There goes Torchlight 2

The gaming community suffered another setback today as Torchlight 2's devs announced that the game would be delayed into early 2012 from a previously expected release in December of this year. Many were waiting with bated breath for this game and I was one of those interested.

I have stated this before and I will repeat it: I didn't like the first Torchlight. The game just didn't "click" for me (forgive the unintentional pun). Luckily they had a demo that helped me make up my mind.

Even if I disliked the original game, I am still very curious to see how this one turns out. To quote the devs, "We feel pretty safe in saying that if you enjoyed Torchlight at all, this sequel is superior in every respect". In any case, most of the game's fans are aware that it will contain great improvements over the original.

The fan response to this delay seems to be positive. Even if people are itching to get their hands on it, many have realized that it's preferable to wait a little bit longer for a more polished game than to have an early release filled with bugs. The same is valid for Diablo 3. After all, that's why it was pushed to 2012.

Unfortunately, those who were disappointed by Diablo 3's delay were somewhat counting on Torchlight 2 to fill their time until Blizzard's game was released. Now it looks like both games will be out in the same period.

I feel a bit sad for Torchlight's devs because they are a talented bunch of people. I'm afraid that the closer their release is to Diablo 3's the less sales they will get. In a way Torchlight is the antithesis of what Diablo has become: it can be played offline, it can be played in a LAN, it can be modded and it costs only $20. As such, it does not compete directly but it still remains a classic Diablo clone. For this last reason, I believe that most Diablo fans would rather have the real thing than Torchlight, even if they are perfectly capable of spending a little time with the smaller game until D3 comes out.

It's going to be an interesting few months. Which game will be released first? I'm still rooting for Torchlight 2. If I like the demo I'll definitely buy it and I really hope I will like it this time. Even if not, I still give kudos to the devs for building up such a loyal following through their hard work and unconventional business tactics.

Hopefully the two releases won't clash too much. I still believe that Diablo 3 will be released on January 17th. I have no proof, it's just something I read somewhere on the internet so it must be true.