"There’s no doubt that fans will be disappointed about the long delay..."
They shouldn't be. They should be thrilled. Fans will be excited that the devs are taking their time to make the game as good as it should be. Only plebs will be angry that they can't get their gratification as soon as possible.
of course any fan of the series or of good games like these will be disappointed and yes, you should be. but given the choice to play a rushed out bugged version or a finished and polished working version hopefully all would choose the latter. if i didn't have 6 other games lined up already i would like to see the original planned release as a beta, but as it is i'm sure i will have plenty to keep me busy until next summer.