In the old days (last millenium: PS1/PS2, Dreamcast - you remember those times?) a console game was bought, inserted into a console & it just ran, you didn't need to worry if the hardware was up to it, if you had the latest drivers etc. it just worked ...and that was one of the great attractions of the console - and one of the main reasons my gaming switched that way.

But now, increasingly we are getting games that just don't run - at all!  There seems to be an increasing trend to release games well before they are ready, just so they make their slot and fix any issues in patches later, some games have multiple patches to fix serious issues that should have meant it should never have shipped in the first place - Far Cry 2 I'm looking at you!

What are your thoughts on this insidious move towards PC type patching after the fact?  Accepted it provides the ability to add new features, which I'm all for but not at the expense of getting non playable software!

I agree with your concerns and also think dependence on patching sometimes does lead to sloppy releases.

yawn.

I don't mind the patch
Why should it bother me if it's going to fix a problem plus it only takes a min to download

Games have grown much more complex since the PS2/Dreamcast games. Also, with a much more active online community problems are more likely to be found, and more likely to get shouted about.

You only have yourself to blamed.

There is nothing good going to come of a b/c it is leading to devs being lazy


Another industry gives the perfect example of how things like this work

You get a company find a problem and figured out it is cheaper to release a broken product and patch later then to fix I before it hits the market

bada bing bada bang bada boom, soon your having to go to congress to ask for a hand out b/c you were pinching pennies and it hurt your good name


Yepo the big three

The American mentality in the auto industry for the longest time was hey why fix it now when we can fix it later


And because of that you no longer associate such and such company with quality and you go to the competition instead


Believe me there are studios that are quickly going to get a name for lack of quality for doing this and if the wii shows anything its that the mass market that will keep these companies afloat it that brand loyalty isn’t top of the list keeping fans happy from the start is

QFT. Neither situation is optimal but I did prefer the days in which the gaming consoles supplemented PC gaming instead of feebly trying to compete with PCs.

I mention Far Cry 2 because that's what pushed me to post. I've had it freeze 4% into the campaign & twice in the map maker now. I know there are two patches, I have both & there are still problems & judging by the forums I'm not alone. I tried to take it back today but the retailer insisted that I could only swap it for another copy on the basis that if the first one was faulty then perhaps the 2nd wouldn't be!  No amount of explaining it was a program bug & the discs were identical would sway them!

I'll persevere but if it happens again I'll demand a refund and not be buying another product from this particular studio unless I hear an appology for releasing an inferior product.

But I am seriously worried (as is mesoteto) that this patching mentality is allowing devs to ship first and patch later just to make release windows to maximise profit and a reputation lost is not easily regained (and I think many of them underestimate the power of word of 'mouth' - via the internet)

I may sound fanboyish now, but this is exactly the difference between Nintendo and the others. If you buy a Nintendo product, you can put it in and play.

This "patching" is something for hardcores, since those are the ones not caring to download something, those who have their console hooked up to the internet anyways and those that may prefer to get a game earlier even if that means it is not perfect yet.

All of this is understandable, but there are masses that aren't thinking this way.

I was thinking the same thing.

its annoying when there are bugs... but i like the fact of additional content and adding new features.