The world collapses

[Melf]

He actually waited 1 1/2 pages longer than I thought he would.

[Mamoscott]

He actually waited 1 1/2 pages longer than I thought he would.

I'm not complaining about Live, just the constant game delays. KOTOR is a great game (yes, I own the Xbox version), and I'm happy to see it get some downloadable content.

[epmode]

he would be easier to ignore if everyone would stop quoting him.

and holy shit. are you actually complaining about game delays? as though they're exclusive to xbox live games? it's a fucking industry-wide practice. jesus.

[Mamoscott]

he would be easier to ignore if everyone would stop quoting him.

and holy shit. are you actually complaining about game delays? as though they're exclusive to xbox live games? it's a fucking industry-wide practice. jesus.

Most games are delayed from their original release once, maybe twice if things get really bad. How long has Fable been in development? How many different release dates has it had? What about True Fantasy Online? Halo 2 went from Christmas 2003, to early 2004, and more recently to late 2004.

And recurring delays aren't an industry-wide practice, and even if they were, they would not be acceptable. If a publisher/developer isn't sure whether or not they can make a release date, then they shouldn't fucking announce one in the first place until they know they can deliver. Rushing a game to meet a release date is a FAR more common industry-wide practice.

This has little to do with Xbox Live, except for the fact that the constant delays of major Live-enabled titles just string current subscribers along. I know quite a few people who haven't used Xbox Live for a long time, but they've kept their subcriptions because Halo 2 was on the way at the end of last year. Of course, then it was delayed till early 2004 a couple months before the originally scheduled release date. But since it was only delayed until early 2004, people can still justify keeping their subscriptions to be ready for the game. Then a few months later, another delay is announced - this time until the end of the year. If the game's development was going to take at least a year longer than anticipated, don't you think Bungie and MS would have realized that a long time ago?

All I'm saying is that eventually people get fed up with this type of behavior, and if they feel they're not getting their money's worth with other Live titles in the mean time, then it's not surprising that you see people cancelling their subscriptions (like others in this thread have mentioned doing). No one here cancelled their subscription because they hated the service. They cancelled it, because they've got nothing to play online that interests them anymore, which is partially a byproduct of the constant delays of Live's most promising titles.

[Mzo]

I'm a picky fuck.

I am completely satisfied with Live. I play PSO with friends (HI M!! OMG!) from around the country, I play LInks and PGR2 and CvS2 and many other games and have a blast with it. I love the gamertags and the way I can always see what my friends are playing. I use the chat feature as a free phone anywhere in the country. For 50 bucks a year. It's insanely worth it for me; without it, my box would get 1/3 of the use it gets now. I'm done arguing over its pros and cons forever, this is bullshit.

And I smoked Sl1p in Links! FEEL IT!

[fraggler]

Yeah, its $50 a year. A YEAR! Mzo pointed out what great uses it has. For the price of one normal release, you get a year of quality online service, voice chat, "buddylists", online ranking, etc. Whoever complains about paying $50 for a year of online service, because they are waiting for delayed games is a bit off-center. It's VERY cheap compared to SOE and other online service prices for PC. And with a year of it, you have PLENTY of time to wait. Also I think theres an option to suspend your account, just for that reason! You can suspend the Live account, and reactivate it later when you want to use the remaining time. Confirm this for me though first, please.

[MechDeus]

Rushing a game to meet a release date is a FAR more common industry-wide practice.

And we've all seen how excellent the results of that have been.

If the game's development was going to take at least a year longer than anticipated, don't you think Bungie and MS would have realized that a long time ago?

Considering the development of Halo, no.

[Mamoscott]

And we've all seen how excellent the results of that have been.

I didn't say rushing games to release was a good thing, just that it was a far more common occurrence.

Considering the development of Halo, no.

Bungie was purchased by MS, and Halo had to switch platforms mid-development. It ultimately turned into a game that was very different from its original design. Bungie sure does like to take its time developing their titles though.

I don't have issues with extended development times, because they usually result in a better end product. But publishers or developers shouldn't be announcing release dates when there's little chance a development studio is going to meet their target deadline. And it's borderline ridiculous when it happens multiple times during a game's development, especially with a console release, unless there are some outside circumstances (such as being bought out and switching development platforms as in Bungie's case).

[Mzo]

The world is collapsing around our ears
I turned up the radio
I can't hear it.

[johnk_]

i can't see myself cancelling XBL right now... not with splinter cell 2 out this soon..

and even though RS3 is the only game i bother playing on live these days, it's still worth the $50 a year.. it isn't that much money for a year.