You know - it turns out that this is the kind of game that doesn't really need a demo Day 1 forecasts are already off the charts, which BTW is what your pre-order is really all about. I can already imagine the probability that a lot of people aren't going to be able to get their hands on a retail copy on launch day with this one...
But what I wanted to call out was that the guys have been killing themselves to ship and to get the demo ahead of the game for the FAC members. The commitment has been there not just from the studio and the publisher, but all the way through to every one on the team. The commitment to do cool stuff for the FAC will continue, BTW. There are ideas and plans there. But I hope everyone has sane expectations. FAC people may have committed earlier than others and there is value to that, but they're not really spending any more than anyone else is on launch day and so we have to look for opportunities that offer value to FAC, but don't add cost to the process. I don't think ANYONE who cares about Duke would want us to end up like 3D Realms did. It still kills me that it got to that point with those guys...
Anyway - It turns out that June 3 is the earliest possible time that everything necessary for the demo to be launched can be in place so that's the date that our publishing partner has locked in for the demo's launch.
The fact that it launches *exclusively* for FAC is a pretty cool decision for the publisher, IMO. I think they should get high-fives for that call, not the other way around...
BUT - if a three week gap would make you happy, the only options we can consider are to either delay the game another two weeks in order to artificially create your three week gap OR we can just do the best we can and trust that you guys know that the thing that is most important to us in the universe is our customers - especially our most loyal and nice customers
What call would you make if it were your call? Would you delay the game another two weeks just to add a gap between demo and release date or would you prioritize the shipping of the retail game and trust that the FAC members are the most awesome and loyal fans in the world and remember them the next opportunity you have to provide a nice surprise that's exclusive to the club?
