why was the game given a staggered release date in the first place?

Why would a Steam digital version unlock at an earlier date than any other digital version? I think we aren't understanding each other here.

im more thinking that since Bethesda and Obsidian is located in the us thats why

Supporting retail stores is all fair enough, and it makes sense to do so. Not everyone has good internet with nice bandwidth caps to download everygame from steam and the like.

But they could at least have 1 release date?! 1 country gets exclusivity while the rest of the world has to put on a blindfold to reviews and other online players giving out major spoilers for the next 3 days.

I don't really know. Shipping? Extra ratings for each country? Localized versions take extra time? There could be a lot of reasons.

Because European new media day is Friday. The day they regularly put games and movies on the shelves.

In the US, it's Tuesday.

Nope - you not being outside the US probably didn't see the effects - actual shows were seeing a decline in TV ratings because by the time they had screened outside the US a majority of people had already watched the episode and talked about it on forums. So the TV networks started to tell the US ones that they would not be purchasing the Shows on delay any more because people could already watch them - now all the shows from the US are "Fast tracked" to the local stations within 12 hours of being shown in the US.

There is no reason for delay any more - the people who buy digital releases should be allowed to play when their ready to be released especially with the [Pre-Load] option that comes with Steam I have the game installed - I have paid for the game - the game is to be released soon if not already - and I have to wait 3 days for what reason?

Tell me please - "Just 'cause" is not a reason "unfair to physical copies" is a minor reason but not valid enough for someone who essentially has the game ready to go and is awake at the nominated time for release ready to enjoy the game - but now it is just a bitter tasting experience that will actually mar my enjoyment of it.

Not everyone has a strong enough Net connection to handle a game download, my download limit is only 10GB, I can't go downloading a game, nor do I like to game on the PC since it's more expensive than it's worth when it comes to constant hardware updates, an uncomfortable computer chair and lacking the same kind of feeling there is from curling up and enjoying a game on a console.

So instead of whining about how 'hard done by' you are, think about the reasons why shops that sell video games are still needed. As for the release dates of games, it's been that way for a long time. The US is the bigger market so gets catered to first.

Some nations in Europe release new games on a Friday to keep the kids in school and most gown-up's at work until the weekend hits. I think the UK is one of them and I'm pretty certain Sweden is another

It's not a minor reason at all. It's a big reason. Brick and mortar stores are still a major source of sales. And if you piss them off, they can dump you. Being able to release earlier than them is an unfair advantage they can't be expected to tolerate. So the concession must be made.

In the UK games are on Fridays, DVDs and CDs are on Mondays. I have no idea why, but that is the way it is.

BTW, for the folks in region 2. The unlock date on steam has been moved from 7pm on Friday the 22nd to 2AM on friday the 22nd

so yeah getting better

ill be able to stay up so i can play it till dawn (that is if it gets here early. Game usually do get it to you on the day before)

Not really viable any more - that sort of thinking worked in the 80's and was the downfall of the music industry.
Time to go into the boardroom and shake up your head honchos point them in the direction of a calendar and advise them to get with the times.

Sorry if I am coming off rather cranky but seriously I actually wanted to play this game so much I scheduled some time around it just so I could enjoy it so while the brunt of my anger does not include cuss words believe me I would really like to say some choice words about the handling of the situation and would do so by phone but I hate making call takers feel worse about their lives.

We really need to steer this thread away from the topic of piracy. I understand that no one is advocating this and the manner that it's being discussed hasn't crossed any lines yet but at the very least this thread is at risk of going off topic.


I imagine it's a combination of transportation and building up stock.

My memory recalls that there were European based games that released in Europe well before
they were available in the USA. I can't recall the title names or the publishing houses
but I know it has happened.
As for why Steam does it I imagine it is by agreement with the publisher.

So svck it up and bite a bippy.

Yours truly. In Texas.

Steam does it so it doesn't have an unfair advantage over traditional retailers. I think it would fall foul of several fair trade regulations if it did otherwise.

Hey, as someone who lives in the US and has never been able to get a game on release day in time to play it that day I understand. But really, no pre-order ever gets here when it gets to the rest of the USA. For FO:3 I was sent an early review copy and still I got it a day late.

But I understand the distance they have to ship it means something for me. It's not just games. I have to wait a long time for any thing I order so obviously regardless of what year it is, there are bridges to cross and time is a problem when crossing so many.

And?

Bricks and Mortar stores will not be around much longer - they will either merge with DVD stores or just die out - Already large retail companies are selling the games for cost price just to get people into their retail chains and the only reason Bricks and Mortar stores are surviving is the resale function which is being stopped by the game companies sick of seeing lost profits. Already there have been a few that have gone bust and some closures, with the initiatives being made by Activision and EA to stop resale of games on consoles I don't expect to see game stores in the next 5 years. Can't say I am bothered by that - retail giants will still carry them and if the Game Stores have any sense they will expand into areas other then just games or come to arrangements to be able to print games at point of sale through High Speed disc burners and CD key cards for electronic activation.

Just saying it is difficult knowing that the game is installed on my computer and I am unable to play it

*edited to acknowledge the moderators request

But then why even offer Digital Distribution - it is there to overcome situations like you discussed.

You get paid up front for the game - The ISP get paid for my connection to them to download it - in my case a Telephone company gets paid to keep a line open to my house - Computer manufactures are paid for me to have a PC capable of storing playing and downloading said game. And then I get told after having a game pre-installed - given a release date whoopsiedaisy you're not in the US that game you downloaded *magically* doesn't exist for you - it's all magic pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Seriously it's like going to a Restaurant buying a meal and then them cooking it and chucking it in the fridge asking you to come back on tuesday because they only serve the meal on tuesdays. Oh but don't mind the people already eating the meal - they get to eat it anytime because they live on X street.

Ehm... sorry mate, but thats wrong. In germany media day for movies is thursday, for games thuesday, thursday and friday.

Again, I am so far in the boonies, it would take 8-9 hours to download this game. People who live in different areas have to just roll with it.

If I bothered to game on PC and went for a digital download, it would take me a week to download it due to my poor Net connection. My Net connection is broadband, but living in a rural area instead of a city limits how good a Net connection can be.

I'm content with buying the 360 version, may not be able to get mods - something Star Trek Legacy on the 360 badly needed since it was abandoned so fast upon release with no DLC and only one useless update - but it's better than spending a fortune getting the computer to work with it and sitting on an uncomfortable computer chair.

I guess it's released in America first because they want to sell as many copies as possible before Europe pirates it too hell.

It could also be because they can't attend multiple release parties at the same time but that doesn't make sense cause it doesn't have too much financial justification like it would for movies. So most likely it is about releasing it smartly to maximize revenue.

If you release things to poor countries at the same time as rich ones, the poor will copy it, pirate it, hack it and do everything else to make it free before you have a chance to max your revenue from the people who will pay. I'm in Romania and if they released it in Europe first, ppl here who can't justify spending their months savings on the game would crack it and send it allover teh interwebs and then some of the Americans (only the shady ones) would see it and decide to do the dishonorable thing and not pay for it and that svcks. If you can't get money for your product how are you supposed to pay the ton of people who made the product. A team of 15 people working for 2 years at $50k / year costs $1.5 million in salary. Ouch.

Or maybe that's all wrong and they're releasing it 3 days later here just becuase they're still translating all the dialog into British english

Well America isn't the only country that gets it unlocked early tomorrow morning, but also all countries in: North America, Central America, and South America.

At the end of the day, the bottom line is that there are reasons beyond Anyone's control that often affect stuff like this. You should read more into Summer's posts, as You nor I nor anyone here knows all of the reasons for a game delay like this. To state things like, "brick and mortar stores are going away soon" simply isn't a credible argument, it can never be proven and smacks more of things said out of anger than things said out of reason and logic.

We simply don't know why, and being one of those who works in an American corporation that also distributes product like Bethesda does, there are a thousand considerations that go into these decisions. If it were easy and simple, I'm quite sure they would release it all on the same day - as that's good for Everyone. I would not want to piss-off my customers in this way as it's just common sense. Everyone wants this game, and wants it Now.

But what if there are factors beyond ours and their control? What if there are delays into getting copies pushed overseas fast-enough given that the first wave of production went to the American stores? What if that were the ONLY reason - to ensure that the digtial and store-bought versions of the game came out at the same time in each country? You could be upset with it, but there is no way Bethesda Should allow the game to be released digitially many days before the brick and mortar stores can sell it - that would directly challenge their business model and would hurt game stores - which are Not going out of business soon.

They are doing it right, we just don't understand the reasons behind the delay.