We first heard of Rage officially back in 2007. It took a pretty long while in development, and considering that it only came out a couple of weeks back - September 13th, 2011, to be precise - it's all understandable why people would come to expect topnotch quality, nothing less.



Setting aside the conflicting verdict of gamers and critics alike, though, did id Software brought this dilemma of high expectation upon themselves when they announced the game too early? According to id Software's Tim Willits, it "doesn't matter."

"The thing is John [Carmack] loves talking about cool stuff. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. For us, now we're right around the corner and doing these events, the game's looking great, plays great. Whatever you're talking about it early or you talk about it late or you announce this or you announce that or you have this campaign or that campaign, all it comes down to is the game's fun. And the game's a heck lot of fun."



That's true, of course, insofar as ultimate considerations are concerned. If you remember, Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 also took way too long in the kitchen, much to the frustration of its loyal awaiting fans. Five years it stayed, there, yes, it did. But when it did come out, it did so with much hullaballoo and all the fanfare that Polyphony and Sony could afford. More importantly, it did live up to the hype, and the five-year waiting scheme for the game ended up being a legend of sorts.



The downside to announcing a game literally years ahead of its time, however, is that it keeps gamers at a sort of stale standstill. They're just waiting for the game to come out, they're being teased constantly (sometimes all too rarely), and the few bits of breadcrumbs offered to them end up not satisfying at all. If the game is hyped well enough, then the publishers need not worry because the curiosity will manage to sustain itself.



If the pacing is not timed properly however (i.e. when to go into radio silence, and when to come out with a deluge of information), then you end up with a game practically forgotten. Or if not forgotten, it's taken so long, people have lost interest in it anymore. Say, like Alan Wake. 



Anyway, if id Software is happy with how Rage turned out, then so be it. Maybe it really was just because John Carmack couldn't keep a pretty secret to himself. He probably had an inkling how big a thing Rage could get, and so he didn't waste any more time keeping it a secret. They did take their precious time getting it out, though.



In the end, however, and as Tim Willits would like to put it, Rage came out with guns ablazing, and delivered the goods worth the wait. That's what they said, though. What about you? Was it worth all those years of hype?








Via [VG247]

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