Before this generation our consoles were simple machines, push in the cartridge or insert the disc and wait for the game to begin. The entire experience was locked into what came out of the box. A simpler time, but was it a better time?
These days I can play against people across the world, get new content for my games and even new features for my console; sounds great, right? Well, a lot of people can be jerks and new content can cost a pretty penny, but that could just be me being cynical.
Patches are something PC players have long been used to and at face value they’re great, adding new features or fixing bugs. Sometimes I worry though that now developers know they have the ability to patch, games are being forced out the door early knowing they can be fixed at a later date. In Fallout 3 PSN updates cause the game to pause for several seconds, surely that is a basic problem that should never have passed Sony or the internal QA’s testing. Knowing it could be fixed later it makes more sense for them to put the game out day and date with the Xbox360 version. Even our beloved LittleBigPlanet is missing the online create feature that was originally intended for release, with no idea when we will see it added.
Alone in the Dark was a game not fit for release day and date with its 360 counter part and so was pushed back to be fixed. It sounds like we should be getting a much better game because of this, the developers took the time to make the game work and also fix the problems even the original 360 version had. So instead of several months of a broken or unfinished game, we got a better, more complete experience on release day.
Onto downloadable content. Our good friend DLC has been amazing at adding much free content to PS3 games such as Pixel Junk Monsters and Burnout Paradise, but what it gives with one hand it takes with another. LittleBigPlanet costumes that were probably completed before the game was shipped are being charged for, some as much as £4! Soul Calibur 4 came with “console exclusive” characters that they then had the gall to charge for later. In the old days all this content would have been on the disc instead of trying to lynch us later.
I have documented my love hate relationship with online play before. As much as some of these things irk me, when used correctly the online console is a fantastic experience. Games such as LittleBigPlanet would have not been the same without it, I just wish some develepors would stop using it to rip of the consumer and push out incomplete products.
November 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Yes, there are both positive and negative things about online-enabled gaming. Back before online became the norm, games could usually be played how they should without the need to patch. I miss those days. Without the help of the Internet I could sit down and play a good game without worrying about leaderboards, patches or anything like that because the game just worked. Nowadays, you rarely see a game that’s bug-free at launch, and that worries me. If this continue, suddenly we will see games that are not functioning properly to even complete the game (the GTA IV issue some people had springs to mind), and surely I would rather wait and let them fix the game than getting it and not being able to play it.
colossalblue Says:
November 16th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Far Cry 2 has a game-breaking glitch too which, distressingly, Ubisoft don’t seem in the mood to acknowledge.
The problem comes when games are rushed to retail with bugs and then don’t sell well, what’s the point in patching something that isn’t making you money? This has happened before with PC games and it will no doubt happen with console games when the market gets a bit more saturated.
November 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Then again, alot of games on PS1 and PS2 did have glitches too, most of which can be found on youtube. Without patches, these would stay.
Then you have firmware updates. Home, even if it’s been every bit like giving birth (from all peoples’ perspectives) is an amazing additional feature that was only really thought of propperly after PS3 was made. Same for all the other features we’ve got.
I see the actual problem being on creating a new console or game. With the move from PS1 to PS2, or PS2 to PS3, there were major leaps as the tech being used from the previous console was outdated. However now, we’re constantly being updated with new stuff to stick onto the console, or games. How is a ‘leap’ possible, when the previous hardware is already giving up-to-date content?
November 16th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I fully believe that we are seeing games released with known bugs so as to get them out asap. Patching can be a great thing, just look at Burnout Paradise, a shining example of online in my opinion. It took a while to release but was pretty much rock solid when it was. Online play is fun, easy to get into and reliable. They then released many, free, patches to add new content and fix the few bugs which most of us had never even noticed.
That is how patches should be, small fixes to bugs which have only been discovered thanks to the volume of people playing. The example from Fallout 3 is an easily replicated bug that QA must have found and yet decided not to delay the game to fix. Poor show I say.
What developes need to keep in mind is that not all gamers play online or even connect their console to the net so these patches, even those available on release day, may never be picked up and the impression left of the game/developer/publisher will not be good.
Sorry, thats quite the essay!
mcphatty Says:
November 17th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Burout is a good example and I think Warhawk follows, like you say we hardly noticed the effects of the patches because the game was good when it went on sale.
The online thing is definitely a hindrance, it lets slack developers to put out well marketed but badly polished games which can quite simply be fixed later. We don’t see endless patches and missing features in little PSN games like Eden and Flow because the guys making them know they have to get it right first time to make a decent living!
Less marketing and more quality please!
November 16th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Very well said, i share your opinion about the love/hate relationship a 100%
It bugs me when extra DLC is beeing charged for outfits and charaters like you discribed, it means (in my case europe so no PSN Pointcards and no Creditcard) im not getting the “basic” game experience and options/content as others with acces to buy these gamefeatures. wich for me f.a. resulted in not beeing able to play a lot of COD4 servers wich had expension map packs on there console…
Not that im too cheap to buy it, but im not freaking getting myself in debt with a creditcard just to enjoy all pleasures of a game!!
November 16th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
The Fallout 3 issue should never have even been certified, I would suggest that some promises were made and even palms crossed with silver to let that one through.
The game just isn’t compatible with the PS3 in it’s current state.
The FC2 issue is annoying and it’s a disgrace there wasn’t a zero day patch, and it’s even worse that the issue still isn’t resolved, or even acknowledged.
The laws of supply and demand cannot be argued with.
If we demand games by a certain date (purchasing them in huge numbers, up from last year, is us demanding) despite pre-launch reviews pointing out some of these faults, then the publishers will continue to force these release dates on the developers and in turn if the game is then purchased (with faults) where is the penalty to discourage this practice.
But how Fallout 3 got certified with that particular PSN fault stinks!
November 19th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
there used to be lots of…tools… on warhawk but now sony has stopped flag throwing and taken TK’s off there servers, the…tool… population is now endangered.