Living With a Nerd

The gap between consoles and PC’s has been gradually getting smaller, and with the current generation of hardware the gap has become almost non-existent.  Multiplatform games are much closer now, both in terms of overall game design and graphics (although the PC does still hold an edge in the graphics department.)  Integration with online services such as Live, PSN, and the Wii’s online service have only served to close the gap further: game demos, full-length movies, independent games, and in some cases even full-length games are now available on all three of the major consoles (and soon they will be available on the two major portable consoles.)

While I’m pleased to see consoles becoming more “PC” like in their architecture, execution, and use, I have noticed a disturbing trend that has been around since the beginning of PC gaming, but has only recently reared its ugly head on the consoles.  For a long time, when you bought a console game, it was rock solid.  There might be the occasional bug or clipping issue, but for the most part games didn’t freeze unless something was wrong with the console, and game-breaking bugs were more or less non-existent.  On the PC, however, horrible bugs and balance issues have been the norm since the Internet became easily accessible by the general population.  Companies knew they could just release a patch after they got the game on the shelves, so they would release a buggy (or sometimes unfinished) game, only to release a patch a week or two later. 

With the advent of network connectivity on the major consoles, I have noticed this becoming a major issue.  MANY games sold for consoles nowadays ship with game-breaking bugs in the retail software, sometimes to the point where the game is literally UNPLAYABLE for some people.  But hey, no big deal, just push a patch over Live or PSN, and things will be a-ok.  ::eye roll::.  It disgusts me that gaming companies do this.  I would rather a developer miss their launch target by 3 months and release a mostly bug-free game instead of rushing it out the door, making life hell for the gamers that buy a game while it is still $60. 

Unfortunately, I believe a major reason why this has been occurring with greater frequency isn’t just because of the widespread adoption of connectivity amongst consoles.  The video game business has become more of a business every year; publishers are pushing on game companies to meet release dates arbitrarily set by a guy in a suit who knows nothing about making a game, and they’ll be damned if that release date isn’t met.

It seems like publishers believe that if they miss a release window, or if they push a game back, people will be angry and won’t buy their software.  Publishers of the gaming industry, I point you in the direction of Valve and Blizzard…BOTH COMPANIES constantly take forever to release games, always adopt an “it will release when it’s ready” attitude…and they are some of the most respected names in the business.  Yes, gamers get frustrated if you push back a title’s release date…but they will get downright indignant if you release a shitty, buggy game.