Is shipping unfinished games the future of gaming? 😥

[Kane99]

With the recent release of The Callisto Protocol being marred by poor performance and other issues, it made me wonder about all the other games that have been coming out broken messes. If feels like we get more and more broken games at release and at this point it feels never-ending. It's like games like God of War come out pristine with minimal issues, but then you get games that are released in clearly unfinished states, and it seems to be happening more and more these days. 

What can we do as gamers to stop this? I am all for studios taking as much time as they need to make a game. But I don't want devs to rush a game, release it and then say "oh we'll get these problems fixed and to a point where we want it". But it should never get to that point. Studios should be striving to make their games as playable and unbroken as possible. 

It's tiring to hear that yet another game has arrived to mixed reviews because of the poor quality of game at release. 

I know voicing our opinions has done nothing at this point, people are clearly fed up, and studios keep doing it. 

Do you think this will ever change? Or will we be stuck in this new routine? 

[Shortie]

I often wonder this myself as well. Before the COVID 19 pandemic, we used to have more games that came out which were completed and in better shape than we ever do now if I am honest. It was like after the lockdowns started and the pandemic started, game developers started rushing games like they felt they needed to release them as soon as possible and I feel it was mainly because more people were wanting the games to be released as soon as possible and they gave into that pressure, and it's just become normal now. 

I feel game developers need to step back and really state that they will release when they feel it is ready and not just give into pressure like they have been doing. It only hurts them if they release them too early. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

They are being more and more dependent on the internet to be able to update fixes. Think about your mentality as a developer/publisher or I should say those in charge of decisions on when to release; their mentality will get lazier and lazier knowing damn well they can just hot fix issues whenever they want. When you do your job, do you half ass it to meet a deadline knowing you can fix it a month later? The reliance on the internet is a fault. The Cyberpunk fiasco should have brought about some kind of policy, but the gaming world doesn't have unionization to oversee these things. Therefore it will continue to happen. Do we have some kind of consumer protections for unfinished products? Imagine if music you hear on the radio were a sloppy unfinished mess! Imagine having to update the songs. That would be horrific! They also get rushed in the music industry, but it is always a completed project. Gaming is obviously more complicated, but it's just embarrassing to release a game that is messy. Do they not have a team to play their games before releasing? I say the gaming industry needs to pass some standardized tests before being released to consumers. If it goes over a percent maximum error allowance, then it goes back to development before it's released to the public. Problem solved. But then you will have those that complain about any regulations and this becomes an us vs them issue. Then those systems get corrupted and people will allow certain games to be released and not allow others due to their politics. So just leave as it is right? Expect unfinished games to continue and get worse then. There is nothing you can do about it. People will buy it, be disappointed, and complain. They will also keep increasing the prices too on top of not completing games. Want to start buying a $100 brand new unfinished game? We have to be pushed to the max before any progress can be made. What is our max? We will find out no doubt. Soon, you will only be able to afford that one $200 game as a Christmas present. And they play it only to find out it's a mess. A few years later, you are buying a $300 brand new game for Christmas that is unfinished. Gaming then becomes something for the rich. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

I wonder, is this only an issue for Xbox and Playstation? Or do other consoles have to deal with messy games too? 

[Shagger]

This is not just the future, it's also the past. Compamiies like EA have been doing this for decades. The the two things that have ares;

 

1. Post launch patching has opeen the window for this to become even more common.
2. The internet as know it now helps word about such instances spread more quickly and get more talked about.

But make no mistake, this is nothing new. I remember huge issues plaguing game like Magic Carpet 2 and the original Dungeon keeper back in the 90's. Then there's the now infamous E.T. game and Pacman port on the Arari 2600. Because post launch patching wasn't a thing until comparatively recently, one could say the problem was worse, if not as common, back them. To play the patched version of Dundeon Keepr, fo example, you had to buy the whole game again in the form of the Deeper Dungeons edition.

[Gonzalo]

This is standardized yet. For years, more than a decade.

 

Bethesda games are legendary at this. Oblivion had parts that made you lose your saved game, because you were locked in a house and couldn't get out, and if you saved there, bye bye saved game. 

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/924363-the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/46947593

And funny things such as these:

Skyrim came out full of bugs but playable, except on PS3 which had a bug that made your save unplayable over time:

https://kotaku.com/do-not-let-skyrim-overflow-your-ps3-5859983

Solution? Don't buy in release day, wait for the GOTY version. It will come with the finished game and all the DLCs included.

[Shagger]

44 minutes ago, Gonzalo said:

This is standardized yet. For years, more than a decade.

 

Bethesda games are legendary at this. Oblivion had parts that made you lose your saved game, because you were locked in a house and couldn't get out, and if you saved there, bye bye saved game. 

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/924363-the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/46947593

And funny things such as these:

Skyrim came out full of bugs but playable, except on PS3 which had a bug that made your save unplayable over time:

https://kotaku.com/do-not-let-skyrim-overflow-your-ps3-5859983

Solution? Don't buy in release day, wait for the GOTY version. It will come with the finished game and all the DLCs included.

 

Good and relevant advice with Starfield just around the corner. Hopefully I'll be able to resist Starfield or maybe I'll play it through Gamepass if possible, but knowing me I probably will still buy it if I have to because I'm a turd.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Shagger

[Gonzalo]

Quote

Do you think this will ever change?

As long as people pay, no. People complain that they release unfinished games, but still buy them on release day. People complain about microtransactions but FIFA Ultimate Team microtransactions generate more profits than the game itself.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/25/ultimate-team-microtransactions-now-make-money-fifa-10461286/

Videogames are made by companies that seek to maximize profit, if you complain but buy it, it's useless, because what matters to them are sales. If people keep buying, why change it?

[Shagger]

3 hours ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

They are being more and more dependent on the internet to be able to update fixes. Think about your mentality as a developer/publisher or I should say those in charge of decisions on when to release; their mentality will get lazier and lazier knowing damn well they can just hot fix issues whenever they want. When you do your job, do you half ass it to meet a deadline knowing you can fix it a month later? The reliance on the internet is a fault. The Cyberpunk fiasco should have brought about some kind of policy, but the gaming world doesn't have unionization to oversee these things. Therefore it will continue to happen. Do we have some kind of consumer protections for unfinished products? Imagine if music you hear on the radio were a sloppy unfinished mess! Imagine having to update the songs. That would be horrific! They also get rushed in the music industry, but it is always a completed project. Gaming is obviously more complicated, but it's just embarrassing to release a game that is messy. Do they not have a team to play their games before releasing? I say the gaming industry needs to pass some standardized tests before being released to consumers. If it goes over a percent maximum error allowance, then it goes back to development before it's released to the public. Problem solved. But then you will have those that complain about any regulations and this becomes an us vs them issue. Then those systems get corrupted and people will allow certain games to be released and not allow others due to their politics. So just leave as it is right? Expect unfinished games to continue and get worse then. There is nothing you can do about it. People will buy it, be disappointed, and complain. They will also keep increasing the prices too on top of not completing games. Want to start buying a $100 brand new unfinished game? We have to be pushed to the max before any progress can be made. What is our max? We will find out no doubt. Soon, you will only be able to afford that one $200 game as a Christmas present. And they play it only to find out it's a mess. A few years later, you are buying a $300 brand new game for Christmas that is unfinished. Gaming then becomes something for the rich. 

 

A good point about how this is oddly accepted in gaming, at least more so than it would be elsewhere.

 

Excuse me, waiter?

Yes, sir?

I ordered my steak medium rare with mash potato's and grilled asparagus, but the steak is raw and the potato's are missing completely.

Don't worry about that, sir, we'll fix that in an update next week.

 

It's just not acceptable.

[Reality vs Adventure]

1 hour ago, Shagger said:

 

A good point about how this is oddly accepted in gaming, at least more so than it would be elsewhere.

 

Excuse me, waiter?

Yes, sir?

I ordered my steak medium rare with mash potato's and grilled asparagus, but the steak is raw and the potato's are missing completely.

Don't worry about that, sir, we'll fix that in an update next week.

 

It's just not acceptable.

I’d hate to be the one who gets a whole uncooked lobster staring at me. 🤢

[Shagger]

12 minutes ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

I’d hate to be the one who gets a whole uncooked lobster staring at me. 🤢

 

That would be the best complaint that was ever made at a restaurant!

 

Excuse me waiter, but I don't think my dinner is quite dead yet...

Edited December 7, 2022 by Shagger

[aerodynamik]

It's obvious to me that game developers take more time to create a game and at the same time often release half arsed games with a huge amount of bugs. The only thing we can do is to stop paying for pre-ordered games, and file complaints.

[Kane99]

It's just sad that studios still do it, and will continue to do it for years to come probably forever. I hate that almost every big release now suffers from some major problems at release. And they always promise to fix the issues. Well shit, it shouldn't have released in that state. Why is it that these studios have all these QA testers and yet we have some games come out broken beyond repair? 

Every time I see a new release flop because of technical issues, bugs etc, I always think it's going to be the last one, and studios will start to shape up again, and then another game comes out a broken mess, and then another, and we get used to it. 

Another thing is, studios know we'll wait for them to fix the problems, so I think they know they can release pretty much an early access game as finished, with the hopes that they can fix the errors later. That's the now, where we're going to keep getting early access games, hardly finished and then we're expected to wait for said games to be fixed & improved over the years. That's how it's starting to look to me. 

[Empire]

Because people keep buying them. Stop buying AAA games on release, like none have been good for a decade now. Because people keep buying them. Stop buying AAA games on release, like none have been good for a decade now. The games are rushed out for Xmas and the idiots eat it up. Devs then fix the broken game with patches. Happens every year and yet people act shocked.

[Kyng]

Yeah, this is why I hardly ever pre-order or buy games on day one 😛 . I only do it for my absolute favourite franchises (like Civilization), and even then, I'm hesitant. 

But it can't be good for the developers and the publishers... especially if they have multiple games released in a poor state, to the point where they start to acquire a reputation for it. Perhaps if the complaints grow loud enough, they'll get the message.