sapphire475gs: "Woah, I can actually follow his train of thought this time..." Steve, you have a legitimate concern in terms of economics, but I'm okay with delaying evaluation of a game's details to the point when it is actually released (at least in beta format). I suspect a sort of gambit. The most mystical feature of this game is discovery; uncovering myseteries. What if that applied to the game in general? Everyone who is sane knows that we can speculate all we like, but that if we do it to the extent that things may not be there, we are liable to be disappointed. Luckily, only the crazies of our community act this way and the rest of us maintain cool heads, only sucking on what little we've been given to inform what we believe about the game. That mystery generally unbiases the impression others have for the game. We do see people who liken it to Borderlands or Halo as a justification for disliking the game, but those eggheads can be convinced later. Revealing too much about a game will inform how the game is approached and played. What if you enter a game uninformed about the experience? I remember an atmosphere of mysticism when I first played Halo. I never heard of the game or its popularity prior to the day my uncle showed me it on his computer in 2003. I spent so much time just sitting at the title screen and listening to Marty's iconic composition. Then, when I pulled out the mouse and finally started playing, everything felt so unfamiliar and new in a compelling way. How much more could there be? Then there were drivable vehicles. Then there was the Flood. Then there was Guilty Spark and the plot to destroy the galaxy. If I had been paying attention and hearing about the game on the XBOX, none of this would have surprised me or gripped me. I would dare to say that while the game would still have been fun, it would lack that mystical experience of discovering the game. That shock and awe tactic kept me attentive to the Halo series (even without an XBOX to play it) thereafter. "I discovered this game; I stumbled upon it. I didn't research it and pragmatically choose it for the fun I expected from it from a review. This game was a hidden treasure; a sword in the stone." Those are words that the most memorable of games should evoke in our minds. For me, I can't even remember how I started paying attention the Destiny. But I would wish someone to find a game the way I found Halo. I feel Bungie has prioritized that sort of gaming experience over its launch day appeal. Let us remember that while Day 1 sales are nice, they don't account for the total profit of the game. People can still buy the game later if you bring them to your place and show them how awesome the game is, or lend them the disc for temporary use. Reviews and judgements will be made upon launch that will softly influence whether or not someone who holds out or ignores the game decides to grant some attention after all. Bungie appears to be prepared to stake everything on the quality of the experience they will provide in Destiny. If reviews are great, the players are satisfied, and the word gets out, Destiny will succeed, and it will have done so by making that first couple of hours feel wondrous. TL;DR: I think the game doesn't need to be a blockbuster in sales. It just needs to be a sensation of quality for the ones who do buy it; with social considerations in mind, that works just as well over time. What Bungie is doing isn't wrong, so much as it isn't addressing a concern for launch sales. I have confidence that the quality of Destiny will win out eventually.