Boggles my mind that this was announced the same year FF XII came out.
I think the new Zelda U, if they deliver on the promised delivery date, will have had the perfect amount of time between reveal and release.
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How soon is too soon to reveal a new game?
- Thread starter Gray Matter
- Start date
Boggles my mind that this was announced the same year FF XII came out.
I think the new Zelda U, if they deliver on the promised delivery date, will have had the perfect amount of time between reveal and release.
glaringradio
Member
Can you show genuine, honest to God gameplay? Yes? Good, reveal it.
Other than that, no, keep it under wraps.
Other than that, no, keep it under wraps.
DidntKnowJack
Member
Its not just because I find it annoying, I think its also because early reveals can be to the detriment of the games themselves. Look at The Last Guardian. Surely I'm not the only one whose excitement for that game has waned over the years. Endless or prolonged delays can't be good for any project. People move on.
Natureboy99
Banned
I don't want to wait longer than 1.5 years. Reveal at E3, launch holiday the next year. Ideally reveal at E3 and launch holiday the same year.
Prototype Viktor
Member
8 years
JudgmentJay
Member
Came to post this.
LouisaFerre
Member
You should have something playable.
You don't have to give people an actual demo to play right then, but you should at least be able to show gameplay footage, not just a target render.
You don't have to give people an actual demo to play right then, but you should at least be able to show gameplay footage, not just a target render.
Jay Shadow
Member
Square Enix announced when they had an idea for Thief 4.
I'm sure Cyberpunk 2077 will be a pretty popular answer in a few years, if it isn't already.
I'm sure Cyberpunk 2077 will be a pretty popular answer in a few years, if it isn't already.
Not only that, many games release and are downgraded in some form from how they were in early reveals. They create an expectation they can't quite deliver on. Fable was guilty of this. Gamers are promised these big ideas and it's disappointing when the devs have to cut back.
1) If you don't even have a trailer with footage, cutscene or gameplay, don't even bother.
2) If the game is more than a year and a half off, don't bother. There's absolutely no need for us to know about it. (That Edith Finch indie game announced at PS Experience is 2016!)
If you're certain the game will come out within a year and a half, i.e. E3 announcement, Winter next year release then fine. But make sure you hit that date.
2) If the game is more than a year and a half off, don't bother. There's absolutely no need for us to know about it. (That Edith Finch indie game announced at PS Experience is 2016!)
If you're certain the game will come out within a year and a half, i.e. E3 announcement, Winter next year release then fine. But make sure you hit that date.
I would say Project Treasure being featured as something that "exists" in something as substantial as a Nintendo Direct is a good example of "too early". All we know about it is that it's F2P on the Wii U and you play as these sets of lips:
Why bother?
yup, pointless announcement.
seemed too early and vapory.
He couldn't even announce the game's final name.
Dragonborn
Member
When we end up seeing it for 3 E3s in a row.
Less then a year for most titles is ideal. Really big and prestigious projects like Zelda, Uncharted, Halo, etc can get a year and a half. Announce at E3,build up hype for awhile, and release during the holidays next year. Smash 4 worked out pretty well, though that was helped by a continuous stream of information the entire time between E3 and release. Greater than that and there better have been a serious delay to justify announcing it so early.
JuanLatino
Member
Agent
Announced 2008
Release: Never
Announced 2008
Release: Never
It's a catch 22. If you don't announce anything for a long time then gamers complain that you aren't announcing anything. If you announce something too early then gamers complain that it's taking forever for the game to come out.
I think developers should reveal their game at MOST 1 year before release, but that's just me.
I think developers should reveal their game at MOST 1 year before release, but that's just me.
2-3 years before release should be earliest
year 1 - announce title
year 2 - gameplay info, trailer
year 3 - more gameplay info leading up to release
I much prefer it to be 2 years at most where they announce the game with gameplay footage, but it depends on the release schedule of the company
year 1 - announce title
year 2 - gameplay info, trailer
year 3 - more gameplay info leading up to release
I much prefer it to be 2 years at most where they announce the game with gameplay footage, but it depends on the release schedule of the company
banefirelord
Banned
Cyberpunk 2077. Fuck that "one trailer, radio silence for years" mentality.
gigantor21
Member
This.
By that point, they should be far along enough to show more than a stupid title card. Even just saying which half of a specific year its coming would be enough.
MysticDistance
Banned
This game. This game is a very good example of a game announced way too soon.
Why am I using this game? Well.
First, it was announced for release in "Summer 2013," which was later revealed to be "July 11, 2013." Then the game was delayed into "Autumn 2013" due to "quality issues." Then the game was delayed to an even vaguer "2014" release. After that delay, we heard nothing about the game. The site, as well as everything else relating to the game went without an update until TGS 2014, when ATLUS finally showed a new trailer for the game at the SEGA booth, which finalized the release date as "January 29, 2015." Many people assumed the game was canceled for various reasons, some being that the game wouldn't sell well due to the anime being poorly received. (The anime adaption of Devil Survivor 2 was poorly received by critics and fans alike)
That's right. From October 2013 until September 2014, we heard nothing about the game. It had huge amounts of info in Famitsu, Dengeki, and other gaming news sites in Japan and just disappeared after its delay from July 11th, 2013 until TGS 2014.
There are theories that Index Corporation (the former parent company of ATLUS) had something to do with the delay, but we'll never know for certain. And yes, the game is now out in Japan, as it's January 29th, 2015 over there.
I think that if you are going to tease something a year from now, every 3-4 months there needs to be significant content revealed. and then cut it down to every 1-2 month up until the month of release.
For example, reveal something this E3 2015 for Holiday 2016:
June '15: Announcement Revealing game.
September '15: More info (cutscene, gameplay, trailer)
December '15/January '16: Some glimps of gameplay, maybe an extended trailer
April '16: Reveal some of the plot, boss fight or something hype-worthy for E3
E3 '16: Mass media dump, playable demos, extended trailer, some sort of surprise, Finalize release date/window
August '16: interviews about ideas, creative process, more gameplay.
September '16: Start hyping release date, more gameplay vids
October '16: Marketing, send review copies
Nov/December '16 release the game.
For example, reveal something this E3 2015 for Holiday 2016:
June '15: Announcement Revealing game.
September '15: More info (cutscene, gameplay, trailer)
December '15/January '16: Some glimps of gameplay, maybe an extended trailer
April '16: Reveal some of the plot, boss fight or something hype-worthy for E3
E3 '16: Mass media dump, playable demos, extended trailer, some sort of surprise, Finalize release date/window
August '16: interviews about ideas, creative process, more gameplay.
September '16: Start hyping release date, more gameplay vids
October '16: Marketing, send review copies
Nov/December '16 release the game.
The Silver
Member
SMT x Fire Emblem
Where is it godammnit
Where is it godammnit
midasmulligan
Member
Spot on...
VorTeX Raptor
Banned
In my humble opinion, not beeing a DEV, I believe the right time to reveal a game must be when you have at least 50% of the game done. I know its not how things work and many times DEVs announce games that are in the early state and sudden cancel it.
"50%" You have a solid content and the game probably wont be delayed or even canceled. But hey, bad things happen
"50%" You have a solid content and the game probably wont be delayed or even canceled. But hey, bad things happen
i like uc cycle is fine except the first spot. reveal small tease. 6 months later big reveal. 6 months later demo . 6 months later demo again 6 months later release. Although that may work for some new ip i think uc is a known commodity and they should have just lead with the e3 trailer.
Dragonborn
Member
Also, if all you can show is a CGI trailer and nothing else (like the MS CGI trio last year), I'd say that's too soon
I would say Project Treasure being featured as something that "exists" in something as substantial as a Nintendo Direct is a good example of "too early". All we know about it is that it's F2P on the Wii U and you play as these sets of lips:
Why bother?
They must have been really excited about getting a third party game. On that note I feel that the SMTxFE announcement was even worse. It was just using old artwork and a simple looking logo. That was over 2 years ago and still not another word about it.
Prey 2 wasn't a prototype. It was where any game around alpha would be. In fact, the Bowery presentation was months old by the time Human Head showed it to the press.
http://www.pcgamesn.com/prey-2-was-lot-more-demo-claims-ex-human-head-employee
ShinMaruku
Member
Yeah, pretty much. I remember being on edge for Animal Crossing New Leaf whenever Nintendo had an event, it took them a few years to show any info after the initial release. That was pretty annoying.
I think there's a decent counter to that however. For Nintendo, the Project Treasure thing is a good release for a GAF type of base. Shows them that they're working on third party, and that title has some promise.
Final Verdict
Member
Ha ha, nice one.
I think about a year and a half before release is a good time to reveal a game.
CastorTroy
Member
Project Treasure/SMTXFE are the prime examples.
Woodchipper
Member
Ideal in my book would be if games were done before announcing them, and released 3-6 months later. No?
As a racing game fan I can't remember how many times I've wanted to travel to Tokyo, find Kazunori Yamauchi, push him against a wall and ask him what the f*ck he's thinking. Especially after the GT5 disaster.
As a racing game fan I can't remember how many times I've wanted to travel to Tokyo, find Kazunori Yamauchi, push him against a wall and ask him what the f*ck he's thinking. Especially after the GT5 disaster.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
Over 2 years is too long to reveal the game
zenosparadox
Member
As others have said, anything over a year feels like it is too soon. Maybe you're announcing the game early so that people will not forget about you. Seems desperate to me. Or maybe the game enters development hell. Who knows?
