OK, what in the world is going on with Sacred 2? First the PC version was supposed to ship September 30th, but as I reported earlier this month it was pushed back to November 7th to ship alongside the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. But now the schedule has changed again. Within the message I received from CDV this afternoon containing that rockin’ new Blind Guardian trailer was news that the console versions have been pushed all the way back to February 2009 while the PC version is standing firm for a November launch.
In light of this latest change I’m left wondering why the PC version was delayed in the first place — if it’s still not going to ship alongside the consoles what was the point? It went gold in Europe last week and the preview build I received late last month seems pretty complete, so September 30th certainly seems plausible. I suppose this is just CDV trying to position the game’s release for the holidays, though I would argue that the game would have a much better chance of succeeding on the market right now than in the thick of the holiday rush…
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Unfortunately, it appears you picked up on the European press release, rather than one from cdv, the North American publisher. We had not announced any revised ship dates previously. We are now working with the UK to match their release dates and, most importantly, make sure that the customer in the US and Canada get the best possible version of the game. There were a few items that we felt needed additional polish as you indicated, and while we appreciate that you felt the game nearly ready with the preview PC build you looked at, this slight adjustment in release dates will result in North American customers getting the best possible version of the game and allows us time also to ensure a fantastic collector’s edition for the most ardent Sacred fans.
Hey Mario, thanks so much for commenting and clearing some things up on the CDV/North American side of things. The initial info I got about the PC version being pushed back in the US to meet with the consoles came straight from the CDV US press site, and then I double checked it (literally) with Ted before running that first update and was told that was accurate. I guess some wires got crossed between how the game is releasing in different regions.
Anyways, thanks again for clarifying the situation a bit for us. Reading around on the Sacred 2 forums it seems I’m not the only one who’s been a bit confused about the ship date situation 😉
Looking forward to the finished product and seeing what you guys have planned for the collector’s edition!
I am just hopeful that the released version will be rock-solid so it will catch on quickly. Amazing as it sounds, the attention-span of gamers is much shorter than even 4.5 years ago when the original was released.
Back then it worked for Ascaron to patch slowly until the game was solid and stable, but I fear that if things aren’t in top shape before Thanksgiving then the game will be dead … and subsequently DOA as ‘yet another buggy PC game’ when released on consoles.