The upcoming games thread put me in the mood to find a good list of release dates for games and I immediately thought of GG. I head over there and look around and can’t find a decent list of anything anywhere on the site. It seems like there was an effort at one point to actually track when games were supposed to hit and when they went gold but it seems to have been totally abandoned. The front page is up to date but nothing else seems to be. Am I missing something?
– Xaroc
Apparently Rich’s health problems have gotten pretty bad, and he didn’t pass the buck to anyone else while he had downtime.
I don’t know of any other useful gold/release date resources. Anyone?
Target Range at Games Domain. They still keep that current, right?
I don’t know of any that stay current.
How long has he been out now? Better part of a year it seems like… Hope he’s ok.
Avault has a list they recently updated. I don’t think it’s comprehensive, but it’s something.
Gamespy has a list somewhere too. They had Railroad Tycoon III listed for months before the game was officially announced.
I find it useful to visit the EB and GameStop websites to get a fairly approximate idea of game arrival time.
O.R.
Fairly approximate, my patootie. EBGames is pretty darned accurate most of the time. I abandoned GG for them long ago.
If you’re looking at console game dates, EB Games is pretty much right on with their dates. Console games aren’t usually on the gold to shelf plan like PC games are. PC games on the other hand can be a lot more wacky with regard to release dates simply because not even the developers often know when the game will be done.
–Dave
Yes, this is true, but I often see PC game dates adjusted on EBGames long before the news ever gets out via other channels, and the info is always at least as accurate as whatever scoop I get elsewhere. I assume EBGames’ purchasing guys are getting the story directly from the publisher’s mouth; then that info is being passed on in a timely manner to whoever is maintaining the website. Somewhere after that, down the line, the press and everybody else gets the news.
EBGames release date reliability is nil. Case in point:
Gotta get those last pre-orders in before the delayed date of September 23rd is posted. I do not expect instantaneous adjustments of all release date changes, but I think the Etherlords II delay was announced several days ago.
GG is a lot like MTV. Still there but no longer featuring what it was created for…
Kind of like…Quarter to Three! :D
As an “industry insider” I can pretty much assure you that if Rich is unwell, GG will not be up to date. The reason it was as concise as it was is because he was in constant contact with the publishers and calling on a weekly – if not daily – basis for updates. Gold dates are his obsession, and if he’s not managing it, then I don’t see very many other people willing to do what he did. Until he gets back up to speed, I’m afraid the only value at GG will be in the forums. Not unlike another rarely-updated website I know…
That said, the next best thing will be EB. The first people I tell when I announce a release date (or a revision to a previously announced date) is our Sales group. The first thing they do is notify their buyers. EB is great with taking that information and expeditiously updating the website. Gamestop not so much.
Rich Laporte actually has made a post in the GG forums just a little while ago. He has not posted in many months. Will have new info on the front page on Monday. I for one am glad to see him back for however long he can stay back.
I miss having Rich post and I miss his Release Dates update (I view Gone Gold as a combination blog/game website). However having said that there are other useful features on the website. The weekly list of discounted games is very useful, I’ve used it quite a bit to buy new releases on the cheap. The Gold Guide list of reviews and fan websites for games is also very useful.
Hello all, long time lurker here, but regular at GG.
Here’s what Rich just posted last night… if you’re curious…
Hello all…
Wow… what are the chances of seeing this thread? I am INDEED with you all and I’m going to try my hand at coming back.
I owe you all a sincere apology for shutting you out, but as you’ll come to find out… I’ve shut many people out these past months.
As embarrassing as it is to admit that, I owe it to all of you and on Monday, you’ll get the whole story…
For those of you thinking of me, even after all this time, let me at least say that these past months have been as hard as the ones I spent back in November of 1990… maybe even harder since I seem to have gone full circle.
On August 4th, 2003, I’ll be heading into the hospital again to have a full right hip replacement. As I’ll explain in full detail on Monday, there are no guarantees, but at least there is hope.
Funny… I started this site in a wheelchair, just after having hip surgery that was supposed to get me out of it. Now… I start anew with the same goal.
It’s like deja vu all over again.
Hope to see you all Monday and clear most everything up.
So we’re hoping that things will be back to normal for him, and the site, come Monday.
Thanks for the update jeffjones.
The post was quite reasonable until it came to this point…
“It’s like deja vu all over again.”
I really won’t be disappointed if this once decently ironic now utterly stupid phrase dies a quick death.
Gee, have a heart, huh, pal?
Gee, have a heart, huh, pal?[/quote]
Koontz bitching about phraseology. It’s like deja vu all over again.