This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was KEEP, unanimously apart from nominator. -Splash 03:58, 31 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl[edit]

DELETE this outrageous case of violation of common sense. The release of the vapourware game has been beeing delayed I don't know how many times. Now it is "early 2006".

Previous debates

• For a 11 Apr 2005 deletion debate, see Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl 2
• For a December 2004 deletion debate see Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Wikipedia is not a crystal ball, confirmed by this case, and I am executing my right and promise to put this piece of promotion of unfinished garbage on vote for deletion again. mikka (t) 17:04, 24 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep. "Shadow of Chernobyl" + "new releases" gets 931 Google hits, and the game has a page at Gamespot [1]. It's definitely real (even though it was missing at E3 this year... but then again so was Duke Nukem Forever). We should keep all articles on vaporware supposedly being made by companies that have released notable games, because it's better than getting the article reposted and speedied or dragged through VfU if and when those games do come out. --Idont Havaname 18:06, 24 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. No more vaporware that Duke Nukem Forever, as mentioned by Idont Havaname. The game receives enough attention from the gaming media to be notable. WP is not a crystal ball, that's quite true, but there's enough attention being given to this game now that it doesn't have to be in order to rate an article. Fernando Rizo T/C 19:09, 24 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep. There are plenty of (possible) future products listed on Wikipedia, as can be seen at Category:Future products. There are also articles on chanceled games. Besides, noting ongoing deveploment of a game is not predicting future and this case doesn't seem to be covered by Wikipedia is not a crystal ball policy. --The Merciful 20:09, 24 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, notable game. Constantly in PC gaming news. No less notable than other vaporware such as Duke Nukem Forever. It'd be one thing if there was nothing ever shown on this or hardly any information, but that's not the case. The article contains no speculation, but rather official information released from the developers/publishers. Does not qualify for crystal ball. Please read that section better. K1Bond007 20:33, July 24, 2005 (UTC)
  • If it is constantly in the PC gaming news, then reliable, verifiable, independent PC gaming news sources should be cited in the article. Currently they are not. I might be inclined to change my vote below if someone provides evidence, other than their own assertions, that this game is in fact getting attention in the gaming media. Dpbsmith (talk) 02:18, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Delete (vote changed, see below) as advertising unless someone provides good source citations showing that the game is in fact receiving wide attention in PC gaming circles. In any case the article should not discuss the game as if it existed and its characteristics were known. If we are to have an article about it at all, it should discuss it as notable vaporware and represent the game characteristics as speculative. Wikipedia is not a crystal ball. This is not the 2012 Olympic games or an undiscovered chemical element with predictable characteristics or the next transit of Venus. This is a marketing blurb about a game which may or may not ever be released and may or may not resemble the description. Dpbsmith (talk) 02:18, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
  • Here are the three latest entries I got when searching "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." at BluesNews: July 23, 2005, July 08, 2005 and May 18, 2005. It should also be noted that the term "vaporware" is both degarotaty and speculative, and therefore unecyclopedic. Factually games are only "released", "in development" or "chancelled". As user K1Bond007 noted, "Wikipedia is not a crystal ball" policy does not ably to this article. --The Merciful 11:14, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Comment - I've added some more ext links to the article, as well as a section about its status (or not) as vaporware and a paragraph near the top with information about its AI that its developers released earlier this year. Also worth noting is that out of the 2 million + results Google gives for "Stalker", the game's site is first, and the image results shown on the web search both appear to be screenshots from that game. --Idont Havaname 03:20, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
• Good enough, Keep in present form and hope for improvement. There are places where the article needs to cite sources instead of simply weaseling: "The game is expected to have a non-linear storyline and feature gameplay elements such as trading and two-way communication with NPCs. The game is described as including some role-playing and economic elements." Expected by whom? Why? What's the authority for this information? Until recently you could have said "the next release of Windows is expected to include the WinFX file system" because Microsoft's glossy marketing blurbs said it would, but that appears to have been an empty promise and putting them in an article would have amounted to accepting Microsoft marketing's point of view. NPOV requires the adoption of at least certain degree of skepticism regarding companies' claims about futures. Dpbsmith (talk) 12:54, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep, currently one of the most anticipated video games in the industry. Even if it is never released (which is a possibility), it attracted a larger share of attention than a lot of games that were actually released. It also needs some healthy doses of a factual cleanup and sourcing, as well as italicizing ad blurb references. ^wS;✉ 21:27, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep. THQ still has a page listing for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I agree with WolfenSilva. --ShadowHntr 00:30, 27 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep This game is still in developement and when it is officially cancelled, then we should delete the page. Fableheroesguild 20:28, 30 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.