PC Gamer UK: No (UK) release this year

[Grumbold]

The August issue announces that Civ III will meet not its November release date (page 22). They say that March 2002 is looking more likely. They do not state whether this is due to localisation issues or Firaxis choosing to spend some more time developing the game.

[MarkG]

it's obvious that a 6-month delay would never be due to localization problems...

[Provost Harrison]

So we'll be twiddling our thumbs and speculating for longer still then

[Juggernaut]

Is there any internet page for that announcement?

[Grumbold]

A four month delay in getting to the UK market is not unheard of, but I agree it is unlikely. The recent FGN Jeff Briggs interview implies that the game is/was on track for a Fall release so it depends which source you consider more up to date or reliable. I would like to think that the desultory E3 showing has persuaded them to take more time and get it perfect rather than wrap it up fast and ship it.

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by Grumbold
I would like to think that the desultory E3 showing has persuaded them to take more time and get it perfect rather than wrap it up fast and ship it.

I pray for this. I'll become more religious, if not a fanatic fundamentalist, in change of a better enhanced and refined Civ III

[KrazyHorse]

I don't know if I can take this for another nine months...

[SerapisIV]

How many people here are actually surprised by the probable 2002 release? Did anyone actually think it would be released by holidays 2001? I was hoping for it, but I didn't give it a chance to actually occur.

[Juggernaut]

i was surprised. since the game has been reported as 80% finished, the delay is really weird.

[Swissy]

Originally posted by uncle_funk
i was surprised. since the game has been reported as 80% finished, the delay is really weird.

Actually the delay would be understandable. The last interview hinted that they were down to the play balance stage. That is basically gamespeak for testing the AI. We have only shadowy references to how the AI will be. So my guess is the AI does not function as well as they would like in the whole game system. It would only take them a week to find that out, it's been about that much time since the last word from Firaxis. Thus we have major AI play balance problem which would entail major reworking.

With every pronouncement on each game sub-system Firaxis has made, there has been a great clamour by the civ3 community. And also a few nay-sayers, Yin26 has been the most vocal, questioning how the AI will respond to all these new game sub-systems. With this rumoured delay we have our answer, they don't. At least not to the level Firaxis feels we, the civ3 community, would accept.

[red_jon]

Well, I think the CTP games show what happens when a game is rushed. We want Civ3, not Call To Power 3.

[yin26]

If true, this is GREAT news! Civ 3 might well be the last of this series, and it would be truly tragic to see it rushed out the door for Christmas. I've long advocated Firaxis taking time to test the heck out of this baby, pour blood sweat and tears into the AI, and make a game that is better than Civ 1 and 2 combined.

[Alexander's Horse]

Civ 2 Rules

I also would much prefer they took the time to get it right and avoid the CTP II Christmas release distaster.

I think at Firaxis the developers probably have the upper hand over the accountants, which is the way it should be.

[tniem]

What I don't quite understand is the whole the Christmas push for games.

O.K. before you lamblast me, I know Christmas is a huge shopping time in the US and people buy tons of gifts that they ordinarily would not buy. And so it would seem to make sense that you would want your game released in time for a Christmas rush.

Except, for the fact that some of the greatest games of all time including titles sold sold did not come out around Christmas time. I checked some dates and found that The Sims missed its Christmas release, it went gold Jan 17, 2000. Black & White was released this spring. As I recall SMAC came out in the spring. And if anyone is a fan of Blizzard games, you know they never come out at Christmas time no matter when they were originally slated to be released. Their games are always delayed until they are right - Diablo II came out in the middle of June.

I think one reason for this is that with everyone pushing for a Christmas release there is a flooded gaming market that makes it hard to sell a lot of copies of your game. Plus because people rushed their releases, the games are not that good and do not sell well.

Instead releasing in the spring or summer, you will have a more open market to show off your game. And no matter what if the game is good, it will sell well. As past classics have proved releasing the game during the Spring combined with good reviews will lead to the game sitting atop the bestselling lists for weeks. This causes more buzz and leads to selling a lot of copies at Christmas to those fans that had not got the game yet.

So, the only thing I can't understand I guess is why Firaxis wants a Christmas release so badly. Instead they should make a classic and the sales will follow.

[Grumbold]

Originally posted by tniem
So, the only thing I can't understand I guess is why Firaxis wants a Christmas release so badly. Instead they should make a classic and the sales will follow.

A true classic will sell and sell no matter what time of year it originally ships. There is no doubt however that a less stellar game is more likely to sell well if released in early december. The developers no doubt want to produce a classic but the accountants and pragmatists have to plan for the average and worst as well as the best scenarios.