official game delay interview with Gregg Baker

[Slick_P]

this is from the Operation Sports website http://www.operationsports.com/featu...s-gregg-baker/

In mid-January, rumors were circulating that Eutechnyx was on the verge of delaying one of the most anticipated games of the year, NASCAR 2011: The Game. The rumors ended up being true.

While this created quite a bit of buzz on message boards, most of the reaction was of a positive nature. Even though no one wants to wait for an anticipated title, gamers seem to appreciate a company that understands that the quality of a title is the top priority. And the Eutechnyx developers have understood from day one that NASCAR fans (and racing fans in general) know a ton about their beloved sport, and they understand its most intricate details. In other words, the developers realize they need to deliver or fear the wrath of the knowledgeable fans.

I had a chance to sit down with Gregg Baker, the community leader at Eutechnyx, and talk about the decision to delay the game as well as the reasoning behind it.

Operation Sports: Gregg, who had the ultimate say in the decision to delay NASCAR 11?

Gregg Baker: As a development studio we always want to produce the best games possible, and while NASCAR The Game 2011 is in a shippable state right now, we just wanted more time to fine tune and polish it.

OS: What was the time frame in which Eutechnyx felt like a delay could be very possible?

GB: It’s a tough one to really say, as a game is developed it’s never easy to predict how many bugs or issues will appear towards the end as you get closer to mastering. Sometimes you can fix one issue and it causes another five. We made the call about a couple weeks before it was due to be mastered as we really didn’t want to have to make our gamers wait for the game any longer!

OS: It seems a lot of gamers are open to a company delaying a game for the purpose of quality. What were some of the issues that caused said delay?

GB: It’s a pretty big deal to delay any game, but I think gamers realize that when studios rush out a game to a deadline it generally doesn’t meet their expectations. So it was a no-brainer for us. We wanted the game to look as good as possible and felt the short delay would make sure we hit our level of standards.

OS: With the delay, what do you as a developer feel like you can get accomplished with an extra six weeks?

GB: There were a couple more features we wanted to include -- these will be confirmed closer to release date. But also it gives us more time to test for bugs, tweak gameplay and just generally ensure we provide a better experience to all our paying customers.

OS: Were there certain areas of the game that were just not ready to go, or did the overall game just need final touches administered as a whole?

GB: I don’t think there was any one thing in particular that needed drastic changing, more a number of minor tweaks. The game will really feel the benefit of these small changes, and we are confident people will love it!

OS: With the delay now confirmed, will the 2011 season DLC now be included on the disc, or are you still planning on the add-on distribution?

GB: At this point we are still considering doing it as an update, but there is time for this plan to change.

OS: Is there anything that you couldn’t include in this year’s game that you really wanted to, and even with the delay, just did not have the time?

GB: Now that would be telling! I guess people are going to have to wait until the game ships and then we can confirm what will be in next year’s.

OS: If you could get one message out to the fans (and there are many of them) that are eagerly awaiting this game, what would it be?

GB: I think it would have to be “thank you!” So far we have been blown away by the response from the community and NTG fans. They have been very supportive and incredibly passionate about the game. No one likes to delay a game, so when we did it we were overwhelmed by the positive reaction we generally received from the fans of the game. So we really thank them all for their patience and understanding, and we can’t wait for them to pick up NASCAR The Game for the first time!


As you can see, the developers in this case really do care about the product. They want to deliver the best possible game; and they want to create a great gaming experience right out of the box. In this day and age of "push the title out and we can patch it later," Eutechnyx decided to take a different route, and for that the company should be commended. Look for NASCAR 11 to hit retail shelves on March 29 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

[Pilot]

Good to know :P

[Smokehaas14]

Makes sense. Happier now that I've read that interview. I was so po'd the day I first read they were delaying it. I was having a lousy day and the last thing I wanted to read was that the game I've been anticipating for nearly 3 years now, was getting pushed back a bit.

But, I've realized this was nothing but the right move and that they did it to ultimately make our experience better, so for that, I say, thank you Eutechnyx. Thanks for being the developers we've wanted and saving us from the horrendous EA staff.

[xkurtx07]

great to see this article. Im very curious to see what they added in last minute!

[Slick_P]

great to see this article. Im very curious to see what they added in last minute!

yea i am as well. maybe some online features??? cant wait to find out!!

[Pilot]

Now I'm just hoping the frame rate is 100% smooth with every crash or big pack racing.

[Johnny]

Good to see Baker talking about the delay, the worst thing that could happen is when a company delays a game and pretty much bull****s.

I can't wait to hear what those confirmed features are though.

[Kingsly9]

I'm thinking practice has been added online, of course thats just me throwing a random guess out there haha

[NASCARjay]

Nice read, great to hear a positive response and i hope things just get better for these guys they deserve it!

[Thorsfew]

DNF and Qualify would be two major addtions, and as Greg says they may add "a couple more features", I am not sure what they will be.

EITHER way its good to see a decent PR interview.
Cheers for posting and only 5 more weeks......

[radney]

To me, the interview really didn't say much of anything or either the right questions were not asked. I felt like they didn't neccessarily say what was the reason but give a bit more insight on what they wanted to improve other than they just wanted to better polish the game even more.

[barns]

Thanks for the read. At least we know the reason behind it now. I'm happy with it regardless.

[Mets]

I'm thinking practice has been added online, of course thats just me throwing a random guess out there haha

As a guess, i think i would agree. That feature is definitely up near the top (or is at the top) of the feature list. But we'll just have to find out now won't we.

[DEJFan88FoLife]

I hope they add the DLC with the disc. I guess they will add the new front end too.

[MegaMan4562]

Did anyone else notice that Greg baker's intials are GB? Gigabyte...

[K00LL3M0N103]

LOL I realized that too

[ntgfan3]

I hope they add the DLC with the disc. I guess they will add the new front end too.

That would be awsome to see that in the game and not the old front end.

[Race_Fan48]

Glad to read that interview

[David Lee Flippo]

Very reassuring there. I said 100 times i hope they delay it, mainly because they atleast have a chance now to watch this season get started and do what they want before release process. Instead of releasing right before the 500 and watching while regreting not making some changes here or thr. Good read!!

[BLUFOX56]

Very reassuring there. I said 100 times i hope they delay it, mainly because they atleast have a chance now to watch this season get started and do what they want before release process. Instead of releasing right before the 500 and watching while regreting not making some changes here or thr. Good read!!

I don't think that's the case, they are releasing it only a month and a half after the season starts, INCLUDING PRODUCTION TIME.

[Anduare2]

I hate to be the only one to not agree with the majority here, but it seems to me that games are only ever delayed because of larger issues. We were beta testing black ops like what a week or so before the release. We are less than a month from the original release date and we have not seen any real video from the game play other than snippets and a trailer coded up a year ago. I am still eagerly awaiting the release, but actually not sure if I should be more troubled that they admit they need more time or relieved that they are at least trying to not dump a piece of junk on us at the get go. I respect integrity if it is true. Guess I will change my vacation week to March 29 instead of Feb 15 and hope for the best.

[Zorb]

Is there any information on a european release date or even if it is going to be released over here?

If its not, I will have to get it on the PS3, but would prefer the 360 version in all honesty.

[con100]

Is there any information on a european release date or even if it is going to be released over here?

If its not, I will have to get it on the PS3, but would prefer the 360 version in all honesty.

You could use the search you know.

But no it's not releasing in Europe. But the game will work on pal consoles so you will have to find a place that ships internationally if you want the game.