Are Patches Really Good for Gamers?

[thescoop]

I believe patches are good thing but are being GROSSLY OVERUSED!

What do I mean by this? I mean that a lot of patches we see now are for bugs that should have never made it to the retail floor. We are seeing fatal bugs making it into games instead of delays on the release of the title we would have seen in the past.

Now some might not want the game delayed so that's another debate. I personally would rather see it delayed than having to wait a month or longer to play a game I already bought.

While the article is a good one, the question you ask is wrong because anyone with half a brain will say yes patches are a good thing. I mean even the most tested game may have a bug or two slip through the cracks. But I think the question we should be asking are developers depending on patches too much to meet deadlines?

The answer to that quesion is a 100 percent yes, at least in sports games. None sports titles will go the delay route quicker, but we the Madden fans, the NCAA nuts, we must have our copies at a certain point in the year and this has driven developers to cut corners in this new next gen world.

I for one I'm tired of it and would rather see Madden delayed than released buggy, but that isn't going to happen. I almost think you might see more people complaining if they were told Madden/NCAA or MLB 2k were delayed than those of us who are upset by having to wait on the patch.

Patches are a good thing for gamers, but they shouldn't be the standard that they've become in sports gaming.

[DJ]

This article brings up a few great points. I think patches are a bad idea and are clearly being used as a crutch by the game companies. They'll ship a game with bugs/glitches/errors just to meet their deadline and fix it later.

When we, the consumer are shelling out over $60 for a new game, we should expect it to play a certain way. I'm not saying a game will be perfect (every game has flaws), but there's no excuse for these major gaming flaws to be in the retail version.

The point about those gamers who don't have Live or Sony's online network shouldn't be taken lightly. Not everyone has their system online capable for whatever reason, and they are stuck wtih these broken games and no way to fix them. I feel bad for them.

Sports where one company has the exclusive license, there's no reason why they can't push a release date back in order to get the game right. It's not like we're going to go out and buy another football or baseball game. Who cares if it doesn't ship a month before the season starts?

[BrsFan34]

I think you're all being whiny bi**ches... its a f'n VIDEOGAME.. and at the end of the day making these games is about making MONEY... EA needs to have a new football/basketball/hockey game out every 12 months and with all the new things these "next gen" systems can do.,. the programming takes LONGER and LONGER.. 12 months just isn't enough time to reinvent the wheel every year like most people on these boards seem to expect. so just relax enjoy the game or god forbid... DON'T BUY IT...

[BobbyZ23]

My problem isn't that games are being patched. My problem is that the only way to receive the patch is through the Playstation Network or X-Box Live. This is a major problem for those of us that don't have high speed internet. At one time I did have high speed internet (a recent move to the country means dial-up is my only option) and I remember I was able to download most patches in a few seconds. That tells me that the patches files are very small. Why can't Sony, or for that matter EA, offer patches for download from their web site? I know it can be done because Sony currently offers their dashboard update on their web site.

[Bahnzo]

Quote: Originally Posted by mwjr

I think patches can be good, in terms of tweaking games. But patches aren't being used for tweaking; they're being used for major game fixes. While we're fortunate that we have the capability to fixthese games, I do think that patches convert what used to be hard release dates for programmers into initial releases followed by the final releases.

This pretty sums it up, and echos what I've been saying for some time now. People who think patches are good aren't really thinking things through. By continuing to allow patches, game companies will gradually become more and more dependent on them. Instead of a shipping a complete game, they instead can ship whatever is ready and patch it later. We've already seen this with Madden.

And then what of the people who for any number of reasons don't have the ability to connect their console to a high speed internet connection? I think companies should be required to come up with a solution for these people. They are just as deserving to have the fixed game as anyone else who paid $60 for it.

Like the poster I quoted said, patches are great for tweaks, small bugs not discovered, etc. But companies are intentionally shipping games now that need to be patched, and that's *not* what patches were intended for. And it will continue to get worse. You already have DLC being left off the games so extra money can be generated from consumers.

How much longer until a "patch" is 400 MS points? Don't laugh, I wouldn't put it past any company to try and pull that off.

[DubTrey1]

In the case of a developer like EA, they are a part of day to day business. They figure, hey we know that there are some issues with XYZ title, but only the hardcore guys will complain/notice, so we can still hit our street date and have a patch in the works to appease those guys as well. It must be a part of the EA business model. I am not opposed to patches that correct the gameplay issues etc. and actually end up making the games value even better (see CHoops2K8) So, I would have to say as long as they work their hardest to get the game out in it's most playable state, I am for patches delivered in a a timely manner after the games initial release. Besides, the patche(s) at least for me and Madden 09 is why I have yet to buy the game.....

[tutking]

It sucks to see it happening like this it happens with different companies but look at Madden this year.

After years of bug filled games you'd think that they had something to prove, but the bugs thread was put up the day before the game was released, and who put it up? THE DEVELOPERS. Asking not only for the bugs to be listed but had an specific way to list the problem and urgency. I looked at that and thought "what? are people paying $60 to be involved in the Tiburon game testing staff" theese people who bought the game early are basicly debuging a game they payed for. Makes me sick.

Developers get on your job!!!

Gamers we gotta show them were not puttin up with half assed games dont fall for the hype

my 2 cents

[jmood88]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bahnzo

This pretty sums it up, and echos what I've been saying for some time now. People who think patches are good aren't really thinking things through. By continuing to allow patches, game companies will gradually become more and more dependent on them. Instead of a shipping a complete game, they instead can ship whatever is ready and patch it later. We've already seen this with Madden. And then what of the people who for any number of reasons don't have the ability to connect their console to a high speed internet connection? I think companies should be required to come up with a solution for these people. They are just as deserving to have the fixed game as anyone else who paid $60 for it. Like the poster I quoted said, patches are great for tweaks, small bugs not discovered, etc. But companies are intentionally shipping games now that need to be patched, and that's *not* what patches were intended for. And it will continue to get worse. You already have DLC being left off the games so extra money can be generated from consumers. How much longer until a "patch" is 400 MS points? Don't laugh, I wouldn't put it past any company to try and pull that off.

The only game I've seen shipped with issues that the developer knew about is Madden and that's likely due to their development cycle. It's ridiculous that someone can turn a fix for problems in a game into an issue to complain about.