Planetside Next release date -Not this march? not Q2? not this year?

morf · 2011-02-02, 12:27 PM

As much as I would like to see PS:N next month, I don't see it happening. I think that a lot of sites have really jumped the gun on this and I'm nearly certain that what was promised was an announcement in Q1/Q2 of this year. Can blame shoddy reporting and bandwagoning for publicity for this. All we have is 2 screenshots. Not even a trailer. Hardly a word about Beta. I don't see this all suddenly materializing into a game in the next 3-5 months and I'm hesitant to start hyping it to my friends who didn't play PS the first time around until I have more info.

In my experience it's normally minimum 1 year from the first trailer to launch, more if they take time to do it right. Therefore my prediction is we'll get a trailer and a first look at the game in may at E3. This would be Q2 as promised. Then they will either push to get it released in may next year in time for the 9th anniversary, or they will take their time to get everything right and have it out christmas 2012. Knowing SOE my money is on them pushing rather than taking their time to get everything right.

What are your thoughts?

Bloodly · 2011-02-02, 12:37 PM

Shh, we don't want to think about that.

Firefly · 2011-02-02, 12:41 PM

My opinion is that they'll mimic PS's beta and release schedule from 2003. So, perhaps we'll see beta in March-ish, and then release at the end of May or beginning of June.

morf · 2011-02-02, 01:00 PM

Look I hope I'm wrong really, but the chances of that are low

But in all seriousness, like I said, I want to hype this to my crew of friends who are planetside virgins but if they start reading about march release then 6-8 months from now they're gonna be like "WTF vaporware". I think it'a irresponsible for a lot of sites to jump the gun on this and when it doesn't materialize, people will think bad on PS:N for it. I'm glad to see they are clarifying it in the FAQ here at PSU.

Raymac · 2011-02-02, 12:55 PM

It's hard to blame the media for this one because everything we know about PSN at this point has come from Smedley himself. I'm rather skeptical of a Q2 release as well, but I can definitely see it happening this year.

For example, look at another recent SOE game, DC Universe. The teaser for that was just released at Comic-Con in July and the game is out now. I'd be surprised if SOE doesn't take advantage of the exposure from an event like E3 or SOE Fan Faire to get the word out, but we probably won't see a big media blitz like we would want.

You have to keep in mind, they didn't just start working on PSN. It appears they've been working on this for awhile, so we are likely alot closer to the finish line than we had thought. Perhaps Q2 will give us the closed beta.

Raymac · 2011-02-02, 01:16 PM

Considering we are in February now, a March release seems extremely doubtful. However, using DCUO as a solid reference (SOE, mmo, current), the teaser is released in July 2010, the release date is set for November 2010. In October, they announce release date is pushed back to January 2011. The game gets released then. Big success.

So, with that in mind, I fully expect a summer release with a worst case scenario of November 2011. Then in the back of my mind, I try to ignore how long Duke Nukem was in development hell.

Hamma · 2011-02-02, 01:28 PM

It's really all speculation at this point but one thing is clear.. the entire thing is a bit strange. I've never seen a video game release lead-up like this before.

Even what John himself has said is a bit cryptic. Personally it sounds to me like a release date will become available closer to the end of Q1 rather than actual release. Especially considering all screenshots are in a model viewer and not in game yet.

Heck remember these or these?

The game ended up looking nothing like that - we got those WAY early on.

morf · 2011-02-02, 01:29 PM

I keep thinking about what Smed actually said:

" we haven't announced a release date for it but you can expect it... We're looking at late first-quarter, early second-quarter [2011]."

Expect what? A release, or a release date announcement?

Firefly · 2011-02-02, 01:54 PM

Nobody expects this game to release in March - if you do, you need to pull your head out of the ground and get with the program. We haven't seen closed beta or open beta. If they plan to release (and not announce a release) according to schedule, my guesstimation is that you've got at least a month before they even get around to talking about beta invites.

Peacemaker · 2011-02-03, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by morf

I keep thinking about what Smed actually said:

" we haven't announced a release date for it but you can expect it... We're looking at late first-quarter, early second-quarter [2011]."

Expect what? A release, or a release date announcement?

This is quite possibly right. The date they release the Release Date might be in the coming months. Personally, I hope they don't. Beta would b too short, not enough community looking at the game and what they have changed.

Hamma · 2011-02-03, 07:01 AM

I don't think the major news outlets are being irresponsible I just think Smed has been a bit to cryptic. I can understand why he is doing that but he may set expectations that will serve to make the community a bit angry.

Grimster · 2011-02-03, 07:12 AM

I hope they announce it soon. I want a trailer to drool over. Hell it doesn't even have to be ingame I just want to be feed with something.

A new site for the new Planetside game would also be nice.

morf · 2011-02-02, 02:09 PM

Hey I don't have any delusions about it coming next month, but with 75% of these "Gaming news" sites with headlines such as "Planetside next planned for release early this year" - (from PCGamer) - I can see how some people might actually believe they'll be playing next month. And PCGamer is hardly a fringe, borderline-unknown outfit. I guess what I'm saying is, I would like to see more responsible reporting, otherwise the game might get an unfair shake for not meeting these release expectations. Bottom line is if the playerbase is diminished, we all lose out.

Traak · 2011-02-02, 02:23 PM

Wow. Those screenies are so cool. Too bad the game looked nothing like them. Well, the soldiers were humanoid... I guess it looked somewhat like it.

What I loved about Unreal is that it transported you into a completely different, darker universe. I used to play, at work, at night, with all the lights off. Dang, talk about immersion! Woo hoo!

Tikuto · 2011-02-02, 02:33 PM

Sells Only Everquest makes sense now. :P