Their were bugs in console games way before the developers had the ability to patch.

One of my favourite games of all time is an absolute bug filled mess.  The game I am talking about is final fantasy 3 (N.A.)  6 (Jpn)

Below I list just a small example of the many bugs.

0 man party bug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPDtoTMwAkY

sketch bug

This bug is now pretty famous (infamous?). It involves Relm (or Gogo) sketching a monster and then the bug occurs. It seems to happen most when sketching large enemies, unusual enemies, or invisible enemies (Gau, Intangir, etc.), but can occur when sketching normal monsters. The bug may do many things.

Reset EVERYTHING (i.e. three empty save slots)

Permanently mess up saved games

Give your party tons (as many as 255 [it'll say 0]) of different items.

Just freeze up (meaning you'll have to reset)

Erase items from your inventory.

About the only way to make sure you don't encounter this bug is to simply not sketch.

evade stat bug

1: The Evade% statistic (which is supposed to indicate a character's ability to avoid physical attacks) is completely meaningless; since all attacks are treated as magic, the evasion ability which gets used is invariably MBlock%. This means that shields (all of which increase Evade% as their main effect) are significantly less valuable to a PC than they "should" be. This in turn means that the Genji Glove accessory (which allows a character to give up a shield in order to wield two weapons instead) is significantly more valuable than it "should" be.

2: Since MBlock% is used to evade all attacks, a PC with MBlock% of 128 or better is invulnerable to all attacks except for those which automatically hit (note that statistics listed as "percentages" in FF6 are actually fractions out of 128) It is fairly easy to get 128 MBlock% in the endgame of FF6 by piling all the equipment with high MBlock% values on one character.

3: Being blinded has no actual effect on a character or monster whatsoever. Blindness is supposed to greatly reduce the accuracy of physical attacks, but to have no effect on magic. Since all attacks are treated as magic from the standpoint of accuracy, blindness ends up having no effect whatsoever. This means that items which cure or prevent blindness are completely unnecessary, and attacks which cause blindness (like Edgar's Flash) are worthless.

We worked on translating FF6 some years ago at RPGOne, and let me tell you, those issues that are best-known are just scratching the surface of the issues that the FF6 engine suffers from. The game is an absolute mess, and it's a wonder that the battle engine works at all.

Or the glitch in Jak and Daxter where if you failed to complete a certain race once, it was impossible to complete after that.

Yeah I pretty much agree with the author of the article.

PCs have tons of hardware combinations that can't all be accounted for and live testing is just a necessary evil. But with consoles you know precisely what you're dealing with and there is simply no reason not to thoroughly test your product.

Honestly though updates are a good thing when used properly, it is when they are used to finish a product after the fact that I have a problem with it. If they are used to add features or just make minor fixes its a positive thing in my mind.

I would argue this from the other side.

The whole reason that consoles exist in the first place -- that is, the reason why consumers made them popular -- is that they are simpler and less fussy than computers. No install times. No OS updates. No hardware configurations. No patches.

Now we have install times, OS updates, and patches (hardware configurations are still largely out of the picture, although you CAN still upgrade your HD and your monitor for a PS3/360). Adding these complications goes against the primary strength of consoles against the PC.

So if we're going to have to deal with all this fuss anyway, why not just play on the PC instead?

@Shams,

Most people will probably point to not being able to play on their couch, but if that is all they want they can do what I did and buy an optical cable and whatever video cable they need and run it from their PC to their TV (you can get both dirt cheap online).

In fact here let me make a kit for everyone who wants to do it:

What you need to buy:
Wireless Mouse/Keyboard - Choose One - $40 to $100
USB Extension - 6ft / 10ft / 15ft - $1 to $2 each
DVI to HDMI Adapter - $3.50
HDMI 1.3 Cable (24AWG) Flat - 3ft / 6ft / 10ft / 15ft / 20ft / 25ft / 30ft / 35ft - $5 to $35
Optical Toslink Cable - 3ft / 6ft / 12ft / 25ft / 35ft / 50ft / 75ft / 100ft - $5 to $25

Wireless mouse and keyboard will let you control your PC from the couch and the USB extension, should you need it, brings the USB reciever for the M/K closer to your couch for a strong signal. HDMI and Optical cable lengths should be chosen with at least 3ft to spare on your calculations, 5-6ft is preferable.

What you need to have:
Sound Card that supports Optical output and a TV or Audio Receiver that supports Optical input.
Video Card that supports DVI and multiple outputs and a TV that supports HDMI inputs

Total Cost: $55 to $165
Average Cost: $85-$95 allowing for ~30ft of cabling and a mid-range wireless K/M choice.

Wii owners can actually buy a USB bluetooth adapter and bypass the K/M and just use the Wii-Mote as a mouse directly.  With the windows built-in onscreen keyboard you can accomplish everything but its a bit more tedious to type with.  You do save some cash though..personally I went with both =P

I would have to say that part of the blame needs to fall onto the player. We scream and whine for new games like the 30 we have sitting there couldnt be played again and be just as fun. So the developers answer us by giving us a 90% game to hush the masses. One company who does not do this to the extent that I think others do is blizzard yet for giving us complete games they get branded as a company who takes WAY to long to make a game...

Actually, Bodhesatva, I believe that's rather central in why the Wii is more a console than a PC. Aside from system updates, a rare case with the first printing of the Japanese version of Brawl, and excluding third-party efforts, the Wii is primarily a not-at-all-PC-like system. Any product which does not differentiate itself sufficiently from another line of products becomes a competitor with those products on a long enough timeline. Conversely, a product which differentiates itself enough from other products does not experience meaningful competition from those products on a long enough timeline.

this does my head in to, i dont mind adding extra content but when developers are releasing game like 90% done then releasing the patch to fix it a few weeks later really does boil my blood.

I love patches. They make the game better.