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[Eotheod]

Really, the general public don't care as much about the scrutiny we in a gaming enthusiast forum hold developers/publishers to. Quite literally the general public is happy to consume yearly CoD's, FIFA's, Fortnite and whatever else is mainstream without blinking an eye at further depth to what they just played. The standard should be higher for title releases, I agree there wholeheartedly, but the general public don't care enough to make it a priority for developers.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the cynically shaped viewsets this and other forums share, but don't kid yourself on knowing how a company will react. We are so small in comparison to the bigger fish, hency why when Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo do something that causes a vitriolic thread to rise up, they give no shits.

 

[DaleinCalgary]

How do you know what condition it is. Now if you want to say it would be par for the course to be a buggy mess always thats fair. But we dont know.

 

[mykedo0909]

Next year it must compete w gta6, so no

 

[Kilau]

Yes!

Starfield should get an annual delay every summer forever. The fun and threads will never end.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

And the reliable rumors are that it needs another year.

It’s either good or it’s not. Eventually ya just gotta put it out . Skyrim launched janky AF and no one cares it’s sold tens of millions

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Hypothetically if the game is still in a bad state a year later after the delay from Nov, it's doubtful another delay would improve issues.

Yep. This. A year delay won’t change the nature of the game. You can polish a turd, but it’ll always be a turd.

Hopefully it’s not!

 

[Daneel Elijah]

Yes!

Starfield should get an annual delay every summer forever. The fun and threads will never end.

We already have Star Citizen for this. We need a good space sim. Bethesda can do it. They just need to take their time and give us a good game. I don't care about bugs. Just no microtransactions, no game ending bugs and not too much bullshit from Todd.

 

[Shut0wen]

While I have no love lost for Microsoft and Xbox, I do love Bethesda, and every single game they have put out has been my favorite for that year going all the way back to Daggerfall (yes norms, I've been on board the BGS train since before you fuckers knew they existed)

I am obviously really very excited for Starfield, but I am also not wondering if it might not be smart to delay it out of this year into the next:

They need to hit a higher level of polish than they usually do

Bethesda games usually launch with a lot of jank and lack of polish, and they always got a free pass for this. This made sense back in the day; back in the day, open world games were pretty rare to begin with, and Bethesda's games had unmatched scope, interactivity, and design that the jank felt like a fair trade-off for. However, in the last decade, open world games have not only become dime a dozen (literally every game now seems to be open world), but the scope and polish of open worlds has evolved massively too. When you are releasing games like Elden Ring, Ghost of Tsushima, and especially Tears of the Kingdom, with massive open worlds and almost no jank (in the latter's case in spite of an insane amount of interactivity) . At this point we have seen a lot of great open worlds of all types (story focus? RDR2 and TW3. Combat focus? Elden Ring. Adventure and exploration focus? BOTW and TOTK. Ubisoft style template done with extremely high levels of polish and quality? Horizon and Ghost of Tsushima). Bethesda jank is harder to ignore now.

This is an important game

Starfield is Bethesda's first new IP launch in decades. It is their first single player game in eight years. It is their first game since Fallout 76 and Fallout 4, which have been considered disappointments to different events (unfairly for Fallout 4, but I get it). This game is important for Bethesda to show they still have the "it" factor they used to back in the day.

This is, of course, also an important game for Xbox. Starfield will be their first shot at a Zelda/God of War style killer app. And sure, it would suck for Xbox's 2023 if the game got delayed out of this year, but it will suck even worse for Xbox if it launches broken, incomplete, or buggy (look at Redfall or Halo Infinite). They won't get many more second chances. Take the time to do it right.

The elephant in the room sucking up all the oxygen

Let's be honest, a BGS game release should be an event, but there is an 800 pound gorilla in the room sucking up all the oxygen, and that's TOTK. Everything this year will be compared to TOTK. Critics and media will get into contests to see who can get most hyperbolic and contrived with their praise for it and comparisons with it. This happens every year - in 2022 it was Elden Ring. In 2017 it was BOTW. In 2015 it was Witcher 3. In 2013 it was TLOU.

Starfield should command everyone's attention when it comes out. It should be an event launch that is celebrated on its own merits, rather than constantly being compared to TOTK. Get some distance from the TOTK release, and launch in 2024, when it can get the benefit of polish and also be appreciated for being great on its own terms, rather than constantly being compared to Zelda.

So all of this is to say, I think they should delay it out of this year. It will suck in the short term, but I think this is what is best for the game's long term prospects, and for BGS, and even Xbox.

Good read, honestly fo4 imo was there most polished on release, plus skyrim took me a good 30 hours to see a bug, for the amount of time starfield is been in development for id expect it to be the same quality fo4

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

I don't understand the point of this post OP... This post only makes sense if we know for a fact that Starfield is or will be in an incomplete or buggy state upon release. And you (or we) don't know that, do you/we?

So you want us to answer a question definitively, based on a hypothetical situation that may not even exist? Okay...

 

[Astray]

I wrote this about the idea of Redfall being delayed (I was against it), and I still stand by the same for Starfield:

Release date was announced less than 3 months ago.

I don't think this game will be delayed, furthermore, I think that it shouldn't be delayed, a delay doesn't guarantee that the game will perform better (both technically and financially), and would only add dev costs. It's a bad situation but that's probably the best option. Hollowing out the 1P AAA releases in the lead-up to Starfield is not a great look and they need 1P things to stay in the console sales game.

I'm actually not a fan of the "keep delaying" idea. At some point this game has to come out of their pipeline to get its spot in marketing.

The longer this game gets delayed, the more it will lose whatever marketing sheen it had and its mass appeal goes away.

What's the point of releasing 60fps on launch, incurring additional costs etc, only to find that the gaming scene has moved on?

Yeah I don't think this will happen.

At some point the game has to be out otherwise it will be fucking up the launch windows of other big games in their 2024 pipeline*.

* I am being charitable in assuming they have some, but who the fuck truly knows when it comes to Xbox? That management has turned disappointment and mass fan anger into an art form by this point.

If you don't know that you can launch something in a stable and optimized state by the release date then don't announce said release date. I know this is easier said than done, but 1P just carries far more expectations (and has greater ramifications) than 3P games that just come and go.

 

[Abriael_GN]

What a silly premise.

They should not delay it if it's ready and they should if it isn't. The sole idea that they should delay the game due to abstract factors is completely ridiculous.

Also, what the heck does TOTK have to do with it? The conversation about TOTK is downright irrational nowadays. Did it never occur to you that Starfield could be better than TOTK? Because it can. Plenty of games coming out this year can.

The fact that they have an entire showcase focusing on Starfield in a month should tell you they're fairly confident about it.

 

[nightmare-slain]

I don't know but going with no.

If it's ready then release it and if it's not then don't release it.

The way I see it is that it's Bethesda so I'm expecting it to be a bug riddled mess with shitty performance issues. Usually Bethesda get a free pass but now they are own by Microsoft people will be more willing to give them some shit. Hopefully Microsoft is making Bethesda work hard to make sure it's not as bad as Fallout 4/76, or Skyrim.

 

[nemiroff]

Question:
"Should Starfield be delayed?"


Answer:
If it's FINISHED: NO
If it's NOT FINISHED : YES


Any other stupid questions?

 

[NahaNago]

If it needs to be delayed for polish/bug squashing, then delay it. They've gone all this time without AAA exclusive heavy hitters a couple more months won't hurt them.

 

[Bernardougf]

They should if it means the game will be launched in a sorrow state ... the game is first party and therefore has the obligation to come out as close as a finished product as possible as they are developing the game with their own systems in mind and focus.

NO EXCUSES!

 

[Umbasaborne]

It would be a very in character move of Microsoft to delay it by another year (it will still release unfinished anyway)

 

[SHA]

Should 2024 become the new 2023? That's not a good sign for the industry, it just keeps degrading itself and reviews keeps getting more subjective and less professional.

 

[mdkirby]

Pretty much and he doesn't engage in dumb fanboy stuff that some insiders do. It makes it easier to trust what he gives us.

But as I said earlier always with a grain of salt.

Yeah, and a grain of salt always stands even if something someone says they 100% believe themselves.

Timelines change, plans change, people can and do also put out intentional disinformation, and people are sometimes lied to, or something can be misinterpreted down a chain of Chinese whispers.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

He's vetted and he does have connections. With that said he isn't a crazy fanboy either.

I usually trust him and I don't believe he would ever make things up. With that said I always take rumors with a grain of salt as things can change really quickly.

HeisenbergFX4 gets a thumbs up from me.

I never actually finished the vetting process but shared a lot of sensitive info to Mod of War to prove some of who I am actual friends with and game with and I appreciate the kind words

Its funny how things actually do change because was told things years ago from the highest ranking Xbox guys that never happened, at least not yet

 

[adamsapple]

Why. What Bethesda RPG has launched in a flaw-less state day 1. The game needs to come out.

 

[Doctor Hades]

I think I need to see how the game looks in the next showcase before I can comment on whether it needs to be delayed or not. I am sure that the post-show reaction to the gameplay will ultimately determine whether Microsoft will delay or not, just as the negative reaction to the Halo Infinite gameplay led to the game being delayed a year (when it still launched in an unpolished and unfinished state!).

Bethesda games have never been polished and they frequently ignore major bugs and glitches. Look at Skyrim and how many releases it has had yet on PC it still has tons of bugs and glitches that at least can be addressed with unofficial patches. That isn't a luxury for Xbox owners though for Starfield so I can only hope that Microsoft will ensure the game will release in a better state than it would normally have done. Microsoft absolutely will not want a repeat of the Redfall launch.

 

[Jigsaah]

I would be completely ok with a delay to November. Just to make sure.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

No, they've run out of time. It's already been delayed once, another delay would cause the mother of all backlashes and really hurt the Xbox brand.


They only have 3 AAA releases slated for this year with Starfield being the only stand out game. Forza is Forza, good but won't move any needles and Refall is a total flop and disaster. All hopes are riding on Starfield and for it to get delayed in the same year that Nintendo launches Zelda and Sony is launching Spiderman 2 and FF16 would be incredibly bad for the Xbox brand and image.

 

[Portugeezer]

Maybe it's already on track to be well polished. Who knows.

We'll see next month.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

If it isn't 60fps like the rumors say... it might be delayed.

 

[BlackTron]

Sure Nintendo delayed TOTK, but they had other games to sell. Xbox needs the game asap, but put themselves in this downward spiral where they need to put all this undue pressure on one game.

 

[damidu]

more they delay it, more unrealistic expectations will be placed on the game by "fans"
get it out and face the music

 

[Deerock71]

They probably should, but they won't.

 

[diffusionx]

How the heck could any of us answer this question, we have absolutely no clue what state it is in right now. At some point the game has to come out, it's been in development 8 years and if it is still a mess, we are looking at a bad situation.

 

[Chiggs]

 

[emivita]

Let's be real on this. They cannot delay it again to 2024, even for legit reasons, the shitstorm would be of disastrous proportions.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

I really dont see how TOTK in any shape or form can harm or take away sales from starfield if its released this year. The only thing they share in common is "rpg" in their description. One is fantasy cutesy world with rehashed stuff from a 5 year old game and the other is a next gen, sci-fi space sim.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Even if they will, knowing BGS track record they will break even more stuff during this additional year and the release will be another junkfest, probably even buggier than usual bethesda. With their outdated engine I’d say time will change nothing, it is better to release the thing already and start patching it up based on a live feedback.

 

[thief183]

I don't care for the obvious bugs, it is a new Bethesda game, I'll find a way to overcome them. I just want to get immersed in a world (universe) like only Bethesda managed to do.

 

[Elder Legend]

Dumb take.. it sold 10 million copies already on the highest selling console of all time.


As for starfield. No .. the games going to be buggy but it’s going to sale. There is a huge fan base there for fallout and ES that will gobble it up.

It's a dumb take that GTA 6 is far larger brand name in the gaming community and that TOTK is only available on Nintendo system meanwhile GTA6 is not? Right. It's called facts.

Starfield is also very big, it's made by developers who released like 5 to 6 different editions of Skyrim. One of the most influential RPG games ever made. Starfield will be MASSIVE, buggy or not. Skyrim was buggy too lol, so that's irrelevant.

 

[saintjules]

On what basis can we tell right now that they should delay it ?

Yeah I'm wondering about that too.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

We don't know even know if it really needs another delay yet. If it looks like ass next week... sure. Delay it.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

One more survey thread, one more ignore thread.

 

[MasterCornholio]

I never actually finished the vetting process but shared a lot of sensitive info to Mod of War to prove some of who I am actual friends with and game with and I appreciate the kind words

Its funny how things actually do change because was told things years ago from the highest ranking Xbox guys that never happened, at least not yet

My mistake then. I still trust you though as your pretty sensible compared to other people.

 

[Roberts]

It all really depends on if you can build a penis shaped spaceship on the day of the launch or have to wait for an update.

 

[Team Andromeda]

Should lakeof9 wait until they played the game? or are they the usal Xbox troll. Great Moderantion btw team
...

While I have no love lost for Microsoft and Xbox, I do love Bethesda, and every single game they have put out has been my favorite for that year going all the way back to Daggerfall (yes norms, I've been on board the BGS train since before you fuckers knew they existed)

I am obviously really very excited for Starfield, but I am also not wondering if it might not be smart to delay it out of this year into the next:

They need to hit a higher level of polish than they usually do

Bethesda games usually launch with a lot of jank and lack of polish, and they always got a free pass for this. This made sense back in the day; back in the day, open world games were pretty rare to begin with, and Bethesda's games had unmatched scope, interactivity, and design that the jank felt like a fair trade-off for. However, in the last decade, open world games have not only become dime a dozen (literally every game now seems to be open world), but the scope and polish of open worlds has evolved massively too. When you are releasing games like Elden Ring, Ghost of Tsushima, and especially Tears of the Kingdom, with massive open worlds and almost no jank (in the latter's case in spite of an insane amount of interactivity) . At this point we have seen a lot of great open worlds of all types (story focus? RDR2 and TW3. Combat focus? Elden Ring. Adventure and exploration focus? BOTW and TOTK. Ubisoft style template done with extremely high levels of polish and quality? Horizon and Ghost of Tsushima). Bethesda jank is harder to ignore now.

This is an important game

Starfield is Bethesda's first new IP launch in decades. It is their first single player game in eight years. It is their first game since Fallout 76 and Fallout 4, which have been considered disappointments to different events (unfairly for Fallout 4, but I get it). This game is important for Bethesda to show they still have the "it" factor they used to back in the day.

This is, of course, also an important game for Xbox. Starfield will be their first shot at a Zelda/God of War style killer app. And sure, it would suck for Xbox's 2023 if the game got delayed out of this year, but it will suck even worse for Xbox if it launches broken, incomplete, or buggy (look at Redfall or Halo Infinite). They won't get many more second chances. Take the time to do it right.

The elephant in the room sucking up all the oxygen

Let's be honest, a BGS game release should be an event, but there is an 800 pound gorilla in the room sucking up all the oxygen, and that's TOTK. Everything this year will be compared to TOTK. Critics and media will get into contests to see who can get most hyperbolic and contrived with their praise for it and comparisons with it. This happens every year - in 2022 it was Elden Ring. In 2017 it was BOTW. In 2015 it was Witcher 3. In 2013 it was TLOU.

Starfield should command everyone's attention when it comes out. It should be an event launch that is celebrated on its own merits, rather than constantly being compared to TOTK. Get some distance from the TOTK release, and launch in 2024, when it can get the benefit of polish and also be appreciated for being great on its own terms, rather than constantly being compared to Zelda.

So all of this is to say, I think they should delay it out of this year. It will suck in the short term, but I think this is what is best for the game's long term prospects, and for BGS, and even Xbox.

Should lakeof9 wait until they played the game? or is it the case of the usual Xbox troll? Great Moderation btw team #Playstation
...

 

[Captain Toad]

This is a dumb poll. How could we know without playing the game if it is need of a delay or not? It's already had a full year delay.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

Man, FUD really is running rampant. Starfield doesn’t exactly appeal to me, but is there even anything to suggest that it’s actually not great at what it does?

 

[Nocturno999]

Such a useless thread. We haven't seen anything at all.

 

[akaFullmetal]

If the quality control ends up like red fall then delay.

 

[VolticArchangel]

There are a few things about Bethesda SP RPG's that are almost a given:

1. They will be universally acclaimed at launch, think 90+ Meta on average.Bethesda are an incredible team FPS RPG creators.
2. They will undoubtedly be broken tier garbage at launch, which the community will fix on PC a few years down the line and the dev team will for console in the same timeframe.
3. They will sell as much as the flagship Nintendo IP, and keep selling for more than a decade, with it's various iterations/ports (by ports, in this case a console exclusive, I mean the Series consoles and next gen Xboxes).

Now, coming to #2, Microsoft has a habit of screaming from the rooftops via PR about games they have ready for launch with great QA. Think Gears, think Halo (that wasn't Infinite), think Forza (Motorsport and Horizon), at trade shows and gaming conventions. They have been oddly silent about Starfield, which is a red flag. Starfield being a Bethesda game is an even bigger red flag. Reputed insiders with a long standing track record, corroborating on these rumours of it being a bugfest broken hot shit, is the biggest of red flags.

Going by all these preconceived notions/educated guesses, based on publisher PR patterns of their own past, I would like to see it delayed to next year, both for Microsoft's and Bethesda's well being/mental health and avoid crunching near launch.

That said, they have a dedicated Starfield show post their E3 showcase this year, so maybe magic happens for the first time in Bethesda's history of launching SP RPG's, this one happens to be in a playable state? Time will tell, but we'll get an idea at least post that June 11 showing.

 

[JackMcGunns]

Without seeing anything? You don't just delay something for no good reason.

 

[93xfan]

This thread needs a delay, unless a lot of us hear can see the future

 

[diffusionx]

Man, FUD really is running rampant. Starfield doesn’t exactly appeal to me, but is there even anything to suggest that it’s actually not great at what it does?

the only thing we really have is the initial gameplay reveal which was pretty rough. But that was like a year ago at this point. I think people are projecting Redfall's failure onto Starfield and I do not know why.

Starfield has gotten a year's delay. If it needs more delays it's probably completely fucked, like Suicide Squad-tier. We really should wait and see what they have in June before we start talking about this, but I'm not the forum cop.

 

[LakeOf9]

So I am a really stupid person