Interesting Poll from Yesterday.... - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Interesting Poll from Yesterday.... Stuck

Posted on September 2, 2010 at 04:43 PM.

(4)

I just wanted to point out a poll I posted yesterday on OS, and the results garnered from it. I think it's a very interesting phenomenon we might have just stumbled across.

The poll question, "Has the ability to create patches hurt initial game quality?"

Unless you are a very young gamer, you may very well remember the day where console games were not patchable. In fact, there was a time when what you saw was what you got. So in a lot of ways, creating a game on a console was a one shot kind of thing.

So it was interesting to see your perceptions on this relatively new phenomenon among console gaming (PC Gamers know all too well what patches have traditionally meant.)

The results?

As of this writing, 64% of you believe that patches have at least somewhat hurt initial game quality. Over 2/3 of you in that camp believe that very strongly.

On the other side, 20% believe that games have always been flawed and will remain that way, just the nature of the beast. The discussion generated by the poll was quite interesting as well (and somewhat heated as usual).

As for me? I'm in the camp of the former group, patches have always had a negative effect -- whether developers ever admit it or not -- on initial game quality. But I don't believe it's a universal truth. Some games simply get it right, but they're also the special ones which we remember forever.

If you haven't voted in the poll, or if you want to share your theory, be sure to sound off by commenting below!

Chris is the Executive Editor of Operation Sports and maintains this blog on the site. He is also a native Oklahoman and avid storm chaser. You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisSnr.

Comments

# 1 ambani59 @ Sep 2

i like you ideas and views it awesome man
Football Academys

# 2 GlennN @ Sep 3

As someone who grew up with alot of PC gaming, and seeing how games were released buggy, seemingly with post-release patches in mind, I knew console games would go the same route once the online connection became standard. I hated that then about PC gaming, and I hate it now about console gaming. For me, as a strictly offline gamer, as bizarre as it sounds, online connection is a definitely bad development.

# 3 Eski33 @ Sep 4

I think the one thing that gets lost in regards to patches is the pressure developers are under these days. Back in the day, there was no pressure to release a game by a specific date. Since the inclusion of licenses (i.e. NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, etc.), a game's release date is dictated to the developers.

I am on the side that no game will ever be perfect regardless of patches and / or development time. It is hard for me to side against the developers as they already have the daunting task of trying to re-invent the wheel year in and year out.

If they are forced to rush a product out, things are going to get missed in Q & A. I love the fact that patches are available. The only issue I have is that many of the developers / publishers only support a product for so long, especially sports titles.

I do believe, however, that EA is taking a turn for the positive with what they are doing with NCAA 11. The ability to tune the game without having to go through a lengthy patch process is a plus.

I have never liked reading that developers are lazy. I have no idea what the process is to develop games nor do I know what time tables these folks are placed under. People need to appreciate what we have and, like it or not, patches are here to stay. Again, not a bad thing when things can be fixed.

# 4 bbolo84 @ Sep 8

I believe patches hurt initial game quality for SURE. I mean, I can't remember the last time a Madden game has not been released without some type of bug that is addressed with a patch. If you think about it, if you were a developer, and knew you had a patch to cover up any mistakes you may have missed, wouldn't you take advantage of it? In conclusion, while we are thankful we even have the ability to "edit" a game, the patches allow developers to relax a little too much I believe.