Monday, 08 September 2014 15:57

Destiny says no to early review copies

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It would seem that the new Bungie game, Destiny, is one of the most highly anticipated game that has come along in some time. Already it is being hailed as the most pre-ordered new game in the history of video games. This is quite an accomplishment, but when you consider the build-up as well as the end user interaction that Bungie has taken the time to build we are honestly not surprised at all. We have already seen public “beta” releases for both the PS4 and Xbox One which generated a ton of in-game footage as well as more hype than any PR company could ever hope to achieve.

It has built up the expectation on the game as those releases seemed more ready than many final products in the past couple of months. Bungie has also done something else that is breaking the mold. They made the decision not to seed the usual gaming magazines and publications with advanced copies for review. You might wonder how this is helping their case as most games have already been talked about ad nausea by the time they hit the shelves. In the simplest terms, most gamers are starting to realize that the metrics used by game review groups are not really capable of truly covering everything you can do in a game. Bungie agrees with this and has made a very specific comment about this:

“We don’t believe Destiny is a typical shooter. You could experience the storyline, jump into a few rounds of competitive multiplayer, and form a Fireteam of friends and take on all the Strikes and you would just be getting started. Those activities are critical components of Destiny, but they are also a foundation for so much more,”

They plan to wait and force the review sites to get the final product with everyone else. You are sure to see coverage of the Beta testing that has been done, but much like that coverage you are going to see it combined with real-world players in a live setting. This is sure to put the game in a much different light than running it in a limited or canned fashion.

We can certainly support Bungie on this move and hope that it signifies a change in the way that we think about the games we play and perhaps will motivate developers and publishing companies to move to this style of review. After all, as more games become co-op and multi-player this will be must to truly get the feel of a game and to present the game in its proper light.

As for the review sites, well we imagine that some will rush to get out a day on review just to be the first guys to have it. You will have to be the judge if this is the right move or if they need to take more time to give the game (or any game) the attention it deserves.

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Read 3723 times Last modified on Monday, 08 September 2014 16:36

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