Are Patches Really Good for Gamers?

[aukevin]

I'm going to try and not be too cynical by thinking developers leave bugs in because they know they can patch them later, so I think patches are indeed very good for the consumers.

One thing that developers must start doing though is providing a way to allow users to update their game without having to get their console online. I'm online all the time for free with the PS3 so it's not a big deal, but some don't put their consoles online. Simply putting the patch in downloadable form on the developer's website would suffice if they'd do it.

[Swingking77]

In my opinion, were patches used as they were intended (to fix legit bugs found by gamers) then there wouldn't be a problem. I think that everything is rush rush rush, sell sell sell and in the end it's the consumer that suffers.

In my opinion patches in sports games should be for nothing more then roster, uniform, or other simple updates. We shouldn't be seeing complete overhalls of certain aspects of games. The way things have been, people could do without up to the secound updated rosters, as the games were fine. Now that we're in a "new age of gaming" developers are cheating us.

It isn't just sports games either as in game such as Battle Field Bad Company, an entire portion of online play was left out (conquest mode), which was always a part of the game before.

Also, one has to ask just how good a game is that requires a patch as I'm sure that the effective results of a patch are limited, once the game has been released, where as a game that is tested and fixed before it is launched can have every aspect of the engines (AI, Graphics, Sounds, ect) fixed to a degree that a patch simply can't reach as the game's framework, at that time, in pretty much set in stone to a certain degree...

In my opinion, I've noticed a great decline in game quality at a time when the games are supposed to be getting better and better, which isn't the case... Games have gone the way of Hollywood and replaced substance with eye candy and the result is... Well, terrible.

[jmood88]

When were there ever games that didn't need things fixed once released?

[Swingking77]

Most games released before patches were made available worked fine right out of the box... Perhaps it was a simpler time with less options/game content and what not, but at least it worked. If games were like cars, I wouldn't want a brand new fully loaded shinny new car that caught on fire. If the older ones worked fine and never broke, all the AC, power windows, and vibrating seats dosen't mean a thing...

[jmood88]

How many games nowadays don't work at all? Alot of the older games had plenty of glitches/bugs but people didn't care.