Current Events > Should developers be fined or otherwise punished for releasing half made games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Too many games are released nowadays either half finished or in an otherwise unplayable state. Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product. I say $1000 usd for every bug found and additional fines for any bureaucratic reasons for releasing in that state. Send a message, do your job right, or pay the price.
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Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important

I mean, it ultimately is, whether we like it or not
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Maybe in extreme situations, like Action 52, where the obvious goal was money with zero effort put into the actual game itself.
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Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product

Don't buy it. Problem solved.

Close this stupid topic.
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Not the developers, the publishers.
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pojr posted...

Maybe in extreme situations, like Action 52, where the obvious goal was money with zero effort put into the actual game itself.

What about games like Superman 64 and Sonic 06? Those were games that released in a half finished nearly unplayable state because of time limits and executive meddling. The sad part is Sonic 06 could have been an amazing game. Maybe if Sega had a bit of, um, motivation they would have made it better hmm...
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eh dont be one of those cynical gamers that just cries outrage all the time.

this is not as common as of an issue as people like to make it seem. and we live in an age where if people are upset with a game, they can go directly to the creators online and complain, and the creators can continually update and fix their game.
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Rika_Furude posted...

Not the developers, the publishers.

This. Developers put a lot of care into their craft. They're just stifled by greedy execs.
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SSJCAT posted...

eh dont be one of those cynical gamers that just cries outrage all the time.

this is not as common as of an issue as people like to make it seem. and we live in an age where if people are upset with a game, they can go directly to the creators online and complain, and the creators can continually update and fix their game.

Patches only exist as long as the internet service hosting them is available. Eventually services like Xbox Live for the 360 and Playstation Network for PS3 will go offline alongside all patches that they contain. Then what happens to the games that needed those patches to function? Oh they're broken forever. That's why games need to be made functioning on day one and not have to rely on patches and DLC to be playable.
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LightningAce11 posted...

This. Developers put a lot of care into their craft

Eh, some do. Blizzard has been shitting the bed for the past few years.
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YUHH posted...

LightningAce11 posted...

This. Developers put a lot of care into their craft

Eh, some do. Blizzard has been shitting the bed for the past few years.

Yeah, because of Activision. Lets not pretend that Blizzard just suddenly forgot how to make games coincidentally when Activision bought them out.
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Also I didn't buy the Spyro trilogy on PS4, even though I really wanted too, because surprise surprise 2/3eds of the game is locked behind a paywall. Its things like that that should really warrant legal intervention.
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Duncanwii posted...

Also I didn't buy the Spyro trilogy on PS4, even though I really wanted too, because surprise surprise 2/3eds of the game is locked behind a paywall. Its things like that that should really warrant legal intervention.

Where the heck did you get that idea? It originally wasn't going to be on the disc, you had to download it, but there was never any claim you had to pay extra for it. No different to say, the PS Vita release of the FFX/X-2 HD Remaster, where the physical copy only includes X but comes with a free download code for X-2. (Although fucking LOL at buying physical games for a portable these days.)

And I'm pretty sure they changed their mind on that and will now be shipping the entire trilogy on-disc.
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Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product.

If only there was some way to hurt that bottom line to make it clear you expect a better product. Like, not buying it in the first place. ... Nah, it'll never catch on.
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Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important

you're asking companies to care more about people who won't give them money. that's just silly.
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Duncanwii posted...

The sad part is Sonic 06 could have been an amazing game.

based on what? their then-established record of producing shitty 3d sonic games one after another?

Illuminoius posted...

Duncanwii posted...

The sad part is Sonic 06 could have been an amazing game.

based on what? their then-established record of producing shitty 3d sonic games one after another?

I dont know what you're talking about. Heroes may have missed the mark but the Adventure games are classics commonly considered the high point of the series. 06 might have been high quality work if they hadn't put a deadline on it and really worked that gem until it sparked.
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I'd be more willing to push back against publishers. The reason that a lot of huge games are worked on up to the day they release and beyond, and why they suffer from a lack of content or rushed/missing story content, is because big publishers are ultimately working towards that bottom line. You need a game with this, this and this, it has to release by this date, and if it doesn't sell X million amount of copies, we will deem it a failure and the penalties for not complying may put your company under.

But a part of this is due to the expense and work needed to make a big AAA game nowadays. Games that require thousands of voiced lines and dialogue trees and skill trees and levelling mechanics and parkour and random missions - games that try to capture the current zeitgeist while lugging mechanics from a decade ago and onwards, all of which have their own development pitfalls and necessities, requiring more time, expense and talent to work on it all. Games are reaching critical mass, because we've come to expect so much from them with release dates as soon as possible, at a similar cost, and they now have to deal with these big publishers who throw their big money into the game on the condition that the game sells one, two, three million copies - all to pay for the million dollar advertising and the corporate management to guide their game along, which is often the only way that these games can be made in the first place.

Games have always been a business, but it's only recently that it's become this big of a business. Some devs in the SNES era probably had to spend a good few nights at the office to hit deadlines, and games have been getting bigger and more ambitious for years. But it's in the last 13 years, I feel like, that it's been commonplace to mass-hire a bunch of freelancers, have them work up to 16 hours a day for weeks before launch, work on patches after the game launches and then dismiss them all. That's not something that most developers do unless there's a deal involved - I don't doubt that Telltale did that after that whole fiasco, but 9 times out of 10 it's the workings of a big publisher pulling those strings.

Publishers have been a necessary evil until recently, but they still have a large presence in the industry and they're the reason why a lot of these incomplete games go out. They're also a reason why the games come out at all, or are even developed. Developers can be bad, but I would argue that a lot of shortcomings in the industry stem from the meddling of publishers.
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MrMallard posted...

Games that require thousands of voiced lines and dialogue trees and skill trees and levelling mechanics and parkour and random missions - games that try to capture the current zeitgeist while lugging mechanics from a decade ago and onwards, all of which have their own development pitfalls and necessities, requiring more time, expense and talent to work on it all.

This seems to be the mentality of a lot of developers now, and yet look at how successful indie games that don't do anywhere near that are lately; or look at how well the Crash Bandicoot remakes that don't do all that (and weren't even new games) did.

Many people just want something that's fun to play.
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As long as gamers are content with throwing away money on unfinished games, there is no punishment
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Aristoph posted...

Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product

Don't buy it. Problem solved.

Close this stupid topic.

This.

Why people continue to pre-order and buy games on day 1 from developers that are known to put out broken games is beyond me.
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Yes, but not in the way you seem to suggest.

Just don't buy half assed games, the lack of income will make devs think twice.

The only way to punish them is in their wallets.
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Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product.

It's called vote with your wallet, if developers are releasing half assed games, then don't fucking buy them, and encourage people to also not buy those games so they change their shitty ways.

Imposing rules over this whole thing because you think your weird sense of morality should overcome what they do as a fucking businesses is fucking dumb.
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I want to say yes, but gamers have such a weird definition of "half finished" that I don't trust them to make that judgement call.

After all, you should just stop buying their games if that is the case. But then you have people here still buying Bethesda games and Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed games while complaining that GTA V was a shitty, unfinished game because they focused on Online DLC instead of single player DLC
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X-Pac_Heat posted...

GTA V was a shitty, unfinished game because they focused on Online DLC instead of single player DLC

People actually claim this?

I mean, it absoutely was shitty that Rockstar welched on their promise of single-player DLC, but it doesn't make the base game incomplete. The base game stands on its own, DLC would be additional to that.
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Duncanwii posted...

What about games like Superman 64 and Sonic 06? Those were games that released in a half finished nearly unplayable state because of time limits and executive meddling. The sad part is Sonic 06 could have been an amazing game. Maybe if Sega had a bit of, um, motivation they would have made it better hmm...

Hard to say. In Sonic 06's case, I think the mission was to make a great sonic game, but the development plan behind the game was dark and stressful. Not the same as Action 52 where the plan was a quick buck.
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What constitutes a "finished", "half made", etc. game?

What a stupid idea.
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Duncanwii posted...

Also I didn't buy the Spyro trilogy on PS4, even though I really wanted too, because surprise surprise 2/3eds of the game is locked behind a paywall. Its things like that that should really warrant legal intervention.

Thats not even true at all lmfao

Plus it got delayed to ensure there wouldnt need to be a day one patch to put the other games on

Serious question is reading comprehension not one of you strengths?
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Crazyman93 posted...

Duncanwii posted...

Gamers need to find a way to punish developers for thinking the bottom line is more important then the final product.

If only there was some way to hurt that bottom line to make it clear you expect a better product. Like, not buying it in the first place. ... Nah, it'll never catch on.

That doesnt work companies will blame the fans for having no interest in their game, so they stop making said game instead of thinking their mistakes is what caused the game to fail.
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Choosing not to buy the product is punishment enough. They'll suffer because of it.
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happibivouac posted...

Choosing not to buy the product is punishment enough. They'll suffer because of it.

Unfortunately, there are enough people that will buy it and all the microtransactions. They're not gonna miss your 60 bucks when some idiot is spending over a thousand.
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happibivouac posted...

Choosing not to buy the product is punishment enough. They'll suffer because of it.

True but those company will come to the wrong conclusion and blame their fans, instead of themselves for why it failed.
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Social media backlash seems to have some effect to the point where EA even stepped back their shilling, though they may have put it back by now, I don't know. Companies live and die on Twitter.
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supermichael11 posted...

happibivouac posted...

Choosing not to buy the product is punishment enough. They'll suffer because of it.

True but those company will come to the wrong conclusion and blame their fans, instead of themselves for why it failed.

That is not guaranteed.
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Rika_Furude posted...

YUHH posted...

LightningAce11 posted...

This. Developers put a lot of care into their craft

Eh, some do. Blizzard has been shitting the bed for the past few years.

Yeah, because of Activision. Lets not pretend that Blizzard just suddenly forgot how to make games coincidentally when Activision bought them out.

Eh, Activision has owned them for a while now, though it seems Activision is really pushing things onto Blizzard right now, what with their garbage on the Blizzard launcher.
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rofl Nice topic
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Xenogears was unfinished and look at how much love that game gets
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Don't buy games that you believe to be incomplete. That's capitalism.
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Tmaster148 posted...

Don't buy games that you believe to be incomplete. That's capitalism.

There are companies which shows fake footage and even lie about their game, they should face some kind of penalty for misleading the consumers.

They even show exaggerated footage, then the real footage isnt like what was shown.
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Are you talking about trailers that start with something like "This game is a work in progress and may differ from the final product"?

Because the only game I can think of that was clearly downgraded and didn't say that in trailers was Aliens Colonial Marines.
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This is one of the few issues where I believe it's OK to let the free market sort things out without outside intervention
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DarkTransient posted...

(Although fucking LOL at buying physical games for a portable these days.)

Until there's a significant discount due to manufacturing, shipping, and warehousing being completely bypassed, I'll go ahead and keep my First Sale rights, thanks.

Waaaaah, this game that I didnt even wait to see reviews for is not exactly what I wanted. Better sue!
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20 to life minimum imo
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l Dudeboy l posted...

Are you talking about trailers that start with something like "This game is a work in progress and may differ from the final product"?

Because the only game I can think of that was clearly downgraded and didn't say that in trailers was Aliens Colonial Marines.

I know No Man Skies lied about the things in the game and exaggerated the amount of dinosaur and how they look.

There was another game which even the PC version didnt look like how it was shown the stage. It was a game in space unless I am wrong.
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supermichael11 posted...

l Dudeboy l posted...

Are you talking about trailers that start with something like "This game is a work in progress and may differ from the final product"?

Because the only game I can think of that was clearly downgraded and didn't say that in trailers was Aliens Colonial Marines.

I know No Man Skies lied about the things in the game and exaggerated the amount of dinosaur and how they look.

There was another game which even the PC version didnt look like how it was shown the stage. It was a game in space unless I am wrong.

Spore?
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The punishment is you should just not buy their fucking game.
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developers, no

publishers, possibly
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Remember this when you drones buy Death Stranding
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