Expect a Game with Bugs and a Patch - Short Development Cycles - BroMontana82's Blog

BroMontana82's Blog

Expect a Game with Bugs and a Patch - Short Development Cycles

Posted on October 26, 2009 at 02:26 PM.

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How does everyone feel about short development cycles? We should all realize and acknowledge that tough decisions have to be made and not-so-perfect games will be released based on the yearly development cycle for sports games. Specifically, some of the moderators at 2k discussed this recently. By now, this should be general knowledge anyways. Sports games are going to be released with glitches and bugs with patches already planned. Some games, like NBA 2k10, will even have a patch done even before release day.

People get mad about this and feel like they shouldn�t have to wait a month after release until a patch fixes what should have been in the game right out of the box. I, like many other people, have high expectations and have gotten mad in the past.

Since this is the norm now, we have to accept it for what it�s worth. Basically, going forward I will no longer expect a perfect game on day 1. But I also definitely won�t believe any hype or PR / Marketing being pushed out by the companies anymore. A lot of this stuff has proven to be a let down as the features don�t play out as they should or simply aren�t in the game. Everyone should take this stuff along with release day expectations with a grain of salt. Unfortunate, but necessary. Otherwise, you�ll continue to see a lot of flaming on the boards.

On this note, the problem I have with the hype is when major things are highlighted and don�t end up in the game or get fixed. I understand there needs to be positive press and this helps sales etc. but you create just as many enemies as buyers when something like this happens. I could go on about specifics but I won�t. To name a few � defensive rotations, physical defense, and the ability to defend the paint realistically

http://community.2ksports.com/commun...id=999213&l=11

I also don�t like the way games are tested � by people who look for specific pre-determined things and aren�t necessarily sports game fans or even devote a lot of time testing that particular game. Companies like 2k have limited resources as well. Why can�t respected members of the community be allowed to test the games? Not only would they catch a lot more bugs, but they would have a perspective representing the community and those who buy the game. Many would even do this for free. Are there specific reasons this doesn�t happen?