Are updates a good thing?

[j8mie]

I am a avid PC game player, and have been for longer than I care to remember. And one thing that's really starting to tick me off with PC games is the fact developers are releasing games far too early, and with far too many bugs in them. In the good old days, when a game was on the shelf, it was finished, and you never saw a patch on the cover disc of your favourites games magazine next month. Nowadays, your getting patches released on day 1, and I'm sure publishers are putting too much pressure on the developers to get the product out there, regardless of how ready it is.

For example Stalker on the PC is a great game. However some of the bugs make it almost unplayable at times, and you end up getting so frustrated that you walk away from your machine with clenched fist.

Now that the Next Gen consoles are all finally here and they all have their own "Live" systems, I'm a bit worried that developers will be pressured into releasing games far too early, and then fix them via patches/updates later on at the expense of us, the games player.

The flip side of this coin, is that developers can add content to their games, should they wish to, and games are more likely to hit their release dates, as they can add content later on or simply fix them.

I'm worried that we're going to see a flood of half finished games hitting the consoles with bugs like never before.

So are updates a good thing for GT5, or not?

 

[Gabkicks]

with the ability to update, gdevelopers arent as pressured to release a perfect game, because they can go back and fix things... or they can just say they are gonna fix it. ala test drive unlimited

overall its a good thing though... because they can also add content.

 

[j8mie]

So you think the pro's out weigh the con's. Fair enough.

Anyone else?

 

[Dave A]

I think it really depends game by game what outweighs what. In principal you can make a valid case for either. In practice,a game that's had proper bug testing and hasn't had content held back from it's packaged release just to exploit downloadable content (hello Test Drive) that has the ability to use an online service to upgrade the game and add new content is better than not having it. If on the other hand, the developers decide not to include all the cars and tracks they've moddled in the retail version of the game so they can charge you to download them at a later date, that is as good as robbery in my eyes. Also the convinience of being able to patch a game repeatedly after launch does not make it okay to rush the release and to not properly bug test the game. Though this (povided a patch is released soon after to fix and and all/most problems, isn't as bad as holding back already created material to charge people to buy it later on.

 

[j8mie]

That's another excellent point Dave. I fear they'll begin to use the "Live" networks to patch games, and it won't take them long before they charge us for extra content as well. Before you know it, your spending an extra £10-£15 buying more cars or new tracks to race on.

Just another way of getting more money from us gamers.

 

[MasterGT]

Just another way of getting more money from us gamers.

In the case of the original GT:HD (not the current Concept), it was way more than just getting more money from us. It was nothing less than Extortion Gone Wild!

Cheers,

MasterGT

 

[j8mie]

That is my fear MasterGT. We could well see Sony/PD asking for us to pay for them to complete their games.

Sony have hardly indeared themselves to the consumer of late, and fans will only take so much.

 

[Gabkicks]

its up to consumers to keep that from happening by not buying the game if they have plans to charge us for updates.

if GT5 doesn't come out till 2010, i'm fine with it. i'd rather them release a well working one than a buggy one in 2008 or 2009.

 

[j8mie]

Gabkicks - I don't think there's a problem with us buying a game, but we need to encourage people simply not to buy any updates. The flip side is that PD can release GT5 early and hold back features like damage or weather, and release those at later dates, but only if they don't charge us for them. That way we get the game eariler/on time, but we get extra get ripped off when new features are released.

P.S. Glad to see another Live For Speed fan

 

[Rob192005]

its up to consumers to keep that from happening by not buying the game if they have plans to charge us for updates.

if GT5 doesn't come out till 2010, i'm fine with it. i'd rather them release a well working one than a buggy one in 2008 or 2009.

no arguments here but do we have to wait that long :| though saying that forza 2 will kick ass

 

[Leonidae]

no arguments here but do we have to wait that long :| though saying that forza 2 will kick ass

if it's at all like the previous one, it won't