Here’s Why Fallout 4 Was Announced So Close to its Release; The World Will Be “Really Huge”

I think the timing is great, this way Bethesda doesn't have to focus on trailers and announcments, and we don't have to wait too long before it comes out.

Sometimes, a company announces a game years before it comes out, and then the fans keep pestering them about new info... Looking at you Square Enix...

 

It definitely works the ways of the devs behind the game! What a great marketing plan, hats off to the workers at Bethesda!

 

To keep it a secret that long, that took some serious trade secret practices.

 

It's an interesting statement, but I'm still going to stay on the fence and wait a while to buy it. I have little doubts about the game being a success, but it's good to practice a little caution.

 

It makes sense on all counts, and I'm sure that none of us are complaining about getting the game sooner rather than later.

 

The series has enough hype for itself for us to build it up during this small hype campaign, we have been waiting long enough. Also if they showed us a broken or not completed game we would of raged so it makes sense why they held off for so long.

 

What did you just say?

 

Honestly, I wish more developers would delay announcements in this same fashion. Not only does it psych up the fanbase because everyone only has to wait a few months to get their hands on these games, but I tend to think it improves the quality of the development cycle, if only because the devs get to work from their own timetables and don't get caught making promises they probably won't be able to keep. The first year or so the new systems were out we kept getting all these games that sounded fantastic on paper, but for one reason or another, got rushed through production and didn't really even run well until after weeks and weeks of patching.

 

It's interesting to see this marketing approach, I think it'll definitely pay off. These companies generally try to aim for getting as much hype as possible, after a couple of years the hype dissipates and goes away. It being launched so close to its announcement will preserve the hype and more people will probably buy it for that reason. And people will be more supportive because it seems like they are getting the game really quickly.

 

I hope this huge open world feels alive. A problem with some giant open world games is they just feel so empty and lifeless. So far from videos though it's looking to be busy.

 

I feel, as a gamer, that the longer the period is from the time the game is announced until it is released, I actually lose interest in the game, simply because I get hyped when it is announced, but that momentum gets lost over time. I think keeping the turn around short was a great strategy. We'll see how it works for them.

 

That's the way that the world is nowadays. They lose interest in the long periods between announcements for things. That's why there's surprise albums dropping seemingly every week.

 

Ditto.

 

I don't really recall any game that was hyped more by the community. They don't even need the marketing at all, the excitement already reached a critical mass without Bethesda's help.

 

Yeah, I see what you mean. It really is a good plan, it gets people excited without making them wait years for it to come, and then they don't have to rush because they're already about done.

 

I wonder how large the world will be in comparison to, say, Skyrim? The thing that I always liked about Skyrim over FO3/New Vegas is that the open-world aspect felt much more alive. It was not quite as difficult to find some random event occurring. You could get sidetracked for dozens of hours on your way from one town to the next.

 

Skyrim's world was awesome, but I did not feel it had the replay value that something like GTA had.

 

I think this is very smart. (People in Bethesda, MD tend to be extremely smart people). I heard one of the developers say that he wanted everything to look as good as possible when they unveiled it for the same reason some of you have written (less pressure for demos). They seem to understand they have a huge market and legions of loyal fans (like myself), and we are interested in getting the most polished game possible. Bethesda doesn't have it's head up its ass like Ubisoft or EA. They know quality will sell.

 

I admire the restraint of the developers. To sit on something like this for so long without telling the fans. If it was me I would want to mention it as soon as I started working on it. But whatever the reason, I love a pleasant surprise like this!