GW 1/2yr, DFO 1yr, EVE Online 3yrs, and Huxley (Beta).
Failed to impress: GW2 3months, Tera Online 6 months (best combat system in any MMO I've played) STO 1/4yr, Aion 1/2yr, AoC 1yr, CO, Fallen Earth, DDO, EQ2 1/2yr, WAR 1/2yr, Lineage 2 and FF XI 1/2yr, FF XIV.
I really have no problem with BioWare taking preorders without a release date. It was not a secret to anyone preordering, and I see it as one more step toward release. It is the most accurate way to assess just how many servers they are going to need to have up at launch, and now that they have a better idea, I'm sure that is going on as we speak.
I'd rather them push it back and have a great launch myself.
"Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game." - SEANMCAD
I don't mind. What I mind is, letting people preorder now when a release date is uncertain. That's just wrong. Also, it is not the first delay. They already said it would be out in spring 2011 once.
As long as they let the preorders know that the date might change it is not a problem. If not, then I agree.
But MMOs do get pushed back, it is rather common and prevent the worst releases. Think how WAR would have been if they hadn't pushed it back 9 months...
I'd rather them push it back and have a great launch myself.
Agreed after having played a few horrible releases I firmly stand behind any devs decision to make sure the game is worth it before releasing, as far as whether it is right for them to offer pre orders with no release date those who have a problem with the practice have the simple recourse of not pre ordering before they have that date but I think it's obvious everyone knew there was no release date and many aren't bothered by this (myself included). It's not like they can't simply announce a release date and still miss it.
Whats a couple of months or so . If the product is as good as we all hope it is as many people will play it in February as they will in December .If its not it will just be another game we'll consign to the dustbin of history and Warcraft will get a reprise for another year or two untill the next big challenger comes along .If it is as good was we all hope it is then Blizzards dominance of the mmo market will be finnished pretty much overnight and we can expect massive trolling of the game as the fanbois realise that Azeroth faces a far greater cataclysm than Deathwing could inflict on it .
I have to honestly say if they're taking pre orders they shouldn't sound so wishy washy about having a release date. I'm seriously rethinking my pre order since it sounds like they've got my money and they're not sure when they can give me a product and that sounds a little shady. I love star wars and I love bioware's games but I'm getting a little tired of hearing "maybe next time... maybe next time". My excitement for this game is ebbing and I may consider spending my money elsewhere.
Like it or not as much as they want to release a "finished" product investors pull the strings. If they want to bump the date to 2012 they will not be happy. I guarantee they have a lot of pressure right now to get the game out this holiday as planned since they have already bumped the date from this spring 6-8 months later. I will be shocked if it doesnt come this year.
"There is absolutely no change to our previous messaging with this statement. We are in active and extensive testing for The Old Republic. We're aiming to release the game in the holiday 2011 window (or, before the end of the year, to speak in non-American for a minute)," Reid added. "However, as with any large and complex game project, there's always the possibility of slippage. Always. That is why we have always said we're aiming for that window, because it's possible that unforeseen issues may push the date. Eric Brown is doing what he's paid to do - letting investors know that the possibility exists. A possibility doesn't mean a certainty."
Ummm, dude, Christmas is not an American holiday. Its a Christian Holiday which has hundreds of millions of followers around the world. That's epic...
I have to honestly say if they're taking pre orders they shouldn't sound so wishy washy about having a release date. I'm seriously rethinking my pre order since it sounds like they've got my money and they're not sure when they can give me a product and that sounds a little shady. I love star wars and I love bioware's games but I'm getting a little tired of hearing "maybe next time... maybe next time". My excitement for this game is ebbing and I may consider spending my money elsewhere.
I'm having the same thoughts. I was originally planning on enjoying this game until GW2 comes out. If they keep pushing it back after people have already paid for the game, I just don't see the point. With so many good games coming out I just no longer see the need to preorder, if they they are going to keep the release date indefinite. If they force me to choose between TOR and GW2 I'm going to have to pick GW2. I was hoping they wouldn't do that.
I don't think it's fair to have this postponement partly financed by pre-orders but that's a personal opinion (I never pre-order personally simply because sometimes something that I looked forward to mysteriously didn't make it into the launch of the game - for instance AoC that promised DX10 at launch originally and then didn't bring it into the game until a year AFTER launch IIRC).
A smooth launch is priceless, fail at launch and you can forget all dreams of taking on WoW or any other game for that matter. You just become one more that launched badly, impossible to recover from.
I don't think it's fair to have this postponement partly financed by pre-orders but that's a personal opinion
I don't know if this is the case for everyone for every outlet where people preordered, but reports from various people in this thread seem to suggest that the usual has happened, and that's that when you preordered, no money is written off your credit card yet.
If it bothers people that much that they don't know a release date yet, they shouldn't have preordered in the first place, or they can cancel their preorder with little to no cost.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
If they need to push it to early next year, let them do it I say. I want a sold launch, I want them to be pleased with the beta testing and let them roll out as many closed beta's as they need, until they feel confident with the results.
MMO's can't be rushed, there are so many could be great MMO's that didn't do well at launch and have struggled to fine there ground. Bioware do what you need to do and I wish you the best at launch. Bioware is doing something completely different from there normal comfort zone.
Comments
LMFAO i loved the way you paraphrased that.
The following statement is false
The previous statement is true
I hate and love this news. I am happy they are willing to delay release if it needs it however I was feeling the competition between Blizzard and Bioware growing. It seemed like they were each throwing out jabs each week trying to one up each other. Now it feels like the excitment is going to die down again.
here is the quote mav:
"While we fully anticipate launching Star Wars: The Old Republic in Q2 or Q3, the low end of our guidance range assumes the outside possibility of a January launch."
http://darthhater.com/2011/05/04/electronic-arts-4q-earnings-live-blog/
basically they expect this year but leave the window open incase they need it
Huge post on the official boards about all of this (incoming copy paste):
Let's break down a couple of those statements from Eric Brown, from the latest conference:
"In terms of timing, again, we haven't given a street date yet. We won't do so for some time, possibly at our next upcoming earnings call towards the end of October."
Indeed, we have not given a street date (AKA launch date) for The Old Republic. While some of you have suggested that we 'promised' a launch date announcement before that time, in fact what Eric Brown said was that a date could be announced in September or October.
It's important to also note the word 'possibly' was used in Eric's statement above. Just as he didn't promise that you would get a release date announcement in September, he isn't promising a release date before the next earnings call. It could happen, but it's not a promise.
Let's look at this second statement:
“…we did hold out a slight possibility that it could slip to our March quarter. And the factors that would cause a slip is, for example, us not being completely satisfied with the scalability testing, and wanting to tune it for several extra weeks.”
There is absolutely no change to our previous messaging with this statement. We are in active and extensive testing for The Old Republic. We're aiming to release the game in the holiday 2011 window (or, before the end of the year, to speak in non-American for a minute).
However, as with any large and complex game project, there's always the possibility of slippage. Always. That is why we have always said we're aiming for that window, because it's possible that unforeseen issues may push the date. Eric Brown is doing what he's paid to do - letting investors know that the possibility exists. A possibility doesn't mean a certainty.
Despite what doom-sayers may try and tell you, we are still very much aiming to ship in the holiday 2011 window (AKA, before the end of the year). We're pushing out a major new build, we're getting in our external testers to look at it soon, and then we'll re-start our Game Testing Weekends.
Are there risks? Yeah, that goes with game development. Do we think we're getting much, much closer? Yes we do. And when we feel confident about an exact date, you'll get one. Rest assured.
Until then, try not to assume the sky is falling every time an investor asks a question and our CFO does his job, which is to let them know about every possibility.
Stephen Reid - from http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=9260473#edit9260473
Kind of says it all really. To be honest, an early calendar 2012 release wouldn't surprise me. Depends on when the beta weekends get going again, and how European testing goes as well I guess.
I don't mind. What I mind is, letting people preorder now when a release date is uncertain. That's just wrong. Also, it is not the first delay. They already said it would be out in spring 2011 once.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I preordered without a known release date. If it has slipped, it is still unknown.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
The reason there is no release date yet is they have stress tessed there servers or the game. They are doing that now. I fully expect a release date to be released by mid october at latest maybe sooner.
that said pre orders will allow them to get players into game on there schedule as to not overload the starter zones. i have no issue with no release date.
I know people want a release date but bioware has stated they dont plan to announce one more then 4-8 weeks prior to launch.
If they need to push it to early next year, let them do it I say. I want a sold launch, I want them to be pleased with the beta testing and let them roll out as many closed beta's as they need, until they feel confident with the results.
MMO's can't be rushed, there are so many could be great MMO's that didn't do well at launch and have struggled to fine there ground. Bioware do what you need to do and I wish you the best at launch. Bioware is doing something completely different from there normal comfort zone.
If 2012 has to happen, let it happen. I can wait.
Wildstar (2013) & Elder Scroll Online (2013)
Playing: Diablo 3, WOW, Far Cry 3 & X-Com.
Enjoyed: WOW 5 1/2 yrs, LOTRO 3yrs, GW 1/2yr, DFO 1yr, EVE Online 3yrs, and Huxley (Beta).
Failed to impress: GW2 3months, Tera Online 6 months (best combat system in any MMO I've played) STO 1/4yr, Aion 1/2yr, AoC 1yr, CO, Fallen Earth, DDO, EQ2 1/2yr, WAR 1/2yr, Lineage 2 and FF XI 1/2yr, FF XIV.
I really have no problem with BioWare taking preorders without a release date. It was not a secret to anyone preordering, and I see it as one more step toward release. It is the most accurate way to assess just how many servers they are going to need to have up at launch, and now that they have a better idea, I'm sure that is going on as we speak.
I'd rather them push it back and have a great launch myself.
As long as they let the preorders know that the date might change it is not a problem. If not, then I agree.
But MMOs do get pushed back, it is rather common and prevent the worst releases. Think how WAR would have been if they hadn't pushed it back 9 months...
Agreed after having played a few horrible releases I firmly stand behind any devs decision to make sure the game is worth it before releasing, as far as whether it is right for them to offer pre orders with no release date those who have a problem with the practice have the simple recourse of not pre ordering before they have that date but I think it's obvious everyone knew there was no release date and many aren't bothered by this (myself included). It's not like they can't simply announce a release date and still miss it.
Whats a couple of months or so . If the product is as good as we all hope it is as many people will play it in February as they will in December .If its not it will just be another game we'll consign to the dustbin of history and Warcraft will get a reprise for another year or two untill the next big challenger comes along .If it is as good was we all hope it is then Blizzards dominance of the mmo market will be finnished pretty much overnight and we can expect massive trolling of the game as the fanbois realise that Azeroth faces a far greater cataclysm than Deathwing could inflict on it .
I have to honestly say if they're taking pre orders they shouldn't sound so wishy washy about having a release date. I'm seriously rethinking my pre order since it sounds like they've got my money and they're not sure when they can give me a product and that sounds a little shady. I love star wars and I love bioware's games but I'm getting a little tired of hearing "maybe next time... maybe next time". My excitement for this game is ebbing and I may consider spending my money elsewhere.
I WANT MY F-ING MONEY BACK.
they take our money EARLY then do this?? That's pretty shady indeed.
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Like it or not as much as they want to release a "finished" product investors pull the strings. If they want to bump the date to 2012 they will not be happy. I guarantee they have a lot of pressure right now to get the game out this holiday as planned since they have already bumped the date from this spring 6-8 months later. I will be shocked if it doesnt come this year.
Ummm, dude, Christmas is not an American holiday. Its a Christian Holiday which has hundreds of millions of followers around the world. That's epic...
I'm having the same thoughts. I was originally planning on enjoying this game until GW2 comes out. If they keep pushing it back after people have already paid for the game, I just don't see the point. With so many good games coming out I just no longer see the need to preorder, if they they are going to keep the release date indefinite. If they force me to choose between TOR and GW2 I'm going to have to pick GW2. I was hoping they wouldn't do that.
You *are* getting your game though. It's not like it's vapourware.
So I don't see why or how it is "shady".
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Actually thus far it has actually been EA telling Bioware what they can and cannot say.
If they have the money for it, postpone.
I don't think it's fair to have this postponement partly financed by pre-orders but that's a personal opinion (I never pre-order personally simply because sometimes something that I looked forward to mysteriously didn't make it into the launch of the game - for instance AoC that promised DX10 at launch originally and then didn't bring it into the game until a year AFTER launch IIRC).
A smooth launch is priceless, fail at launch and you can forget all dreams of taking on WoW or any other game for that matter. You just become one more that launched badly, impossible to recover from.
I don't know if this is the case for everyone for every outlet where people preordered, but reports from various people in this thread seem to suggest that the usual has happened, and that's that when you preordered, no money is written off your credit card yet.
If it bothers people that much that they don't know a release date yet, they shouldn't have preordered in the first place, or they can cancel their preorder with little to no cost.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
LOL no need for me to post...Ditto
Those people who preordered you all paid for the full item or a small amount. How much was it ? If it was full then this sounds bad.