Days and weeks removed from the heart shredding announcement that GTA V won’t see the light of day until the middle of September, fans are still fuming about the delay. Fuming, and ranting, and raving, and moaning, and complaining, amongst other things. In fact angry fans have even gone so far as to all but demand of Rockstar (on their official forums and website) that it compensate for the delay by going out of their way to share new information about GTA V — we want new info, now!
The delay itself isn't exactly surprising. Many major games (heck even many minor, crummy games) see development delays and have their releases pushed back, and this is always accompanied by the usual moaning and groaning from the eager fanbase. As much as fans can try and console themselves with the fact that the delay is probably for a good reason, the reality is that fans already have lofty expectations, and anticipate the game of their dreams. So delays aren't going to make fans jump for joy thinking they’re going to be getting a much better game when it finally comes out; they already expect the perfect game. So delays are just delays, and delays suck.
However, demanding the company to compensate them for their GTA V-induced pain and suffering is going a little far. It’s not Rockstar’s job to provide fans with constant trickles of information regarding their game, and certainly not because they owe it to anyone. It’s their job to make the best game they can. Anything else is just icing, or gravy, or apple sauce, or bacon bits, or whatever you want to put on top of your delectable GTA V main course. Certainly, Rockstar should be aiming to keep their fans happy, but major marketing blunders aside (like, for instance if they called their fan base a bunch of whiny twerps who should shut their pieholes), there’s really no chance these fans will NOT be first in line to purchase the game on the day of its eventual release.
In fact, sensible fans should probably be happy to see the game disappear from the limelight for a few months so they can just forget about it and concentrate on other things and other games until the release date gets nearer, and that would also mean it’s not so hair-pullingly aggravating to think about the remaining wait time for GTA V’s release. It will actually become something to look forward to then.
As off-base as these rabid and raging fans may be, it must be said that it's still surprising that Rockstar hasn't made any effort to provide us with some additional news on the game since the delay announcement a few weeks back. We've really received nothing official from them since, other than a refute of some of the rumors that began circulating as to why the game was delayed. Not brilliant PR, but they’re a game company, and making games should be their primary concern, not investing unnecessary resources into marketing and public relations.
What’s your take? Should Rockstar go out of their way to please their sad, sad fans at this point, or should we suck it up and let Rockstar focus on finishing their game?
