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Wait... your hope is that it sucks? Are you working for Wargaming.net?
Also, in modern times, a game is late until you ship it, and it sucks until you patch it. (Then it sucks in new and exciting ways)
No, no, and I think you're misreading the quote. It's sourced from
here, from a time before EA swallowed Origin, when patching simply wasn't possible (outside of dealing with little things when an expansion/sequel is released). The Escapist is basically a shithole content mill these days, but back in 2005 when this article was new, they were one of the few outlets doing serious long-form games industry journalism.
The expanded quote would be "A game's only late until it ships, but [if you push it out the door half finished] it sucks forever." (brevity makes the original version a snappy little motto... that's why brevity is used.
)
I disagree that patching is a solution today, even partially. If a game plays like ass, not only are you losing the person that bought it, but also anyone that hears them complain about it. (see also: the magnifying/broadcasting effect of steam user reviews) If you fix things up later on, you may be able to win over completely new people, but getting back the launch-soured folks is nigh-impossible. The opportunity for momentum and positive mindshare is already lost, and depending on how the financials look, you may not be allowed time to even patch; plenty of examples in gaming history of a half-baked game getting pushed out, then the entire dev team getting sacked shortly thereafter by the publisher.
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fake-edit: procedural twin-stick, huh? *scratches chin* There are more than a couple of those floating around already, but Arcen's spin on the idea could be interesting.