I’m not really sure why ANYONE is surprised with this. When I read that it was being pushed, my first thought was “Well, yeah.” HALO is delayed because everything in the world is being delayed.
It’s easy to be angry at the 343, at Microsoft, at the industry, but it was always going to be the case. The only way that they could have avoided a delay is by not announcing a release date before the game was finished.
Which, really, is probably what they should have done in the first place. Especially in our current COVID-soaked world.
I get that the gaming industry is all about hype these days, all about building up the release, but maybe it’s time to just announce games when they’re done. If a game is done, the company can announce it and then sit on it and slowly release teases and trailers as the release date approaches.
All the while, their completed game is just sitting on a shelf. All done, no need to worry about delays, no need to worry about setbacks.
It would take some adjustment time, but I think that NOW is the perfect time for these companies to build up their libraries and start implementing a plan like this. Your fanboys & girls wouldn’t be pissed off with delays anymore and you can still hype hype HYPE your games for months.
I know. I know that this is not how it works. Nor will it be how it works. But what a world that would be, huh?
Finish HALO, 343 & Microsoft, then announce a release date. Other game companies, learn from these mistakes.
Aaron Nieson 