Breakfast Topic: How Long Until Burning Crusade?
by David Nelson 
Sep 25th 2006 at 8:00AM
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Blizzard maintains it will be sometime before the end of 2006. Amazon and Gamestop are taking guesses. Heck, even the forum trolls have some thoughts on the matter. Surely a blogging dork such as myself has an opinion. Yes sir, I do. I think it will be the first week in December. Do I have anything to base that on? Absolutely not. I just think if it were going to hit in October, we'd probably already know an exact date. It could very well be in November, maybe close to Gamestop's November 28th date. With Blizzard's record of meeting release dates, I can see some people not having much confidence in there being a 2006 release at all.
What do you guys think? November? December? 2007?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Glowing Sep 25th 2006 8:08AM
One of the articles linked last week said late December...probably just in time for Christmas.
Deafdumbandblind Sep 25th 2006 8:18AM
No I agree with David Nelson. Some Blizz executive's butt will be in the sling if the BC expansion is not out in time to reap the Xmas spenders.
We all know how Blizz never misses a trick when it comes to extracting maximum cash from the public.
So end of November/Early December is practically guaranteed.
Rupi Sep 25th 2006 8:55AM
1st week of December. But I'm sure some of the new high end instances won't be that polished... Blizz ain't Blizz anymore, it's cash-making mob.
?rik Sep 25th 2006 9:34AM
I think beginning of December too! But how many will have a copy of the game on the release date? And will the servers be able it? Whenever it's realeased it's going to be a crazy!
DannyB Sep 25th 2006 10:30AM
If you remember when wow first came out... It wasnt ready. Vivendi made them release it before christmas.. when we discuss releasing and such.. its the publishers doing.. not the game developers =).
So the answer is yes it will most likely be before christmas..
Vivendi wouldnt have it any other way.
Tim Engelbart Sep 25th 2006 10:59AM
Before christmas, definetely.
Probably some time around late November.
okj Sep 25th 2006 11:12AM
I disagree with everyone here. My personal guess is February or March 2007.
With a title like this, the "holiday purchase fest" doesn't matter. Everyone will buy it regardless if it's a holiday present or not. This game takes 50% of the MMORPG market, and wether it's ready for the holidays or not doesn't matter at all.
Why won't it be in 2006? We're at the end of September, and the BC is still in Alpha. Even IF the true Beta were to start in a week, that only leaves 4-5 weeks for a Beta test. You need 2-3 weeks before launch to press the CDs, package the material and documentation books, and ship it all. 7 million+ of these units have to be created, ya know.
I doubt we'll see a 2006 release date. There just isn't enough time left in the year.
fendal Sep 25th 2006 11:11AM
Being that nearly every interview has statements like "we're thinking about that", "we haven't decided" and "that is something we are looking into" makes me wonder if it is really that close to being ready. The expected release date is only 2 months away and there are many things that they not saying about BC. You would think that if it were ready they would be touting how this is the best thing every to help hype it up. But if they are not hyping it, then why are they doing interviews? With two months to go they still have to get the products put together for distribution and that takes time. Sounds more like a /cf than a /plan.
Lance Sep 25th 2006 11:39AM
Okj, I can honestly see your point. While most of your production knowledge is right on par, you seem to be forgetting about one crucial factor. They, more than likely, already have BC stamped. With online content like this (that is 100%-positively going to require at least one immediate bug patch, and most assuredly many more in quick succession), they do not have to worry about what is stamped as of right now, as long as the bulk of the content (models, textures, cines, audio, etc...) is packaged. We will certainly be downloading the rest anyway. For this reason, and the fact that the beta testing of an expansion like this isn't like the testing of a pre-release MMO, I firmly believe that Vivendi will want to get this out for the Christmas shoppers (moms/dads, grandparents, etc...) who would be buying BC as a holiday gift for the immense 12-year-old population that we all love to complain about.
dyyne Sep 25th 2006 11:50AM
lets see...Blizzard game...coming out on time? hahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahahaaahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
I'd say 2011 at least
Slughorn Sep 25th 2006 12:26PM
OKay first of all, having worked in the Industry for years I'll let everyone in on a little known secret. Most people are under the assumption that Release dates are set by the Publisher or Developer, right? And in some cases(i.e. Halo 2, FF8, etc.) a Publisher will set a specific date as to when the game will be released. More often however, the publisher gives the Retailers (both on and offline)a general sense of when a game will be released and the Buyers actually set the Date. It's a little known fact in the Industry. So, count on the End of November. I'd say Nov. 22nd if the Beta goes on with few problems, 28th if there are more bugs or glitches than expected.
ALl those naysayers who proclaim it won't be ready until 2007? I have the ultimate argument to the 'Blizz is always late' debate:
Vivendi Universal is calling the shots now. As publisher there's No way they'll allow Blizzard to miss this Holiday Season. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.
It'll be out this Year, count on it.
HankD Sep 25th 2006 12:26PM
Wow, bunch of pessimists!!! :)
I'm going to be optimistic, and say they'll release it on their second anniversary, Nov 23 2006.
Druid dude Sep 25th 2006 12:41PM
Blizz has a long history of not releasing games, new content, etcetera until *they* feel it is ready. Starcraft Ghost went through a couple+ playable versions, Blizz didn't like it, and it will probably never be released. They release stuff when they are ready to, regardless of any outside pressure.
However, they are now playing in Vivendi's world, bowing to pressure from a corporation that is extremely sales-minded. As stated above, the original release of WoW was pushed out the door full of bugs, incomplete.
I can see the back-and-forth between Blizz and Vivendi going something like this:
Vivendi: Is it ready yet?
Blizz: No, there are still unfinished areas, talents have not been ironed out, dungeon encounters are not well balanced. Much remains to be done.
Vivendi: People can just download updates as you guys fix that stuff right?
Blizz: Yes, but the expansion pack is not ready at all, people are going to complain about all the problems it has if we release it like this. Its a mess, and will anger our players greatly.
Vivendi: Bah, we have screwed our players over and over with broken content, unplayable servers, login and authentication servers that could only handle a fraction of the players that were trying to get in to the game. All that, and WoW is still number one by miles. You overestimate the consequences of jacked up content and hardware. In the end, they will play whatever we give them and come back for more, begging for more even.
Blizz: Yeah, well we are not proud of the horrendous service we have provided in the past for WoW, and have made great strides in those areas. We are finally getting to a point that WoW is something we are not embarrased about every time we read the WoW forums. The expansion pack is not ready!
Vivendi: Is it marginally playable at least?
Blizz: Well, yeah, sort of.
Vivendi! Excellent! You guys did a great job getting it ready for release! Print the CD's now! Get them on store shelves the week before Thanksgiving!
And that is why I think the expansion pack will be:
1) Release right before Thanksgiving
2) Be nowhere near as ready as Blizz would like at that point
vlad3060 Sep 25th 2006 12:58PM
The clues are already out there that suggest that it will be a late November/early December release:
1. Server upgrades have already taken place.
2. Alpha test is very much under way.
3. Last day to redeem your Blizzcon passes is the end of October (and thats a beta key as well).
4. Most of the features that are in the expansion are just upgrades of code that are already in the game (and easy to patch on the fly after release).
5. And most importantly, there are only 90 Days, 12 Hours, and 4 Minutes until Christmas. ...But who's counting? LOL.
vlad3060 Sep 25th 2006 1:18PM
Oh and let's not forget that the suggested retail price of the game has been lowered by Blizzard as of today from $39.95 to $19.95.
Swiftlydead Sep 25th 2006 1:48PM
hopefully never -- I don't want to have to level up a character again. That's SOOO BORING compared to endgame raiding.
PsyClerk Sep 25th 2006 7:02PM
Some of the blue comments suggest they are still pretty deep in the testing phase. See the official forums today for a comment that says they aren't sure if players will be able to attack another player on a flying mount (or druid in flight form). We're getting pretty late in the game to not have things like that with a definite answer, if the release is set in the next 60 days.
As another poster said above, conventional wisdom says release before Christmas, but WoW has been anything but conventional. The expansion pack attach rates for just about any MMORPG are always insanely high no matter when they're released. Blizzard could set the release date for Smarch 13, and people would petition world governments for a 13th month just to get the expansion.
Medros Sep 25th 2006 10:21PM
I am confident in the opinion that the Expansion will be on shelves before the end of November. I am told from Alpha testers that the game is coming along quite well, making it not unexpected for a release near the 2 year anniversary of WoW launch. I also think all of those who have been clambering for beta keys will be disappointed, as I expect the 'beta' they will all get will be close to what everyone got pre launch, a 2-3 week stress test of the servers. Guess we'll wait and see.
boneyard Sep 26th 2006 5:44AM
with a new game i can understand they want it pretty right, but with an expansion that is less important. most stuff is there already anyway. and its easy to patch some stuff later on.
Reygar Sep 27th 2006 11:42AM
i'm gonna wait for the closed beta to be released then i will make a prediction, but as they said the closed beta would start sometime before december 31st, 2006. i hoping for sooner rather than later.