The part where they say this way is less optimal for reviewers makes we laugh.
Most reviews are made in hilarious less-than-optimal conditions and almost never speak to the manner in which an average human interacts with anything, which is A) under actual (not self-imposed) time duress B) without access to any third-party external information about the game and C) actively fucking reviewing it for Gen Pop in their minds. Last I checked review copies aren't given 6 months in advance, so very unclear how getting a game after, vs before, is significantly different in terms of time duress (you have a limit, period). If anything, it just goes to show what a crock the whole review process is if you are trying to paint it as a sort of service, and not just a product.
Post-release reviews ARE the better deal for consumers, but it will take time (decades?) for us to catch on. The point is, simple cows that we are, we love to buy shit Day 1. That's not on Bethesda. That's on us. Once our simpleton minds slow down we can allow reviews for games to function like, you know, actual criticism, which comes out WHEN IT WANTS TO, not in time for a PR schedule, not in time to make sure you are the one with the most clicks, and not supplied by the publisher/creator, most importantly. Again, as long as you love Day 1 culture, you will hate post Day 1 reviews. But, if you buy your games months later - who gives a shit - now, actually, you have a leg to stand on if you want to say "Hey we here at Kotaku are going to take a long ass time to review this game properly". But they won't, because they are, as far as I can see, taking the cow path. They are not path pavers. Kotaku, like most, want what is safe. We look at this in the design of any company system day in and day out; *most* pave the cow path. Few pave their own. All companies are like this. Most people are like this. For Kotaku to actually embrace late reviews they need balls. Balls to shit on Day 1 clicks and believe that when their review comes out, people will still read it and base their purchases on it. Right now, they are right to do what they do; most people couldn't give a shit about what Kotaku has to say if it isn't a "strike when the iron's hot" kind of thing. So, can you blame them? Well, yes you can. Because it is Kotaku who created this pace. Them, and the rest of the internet-alike.
Ranty mcrant rant ranter!
And yes, I get "reality". Reviewers have *pressure* to release their shit Day 1. Well, I don't care. You want to change reality, get your hands dirty. Delay that review man. Delay it to hell and back. You want to live in the publisher's pocket? You want to promote pre-orders and Day 1 editions and Day 1 that? Well, keep on keeping on. Simple idea, but, if you don't make Day 1 so special, it will, over time, become less so.