I don't remember hearing about Half Life 2 three years before its release. Or Team Fortress 2 for that matter. I think those were announced when there was only a year to go.
The movie industry seems to get this and I can't recall them ever releasing a trailer for a movie more than a year in advance of the film's release.
Though I still think that's too long a period of time to be teasing people, because there are still a lot of movies which I'd have gone to see if they were only three months from release, but which I've lost all interest in by the time they come out.
Of course those are mostly stupid cheap little comedy movies like Dodgeball, or Balls of Fury. A movie like Spiderman, or Batman, or Lord of the Rings will maintain my intertest. It really comes down to how good a movie it is and how badly I want to see it.
That is why advertising Half Life 2 a year in advance of its release is okay, but advertising a casual game like Spore three years in advance is a dumb move.
And avertising a shareware game in advance at all would just be stupid, unless it's the next Doom. :-)
The movie industry seems to get this and I can't recall them ever releasing a trailer for a movie more than a year in advance of the film's release.
Though I still think that's too long a period of time to be teasing people, because there are still a lot of movies which I'd have gone to see if they were only three months from release, but which I've lost all interest in by the time they come out.
Of course those are mostly stupid cheap little comedy movies like Dodgeball, or Balls of Fury. A movie like Spiderman, or Batman, or Lord of the Rings will maintain my intertest. It really comes down to how good a movie it is and how badly I want to see it.
That is why advertising Half Life 2 a year in advance of its release is okay, but advertising a casual game like Spore three years in advance is a dumb move.
And avertising a shareware game in advance at all would just be stupid, unless it's the next Doom. :-)