The Video Game Critic

[QUOTE=IronKnux]The concept of a patch is ridiculous in the first place. It's like, you pay good money for a new PC game only to have the developers say "Oh, my bad. We published something unfinished/bug-ridden. Whoops." What ever happened to buying a FINISHED game?
[/QUOTE]

I think the concept of a bug-free game in this day and age is ridiculous.

Operating systems, business applications and yes, even games, are so complex that some patches are inevitable. What is important is how these patches are delivered. My Mac downloads all OS updates in the background automatically and I never have to worry about it (I never have to search for them). Most of my applications do the same thing.

To say most PC games are "unfinished" or "bug-ridden" is a bit over the top.

[QUOTE=soporj]

I think the concept of a bug-free game in this day and age is ridiculous.

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Oh stop being an apologist.  Sure games are bigger these days, but so are their budgets.  It isn't like developers are only using the exact same money they used to make 2600 games.  Look at the price of games, look at the bigger market, look at how much money some developers have.  If you can't afford to make the freaking game right the first time, then obviously you should have made a simpler game.  No one required that the game be 100 hours long except the people making it.  If you can't make 100 bug free hours, then make it 20 hours long and make it work.  Movie makers don't get to spend all of their budget on putting 100 hours of special effects in a movie and then say "oh, in the third and fifth battle scene we screwed up.  There aren't any orcs, so they're battling air.  Sorry, but you know, there is an awful lot of computer generated action, and we can't get the full 100 hours right."  If you can't take care of a game at the size you make it, then don't make it that size.  

It's a stupid excuse from money grabbers in the industry, and you are sadly believing it. 

[QUOTE=soporj]
I think the concept of a bug-free game in this day and age is ridiculous.

Operating systems, business applications and yes, even games, are so complex that some patches are inevitable. What is important is how these patches are delivered. My Mac downloads all OS updates in the background automatically and I never have to worry about it (I never have to search for them). Most of my applications do the same thing.

To say most PC games are "unfinished" or "bug-ridden" is a bit over the top.
[/QUOTE]

On the PC, you are probably right, just because there are an endless number of possible PC configurations, and one is bound to make the game choke.

On the consoles however, you have a controlled environment.  Yes, the games are more complex, but developers have toolkits to abstract away much of that complexity.  Minor glitches are unforgiveable, but to have a console game crash on a regular basis is not.

[QUOTE=Atarifever]Movie makers don't get to spend all of their budget on putting 100 hours of special effects in a movie and then say "oh, in the third and fifth battle scene we screwed up.  [/QUOTE]

Atarifever, you've never heard of George Lucas, have you?

I was gonna say what The VGC said, AF.... There are a zillion and one PC compatible machines, each a TEENY bit different from the other. It's remarkable that ANY game would work on them all. The more complex the game, the more likely there will be a bug needing a patch. You can't blame the developers for not buying 10,000 defferent PC setups and trying each one in ever possible configuration.

That is why I get smug with my little 12" diagonal screen iMac- A MAC is a MAC is a MAC! I've never had a MAC game not run or crash! The newer Macs have faster Processors, but as far as I know the arcitecture is pretty much the same. (I wish I could get a PC to help me do art though...I'm seriously stuck in the stone age with this 0.0005 mhz, 2K ram, OS 8.6 iMac of mine!)

The new Star Wars movies are just a table for which to sign mega merchandising and game liscences deals on! They were never intended to be picked apart on their own merits! 

Oh, that more artists had the class and integrity of Bill Watterson.

PC gaming is for the select few.