The Daily Grind: Should companies announce release dates?
This weekend brought us news of a new announced release date for Warrior Epic after having the game go through three iterations of closed beta. We also got news that Champions Online has been pushed back as well. Of course, these two companies are far from the only ones who have wound up pushing release dates back after announcing them. Blizzard has done it several times, Aventurine did it for Darkfall, the list goes on and on and on. While we appreciate it when time is extended to continue polishing the games, we're left to wonder - would it be better just to avoid naming a date at all to anyone outside of your own employees and shareholders?
Do you think it would be better if companies didn't announce release dates, instead just saying "when it's ready"? Or do you prefer some advance notice - even if it keeps getting changed around on you? Does it impact your interest in a game when a release date is pushed back repeatedly?
