This is one of the primary reasons why I dreaded when Xbox Live started to be pushed so hard. True, it is a cash cow and helps to keep the platform alive, but at first it was optional to have it. Now that they are shipping out buggy software and downloaded content with a “catch”? It is a requirement.

Shortly after getting a Xbox I actually thought maybe I was being pessimistic. The things that were “fixed” were mainly multiplayer oriented–to prevent cheats, help with lag, etc. This is incredibly hard to test and debug without real-world conditions. I think it is exactly the kind of thing that online support is meant for. Then the upside was that it in no way impacted the single player experience and in a sense it was optional.. though you were booted off if you refused to download the latest patch. At least thing like additional maps or expansions would often be thrown in as well.

Then recently Xbox released a patch for Guitar Hero II that was needed to fix a controller issue. Yeah, talk about a serious bug!

They’ve also started releasing single player content (e.g., Elder Scrolls) that you can pay for, download, but only play on one system, you log in to Xbox Live, and using the account used to download. Wow, they took a que from the recording industry on that one!

Then they started charging for every little minor feature upgrade that is released. Features that often should have been in the buggy game to being with.

I recently saw someone add up what Elder Scrolls would cost included game and new content — it was over $120. The problem was the new content did NOT double the game’s content for double the price.

No, Sony is certainly not the only one. I don’t think I was such the pessimist anymore.

– Paul

I do like the fact that if I own a buggy game the developers have a way to patch those bugs - and that installing the update is completely automatic.

It does make me wonder, though, just how many of our favorite old-school console games have bugs that we’ve just never noticed.

You know, it’s not so much the patching that I dislike. Most people have Internet access these days, and if the patch process is straight-forward and seamless that isn’t a huge problem.

My concern is the risk of games being released buggy. While downloading patches when you first get the games is no big deal, waiting 3-4+ weeks until the patch comes out kind of is. It sucks to buy a game the day it comes out and find it nearly unplayable.

I wouldn’t mind this so much if the same thing doesn’t already happen with computer games. At least, in theory, console games are easier to run Q/A on - but some of the MotorStorm bugs above seem like they should never have made it out the door.

- Jeff

I think what you are really getting at is the principle of slipping expectations. Basically, the idea of being able to fix something is no longer a “bug” it is a “feature”. Wooo hooo, let’s pay extra for it! And we are paying extra for it. It is now a REQUIREMENT that you have online access, a current account, etc. Nice racket they have going.

I think a classic example of this that I’m all too familar with was when I used to play Everquest. SOE become known for shipping out expansions that were unplayable out of the box, and they even admitted as much (okay, they didn’t admit being unplayable, only that they knew it was rushed and was buggy as hell).

This was the primary reason that I stopped playing Everquest–the software was buggy and the consumers put up with it by buying the crap. So where was the incentive to fix it? There was none. They were making the money that they intended to make and all the complaining in the world didn’t change their bottom line. There is a reason they called it Evercrack after all.

The ability to fix something after the fact is now a point that the business side can and does use to pressure the development side of the house. Why make it perfect when people will actually pay you more to buy a buggy version that you fix later? This became painfully clear in the PC online gaming market (which I no longer participate in because of this) and it looks like it is on it’s way to becoming the adopted philosphy of the console market. ugh.

Just had this conversation come up at work recently, where I made a prediction. I predict that the practice will get worse, there will be a class action lawsuit, a couple of years from now we’ll all receive a free month of online service (Xbox Live, etc), and then back to business as usual.

The only noticeable difference will probably be requiring obnoxious disclaimers on the box as well as click through screens that you can’t skip that say to the effect “You accept this software as is”.

— Paul