EU Proposal For Games
The EU wish to give gamers a two year guarantee. So long, buggy games.Published 18/05/2009 at 8:00 by CaptainMurdo
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Like us, the EU Commission don’t like bug ridden games either and could soon be taking matters into their own hands. A new proposal has been put forward to provide gamers a two year guarantee on all games in the event that a bug or glitch is encountered preventing you from completing the game and/or ruining the experience.
This would work much like a normal guarantee on any product. If you are unhappy with the experience – and I do not mean you just hate the game – then you have the right to a full refund.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Richard Wilson, Head of the video games developers’ association Tiga, stated that the proposed changes could “stifle new ideas as people could end up just playing it safe.” This is true, but a glitched game should not make it past testing, perhaps preventing developers rushing the final stages to meet deadlines.
It would appear this guarantee also applies to digital downloads, however Francisco Mingorance of the BSA feels they should be exempt, saying: “Digital content is not a tangible good and should not be subject to the same liability rules as toasters. It is contractually licensed to consumers and not sold.”
Enough about toasters. Hopefully, these changes will result in games such as Fallout 3 becoming a thing of the past and developers will not see post-release patches as “quick-fix solutions.”
Source: BBC
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Jag | 18/05/2009 08:48
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715 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
Although I agree with the concept, I feel this is probably likely to mean even longer delays between games released here and the US. This might even lead to fewer titles being released over here.
Roarster | 18/05/2009 09:28
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148 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
Have to agree with this, especially considering the extra costs of localisation for the European market.
We’ll obviously still get the blockbuster releases, but the risk might be too much for the small publishers/developers to take.
Shrui | 18/05/2009 09:20
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261 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2008
What Jag said and:
Problem I see with this if it came is how do you prove your game is faulty due to bad programming? Especially on PC but consoles as well.
Bad drivers, memory faults, can the game be tested on the thousands of peripherals on PC? Then you’ve just got Windows on top of that and all the shit that comes with running games on it.
On PS3 & Xbox the hard drive could have an error, overheating, fault arising due to change in firmware etc etc.
Nice idea but when you sit down and plan it out it will be hellish to enforce.
Chimpanzee | 18/05/2009 09:22
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482 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Completely agree with Jag. It’s a good, well-intentioned idea but I think it will just result in games being released in the US/Asia and getting feedback on forums, etc before publishers decide if/when to release it here.
Uhyve | 18/05/2009 09:48
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421 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
Apparently Francisco Mingorance has never heard of the Supply of Goods and Services Act. The law doesn’t care about what is tangible when it comes to quality of workmanship.
While I say that, as long as developers don’t just send the game out of the door and forget about it, I’m alright with the odd glitch, I just expect the developers to fix anything really big (like game stopping glitches).
Kevling | 18/05/2009 11:33
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2032 TSA Points | Member since: Dec 2008
I contacted Traveller’s Tales once about a bug I thought I’d found in Lego Star Wars that meant I couldn’t finish a level (it turned out I was being stupid, but that’s a separate issue).
Their reponse was that a bug of that nature would not get through testing, and the game would not be allowed to be released in that condition.
This whole proposal is one of those things that sounds good in theory, but completely impossible to enforce in reality.
Who defines what is a “experience ruining” bug?
And how can downloads be exempt, when downloads will probably be the only way a game gets fixed? What if the downloadable patch creates more problems, is it now exempt?
Triggerhappytel | 18/05/2009 11:51
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388 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
I have to say, I’m not sure this is a good idea. In particular, I think smaller or indie developers will suffer, who don’t have the money or resources to extensively test every potential occurance for their games.
Further, open-world games will suffer – in most cases the problems are fixed, and I appreciate that it’s really hard for the developers to fix every potential bug in a game like Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3 before games are available.
Perhaps I’m just more forgiving than most, but I don’t ever recall encountering any game-crippling bugs. I’m sure there are some out there which are really problematic, but I’ve not yet come across any on my PS3.
CaptnSpaulding | 18/05/2009 12:13
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Hopefully it will just stop utterly crap games such as Need For Speed Undercover coming out.
cc_star | 18/05/2009 12:13
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7874 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Bethesda to stop releasing games in the EU?
They couldn’t even launch the DLC without huge bugs.
The fact that some game breaking bugs aren’t fixed in Far Cry 2 yet is also something which should be receiving attention.
TctclMvPhase | 18/05/2009 13:20
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818 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
Where do they come up with ideas like this? Does the education system in the EU completely ignore teaching basic economics?
Radboud | 18/05/2009 14:33
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973 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
Well, I think it is a good idea.
This really doesn’t have to mean that games get delayed or are not being released in the EU-region.
I mean, if you have a 2 year guarantee on a TV, than you can have it repaired under the guarantee for which you don’t have to pay.
If this is extended to software (or games in particular) than you will get the guarantuee that a developer has to repair the product if indeed the product is broken (this can be done with a simple bug-fix or if the problem is bigger, with a new version of the game).
It is very logical to protect the consumer for crappy/buggy games.
I don’t see the problem with this and as the market screams more and more for post-release commitment of developers this is even something that will eventually be a standard for developers.
As for the fact that bugs can surface that has to do with the hardware or operating system, it is simply testable if this bug is indeed a software problem or a hardware/OS problem. The only thing you will get with PS3 & Xbox games is the same as PC games (where it states on which OS, hardware and additional components the game is tested and most suitable on).
For example, if a game is developed, tested and released for Firmware version 2.60 and after installation of version 2.70 the game gets buggy, than it is not part of the guarantee, but a developer might still choose to fix the issue with a patch, otherwise I think it is Sony who is responsible for lack of downwards compatibility of the firmware.
I personally think this guarantee might push the post-release support to a good level (something a good publisher/developer should already want to do). But that is my opinion
Michael | 18/05/2009 15:36
Team TSA: Development
2217 TSA Points | Member since: Forever
Testing software is really not as easy as some of you seem to think it is. The reason bugged software exists at all though is an economic one. The warranty and potential refund may sound good, but I suspect it would be made difficult to claim that refund. Still I applaud the idea of economic penalty as it is the only thing that will work.
Radboud | 18/05/2009 16:45
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973 TSA Points | Member since: Nov 2008
I partly agree with that…..
The reason bugged software exists is due to a lack of a decent test, because a decent test costs a lot of money and therefore is an economic reason.
I know it is not easy to test software, I have been in the business of developing (and testing) software for over 10 years now. But the reason it is difficult is because people don’t start early enough with testing (like in test-approach, test-scripts (both functional and technical), test-execution and test-evaluation). You should start testing the software before it is software (if you get my meaning…..), that is what always goes wrong and that is always why testing gets the project delayed….. But still, these tests cost a lot of money and isn’t always done properly.
Al I said was that it should be simple enough to trace the origin of the bug/error… If the code is clean and the developers have an environment with tools it shouldn’t be to hard to trace it…. I am not talking about finding the solution.
Radboud | 18/05/2009 16:53
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What I forgot to mention is that it is mostly the gamer who can’t really state the problem in detail.
What (s)he did or what (s)he didn’t do, but that is understandable because mostly you don’t play a game to remember in full detail all the steps you did and the current state of things in the game….
That is really a problem….
I get it all the time at work where the user simply says: “It doesn’t work” and they have no clue about how they got to the part where it didn’t work….. This goes for (most) gamers too I guess, including me to be honest
Skrtel | 18/05/2009 17:53
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3 TSA Points | Member since: Apr 2009
Many a time I’ve wanted a refund after playing PES2008 & 2009.
baconditty | 18/05/2009 18:28
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1 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
OMGosh, have they completely lost their minds or what??
RT
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