My opinion (which is often not worth a dirty cent
, if UT2 isn't released soon and MS is playing the "Hype" game, then UT2 will fail to sell the projected amount of copies. UT2 has to beat the excitement of Unreal 2.
From what I know and read, UT2...as it is now...isn't superior to Unreal2. So, unless UT2 incorporates something uniquely advanced (not so far as the engine goes, but for gameplay as well), I seriously doubt UT2 will receive the proper attention once Unreal 2 is released.
This strategy with hyping up Unreal Championship is and will kill UT2. For any game, release dates is a crucial factor. I've seen games immediately die because they were released early and too advanced for the current hardware. Same goes for games that were considered awesome, but released too late. I wouldn't be surprised if UT2, as we know it now, isn't released at all.
It has and will have tough competition and UT2 needs to be something the gamers WANT to, not just play, but purchase. So, unless UT2 proves it can migrate gamers from Unreal2 and the Expanded Multiplayer world, I can't see it succeeding. Seriously, UT2 should have been released...like...yesterday!
I'm not saying it's done. I'm stating that timing is everthing and people are so hungry for a new Unreal game that UT2 would have received proper attention from the gamers. And since I believe that Unreal 2 is far superior, UT2 wouldn't hurt U2's sales. However, release U2 first and UT2 second...I...I...I don't get this...strategy.
Are they purposely trying to make UT2 fail? DE is a respected and very talented company. So, I hope they have something up their sleeves, in regards to UT2. Otherwise, I find nothing exciting or special about UT2 (in comparison to U2).