I really love Bethseda. They announced a release date for Skyrim way back in 2010 at the VGA awards. Very few games of that magnitude do that these days. Look at SWTOR, still no release date, Diablo 3, no release date, GW2, no release date. Do you think Bethseda is just better at forecasting when they believe a game will be ready, or do other game developers lack the balls to just set a release date, and deal with the potential competition of other games being released around the same time?

Eh bethesda has pushed releases back in the past but i think they where good about this release is because of their experience with the current gen of consoles they pretty much knew they could do w/e it was in that time. But yes it was a risky move and i congratulate them

You'll be sure to post up your reaction when they announce the game's delayed right?

Ever the pessimist.

Bethesda is just having an exceptional development cycle with little to no failures. It's a rare occurrence in this industry.

I don't know, don't care. I just wish 11/11/11 would freakin' get here already.

This.

What? You honestly believe that?

What would you do if they announced a delay until early spring of 2012 on 11-10-11?

LOL, there always has to be one

Probably a little of both, though I'd bet on Bethesda simply having a more experienced (read: BETTER) project management team than other development houses.

That being said, just because Beth says it, doesn't mean its going to happen. Oblivion didn't meet its original scheduled go live. Personally, I prefer Bethesda's approach. I'd rather hear a target release date and have the deadline missed, then not hear a release date at all. But then again, I'm not one of those people who has an apoplectic breakdown if the release is moved by a few months.

Pete Hines and the rest of the Bethesda staff have said on multiple occasions the release date of 11/11/11 is very strong. No worries of delays.

..LoL... the topic actually cracked me up , really ! :biggrin:

Go to the gym, come back home, make myself a sandwich, take care of my family, then maybe play a little Minecraft.

Any distress a few month delay causes me is instantly nullified by my knowledge of how awesome my life must be if that even registers on the distress-o-meter.

Yes.

Pete said" zero" chance of a delay a few weeks ago. He also said that 11.11.11 is "Solid as ever. Skyrim is coming 11.11.11. Put in for your vacation days now."

I'm pretty sure if the game was going to be delayed they would of announced it by now, considering it's less than 2 months from hitting store shelves, and even less time till it goes gold.

Balls and then some.

Whats really ballsy it taking away mobility skills, attributes, etc. And rebalancing for a more visceral, realistic feel.

They know what thier doing and that's why they are Boss.

Well, it's safe to be careful. But to be honest I don't really feel there'll be a delay, or even if, one that's too major.

I don't think it's so much balls as it is experience. The more games they release the more accurately they can predict how much time it takes to make one. Of course being able to accurately put out a release date doesn't necessarily make them better than other developers. I can respect a developer just as much when they only announce a release date one or two months in advance. At least they know better than to put out information that will most likely change.

Even with all that said this is probably a unique situation that you won't see very often. New consoles will be coming out over the next two or three years and that's going to probably put them back at square one. 11.11.11 is probably the most accurate release date we'll have for quite some time.

Just 1 1/2 months to go now. We're almost into October and the 11th will be 30 days from launch.

Im pretty sure bethesda shot a far way into what they Knew was the "safe zone" where they would have near zero chance of a delay. Ontop of that, the date is recognized everywhere, eleven eleven eleven. Missing that date would be a massive PR fail.

One thing to note is you mention several on-line oriented games as a comparison, and those particular games need extensive testing and balancing before release.

This ain't my first rodeo. I've heard developers say "zero chance" before. Big pat on the back for the Bethesda boys and girls if they make it. But as I said, even if they don't, I'm not one to have a meltdown over it. I'm happy enough that its coming out at all. To me the release date is not a part of some secret social contract between customer and developer.

Nah that's not pessimistic?

pessimistic would be a Wall Street Crash, followed by a financial meltdown and hyper inflation, followed by Third World War followed by martial law and a mega pandemic of apocolyptic proportions, followed by an announcement of Skyrim delayed indefinitely! Expect further announcement around 2130 :hubbahubba: Now that would be pessimism? :wink_smile:

Fortunately however I'm an optimist! :biggrin:

What? Game launches in 50 days. It'll be the most accurate for quite sometime? Next weekend is October already.