I was told a potential release date.

[LZachariah]

Hey everyone! I am not crying wolf about this, nor am I saying that this statement is the final word on the matter, but i DID speak to my friend at GameStop today, and asked, as I always ask, if there is a release date for Planetside 2. Now, last week, there was still no release timeframe listed. Today, there was.

He said the timeframe was "end of Quarter Four 2011 to beginning of Quarter One 2012." So, December/January time.

Now, of course, the FIRST thing I asked him was "How reliable are those quoted times?" He's been working at that GameStop for about 4 years, and he says that they are very accurate, UNLESS the date is given by Blizzard (HA!) He says that those dates are NOT conjectural from GameStop, but are tentative quotes from the game's company itself. I further inquired as to how reliable the range of time should be, and he said that, given the "Q4 2011-Q1 2012" range, the latest the game would come out would be, like, March of 2012, and that's "if something goes wrong and sets them back."

While, again, I am not raising any alarms, this to me is very good news. It gives me a range of time about this game, and gives me a LOT of hope that I will be playing it before next spring.

Always happy to share new information.

~Zachariah

[Graywolves]

The dates come from a warlock tossing dice. They are usually very accurate.

[SavageB]

Sorry to say but this is flatout wrong. If this was correct then we would already be in Beta test phase. SOE stated they wanted a extensive beta, beta tests are usually 6+ months for a normal beta test. To me an extensive beta test would be something like 8+ months from my experience. I do know that most of these companies are actually clueless on a real release date, most pre order dates are place holders. Gamestop also said SWTOR would release years ago, but hey look where that got them. Hope I m wrong because I m itching to beta test this game but I do not see this game coming out until AT LEAST q3 or q4 2012.

[Nephilimuk]

I would not dismiss it out of hand typically it is

Unit testing - System testing - UAT ( open / closed beta)

It sounds like the game is already being playtested or unit tested to see if the mechanics / functionality works. LOTR online and DDO only had a couple of weeks no more than a month of open beta before launch. I think the closed beta was longer but not 6 months. I think the game may be in the alpha testing stages already judging by the tweets which are out. Which ever way I am sure we will get to see it close to the end of the testing cycle.

None of us know how advanced the game is unless you are a tester and then you can not type about it because of the NDA you signed.

Wait and see we could all be suprised

[GraniteRok]

I'm hedging on a release date of May 2012. Anniversary of the original PS release. Just a hunch.

[Firefly]

The dates come from a warlock tossing dice. They are usually very accurate.
:rofl: That's pretty much what I was thinking when I read the original post.

[opticalshadow]

as a former gamestop minion let me tell you that our information reguarding release dates is about as accurate as a blind man shooting a gun made out of u-joints.

[TerminatorUK]

I wouldn't bank on any extensive beta testing (Think BC2 1 month before release).

With the money lost during security incidents earlier this year, MMO projects being cancelled and staff laid off, there will be enormous pressure on Matt and his team to launch the as quickly as possible.

I hope I&m wong but just trying to be realistic here.

[krnasaur]

If the GDs at SOE arnt saying anything, i doubt a GS employee knows better than we do

[Graywolves]

I'd rather wait another year than have them rush it to launch.

MMO's that launch incomplete or with bugs don't get very far. Although there are exceptions, World of Tanks is a very successful (feel free to correct me) F2P model that I personally never really feel is a completed game although playable and enjoyable.

[morf]

"No doubt these dates are accurate"

That's what the guy said when I preordered Duke Nukem Forever in 1997

[Firefly]

I'm sure as soon as they have a date for either beta or release, they'll start hinting at a rough time frame.

[Chaff]

I would be happy with 1 (or 2) Planetside2 4-minute SOE alpha video clips - and toss us a half a dozen new screen shots - to hold me over another month or so.

[p0intman]

lolno

[Hamma]

To back up what others have said take these with a grain of salt.. nobody knows but SOE right now.

[basti]

Indeed, take it with a grain of salt. But this time, a small grain.

Higbys dev blog from today indicates that they got to a very certain point now. A Point where beta could start.

I literally expect beta in september now.

[Bags]

I literally expect beta in september now.

Well, there go my grades. :rofl:

[Minigun]

Well, there go my grades. :rofl:

your telling me, i was planning on trying to do good this semester lol

[Crazyduckling]

Well, there go my grades. :rofl:

your telling me, i was planning on trying to do good this semester lol

I'm with you guys.

How am I going to balance an internship, job, class, and PS2? One of them must go! :D

[Grimster]

LOL, I don't work in that business but it doesn't take a Einstein to figure out that the guys selling the game are probably among the last to know when the game is actually getting released. :)

Gamestop probably got that from some distributor who provided it as fact when they simply don't know. :)

[Avirau]

... to my friend at GameStop today, and asked...

Stopped reading there. Seriously, everyone should know by now that any GameStop "release dates" listed before an official date is stated by the developers/publishers is complete bull. Also, I don't think it will be out until late 2012 given what we've seen so far, but who knows, one can always hope for something sooner!

[RedKnights]

Well we know they're doing internal playtesting, and we know they're doing almost daily patches of the game.

We also know they're in China right now overseeing "something" with The9, which my guess would be setting up servers for them and making sure everything works for them.

Frankly the OP's timeline does seem quite plausible, though i'm not going to bank on it because i'm a pessimist. I don't think Beta would be this month, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Beta in November and release somewhere around Q1 2012.

Though could you imagine it releasing in November along-side Modern Warfare and Battlefield? That would be sexy. I'd be happy with Beta in November, just if for no other reason there'd be a lot of press attention on FPS games in general, and it might capture the attention of that community.

[FastAndFree]

Also remember that Smedley mentioned he wants to go on a vacation when Battlefield 3 releases.
Could he leave the project hanging in the air for weeks like that? Probably not, thus he has no choice but to get it finished before BF3 is released! :rofl:

[WarChimp130]

I was at Gamestop the other day and they told me the same thing, but I told the guy there is no way it'll be out by then. He looked at me like I was stupid but I went all power nerd on him and said the game hasn't even gone to Beta yet and details are still sketchy at best about even basic elements of the game. Then I pushed up my glasses, shifted my pen protector, grabbed my game and stormed out.

[Lunarchild]

I somehow doubt that this release date is accurate also. Other than the things already mentioned here, there's also the case of <NDA sensitive information edited out>.

[PrISM]

To back up what others have said take these with a grain of salt.. nobody knows but SOE right now.

You sure even SOE knows?

[Hamma]

They probably don't know an exact date no, but they know a shitload more than a Video Game retailer would :lol:

[Lokster]

I am optimistic the game will at least begin BETA before 2012. I will be happy if it released by July 2012 tho.