In the movie industry, if a studio is releasing a film they know will be savaged on release, it is a common practice to not let movie critics see it before it launches. This maximises the number of people who will see the awful film because they won’t be warned off by bad reports at least until the second week of release or so (when the film critics have actually seen it).
With this is mind, it is interesting to note that RealTime Worlds has set a embargo on press reviews until 10 days post launch. Although this restriction only applies to ‘press keys’ (i.e. the free game keys handed out to the gaming press) it effectively silences all the mainstream reviewers who rely on such free things to do their job. I’m sure that some companies will pony up for a box copy on launch day so they can still publish a review, but it is an extraordinary step by RTW. It certainly doesn’t instil any form of confidence that APB would good reviews at launch if RTW wants such things hidden for an additional 10 days.
World Class Villains 