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Bug rant

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CiaranORian

There has been a lot of debate the last number of years about console vs PC gaming.  The general argument would be that console gaming is more hardcore and that console gaming offers a sort of watered down experience.  In the case of FPS’s, which are the dominant genre at the moment, that includes things like suboptimal graphics, controls and multiplayer experiences in many cases. However, what we are seeing more and more in my opinion (and I know I’m not the first to say this) is a blurring of the differences between console and PC games mainly driven through the era of internet console gaming. There are two sides to this coin. On the plus side we now have downloadable titles, downloadable expansions and user friendly multiplayer experiences on console.  On the flip side, and where this blog is going, we now have the issue of console game patches. Let me continue by saying I love Bad Company 2. I have logged probably around 180 hours up till now. It’s obvious the developers have taken time and effort to perfect the balance of the game with different classes and maps complimenting each other nicely. It’s a shame the same can’t be said about the back end of the game unfortunately.  Some examples: The rewards system of insignias and pins has been glitched since launch and even now not all of these have been successfully patched.  The most recent update somehow managed to introduce a new glitch whereby you get a “you lose” screen when your team wins and vice versa.  There must be something seriously wrong in a game where something so fundamental gets switched.


My point is this. I miss the old days where when you bought a console game (cart most likely), what you brought home from the shop was the final game. You knew what you were buying and had confidence that it had been properly play tested. Now, it’s so easy for a publisher to ship out a half finished game knowing they can fix the problems later.  All the early adopters then buy the game and by the time all the problems and glitches are fixed most players have moved on.


So what’s the solution? Well I don’t think developers and publishers are going to change their ways so I propose the next generation of consoles is cartridge only.  No more pirating problems for publishers and no more half baked products for the consumer.  Makes perfect sense.

Comments (4)

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TANK·
Ya i'm getting pretty sick of paying $60 to beta test games for these damn developers who shove this shit out the door before it's 'done' with the release it now fix it later mentality.\r \r There are three reasons I stopped PC gaming\r 1- PC gaming was the birth place of release it now fix it later once internet became wide spread .\r 2- The constant online cheating when playing multiplayer games like Counter Strike\r 3- Constantly upgrading or installing stuff on my PC to play the latest game.\r \r But now 10 years later, the Console gaming is every bit as bad as PC gaming now. All three of those are part of console gaming. Although you could make an argument that #3 isnt, sure they release new models but the games still work across all models of the 360 or PS3 and you just stick the game in and it plays no futzing with making it work. So 3 maybe not so much but 1 and 2 definitely are an every day part of console gaming now.\r \r
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Fish66·
The Free Beta Testing is bullshit (MW2) I wish everyone would have just returned it or shelved it until everything was complete, the way it should have been on release day.\r Ya know it will be the norm to release half done games and have everyone that paid $60 find all the problems for them.
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CiaranORian·
Just stick with your DS guys!
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redeye·
I can see your point, but I do think that we have a fantastic selection of games to choose from these days which are highly polished and really good fun. A few tend to set the tone in general though: MW2 for example.