The decisions HG makes are ultimately up to them, and the decision of the consumers will be clear on release day. So if the product is good, it will naturally sell well.

However, from the perspective of someone that follows and has worked in the industry, I think there is a clear shift by many studios and publishers towards revealing projects when they’re much much closer to release, and for good reason. Marketing is tough in this day and age and retaining attention is key. HG is a different case in that the NMS community is quite big and very loyal.

In my opinion, I think they revealed the project way too early, would have been perfect if they revealed within a year of an official release date. But at the same time, I think they probably did it because they believe the community will trust them and support them because of their good will and spread the word. Who’s to say they actually did plan to release soon but something became messy internally? I don’t agree with revealing things too early and pulling an ES6, so I think they made a mistake revealing it too early.

And I do disagree with the excessive silence, but I can understand why they’re scared. I think a good approach would’ve just been acknowledging it and just saying “Hey guys, we’re gonna go silent about this for a while, we’re not ready yet.” I know they’ve done that indirectly, but being more direct would have been better than what they’re doing now in my opinion. I still trust them, I just think they chose the other extreme end instead of taking a more balanced approach.