Another Developer Going down the pan.

smogsy

smogsy

smogsy

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reviewers get their copy one day before Release

https://bethesda.net/en/article/42QH1pTNpKSYIcgKK2C4wW/bethesda-and-game-reviews


Bethesda & Game Reviews
At Bethesda, we value media reviews.

We read them. We watch them. We try to learn from them when they offer critique. And we understand their value to our players.

Earlier this year we released DOOM. We sent review copies to arrive the day before launch, which led to speculation about the quality of the game. Since then DOOM has emerged as a critical and commercial hit, and is now one of the highest-rated shooters of the past few years.

With the upcoming launches of Skyrim Special Edition and Dishonored 2, we will continue our policy of sending media review copies one day before release. While we will continue to work with media, streamers, and YouTubers to support their coverage – both before and after release – we want everyone, including those in the media, to experience our games at the same time.

We also understand that some of you want to read reviews before you make your decision, and if that’s the case we encourage you to wait for your favorite reviewers to share their thoughts.

Skyrim Special Edition releases globally on October 28 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Dishonored 2 releases globally on November 11 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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Pretty old news fella and the solution is simple, don't pre-order and don't buy on release day.
Bethesda are doing this because they can, it won't hurt sales because the punter continues to do the above for fun.
 
Doom was praised quite well and is a great game. This shows that their policy of sending review copies the day before launch isn't to obfuscate a game that they have no confidence in.

That doesn't necessarily mean that they shouldn't be criticised for it, but it's not an indication that they're somehow going down the pan. Also, aren't Bethesda the publisher rather than developer?

The way to deal with it is that don't pre-orders games if you're not happy with it. Unfortunately, I do pre-order some games but they're games that I'm going to buy regardless of reviews and there's some sort of collector's edition.

I pre-ordered Dishonoured 2 and Fallout 4 to get the collector bundles that they were making. It's either pre-order or go without in that context.
 
I'm ok with reviews coming out on or after release. I don't need to have a game on the first day. Most of the time I have a small backlog of games to finish anyway. I don't mind pre-order incentives either, as long as they're not game-changing items. At least it's not the 90s where you had to buy a magazine to read a review.
 
mark43 said:
Its up to them, but I won't be pre-ordering any of their games, I risked it with Dishonored 2 and regretted it.
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This, even the next TES game, as a huge fan of the series, I don't like the way they are headed so I'll be approaching any new games they make with caution, Dishonored 2 still sits in my library, not played past the first mission. Real shame.
 
I don't really buy AAA games often, and certainly never anywhere near release.

I still don't think it's a good thing that they don't sent out review copies in time for reviews to hit pre-launch. Who benefits from that? it's certainly not game buyers.

Columbo said:
bum fight
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Bumfight!
olEkHbF.jpg
 
I suspect it's a case of send reviewers early unfinished copies, launch for everyone at the same time, or delay launch until it's all polished for the reviews.

Publishers will set deadlines, developers will use all available time given to them. In the digital age of day one patches, the old going gold isn't quite what it used to be and development doesn't just suddenly stop.

I don't really value reviews. We're spoilt for choice and there is a lot of guff out there, but we are the ones who decide if we the hours vs cost is worth the entertainment we get from a game. A review, especially of huge open world and open conversation games where the playtime can exceed months, can be highly subjective.

I'd sooner devs kept schtum until they know they can deliver what they planned to and only release the final product to anyone.

Reviews of 3/4 of a finished game aren't going to represent the final product. Publishers are going to want the game on the shelves ASAP regardless, so i respect they want to wait to give everyone the same experience than risk the damning of their hard work which will may be already outdated by the final release.

R* have kept things to themselves until as late as possible about new titles since day one and continue to be a huge success.

If you aren't sure, don't pre-order. I don't understand that culture and why it's such a big deal. We all have a choice to purchase or not. This anxiety about having it on day one because the rest of the internet has it perplexes me. I've felt it myself but then realise it's just a game, i have many I already enjoy and I'm happy to wait to see I'm not misplacing my time and money.
 
agnes said:
This, even the next TES game, as a huge fan of the series, I don't like the way they are headed so I'll be approaching any new games they make with caution, Dishonored 2 still sits in my library, not played past the first mission. Real shame.
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That is a real shame as it's a great game.
 
Prefer it to be honest. Review copies being out further ahead in advance just increases the likelihood of spoilers finding their way on the internet.
 
VincentHanna said:
That is a real shame as it's a great game.
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It's the engine, it's a right mess and they never fixed the underlining issues! I go back to it from time to time, but it's never been what it should be in terms of graphical performance. When I get a 1080ti I'll give it another shot, but as it stands, a 980ti @ 1440p just isn't enough for ultra, high, even medium!
 
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