The Video Game Critic

When the company that made the game releases a patch, and doesn't even post it on its own website--it posts it on video game magazine websites!

This has happened to me before.  All I want is a patch for Call of Duty--shouldn't I be able to download it without hassle since I BOUGHT the game??

[QUOTE=wur]When the company that made the game releases a patch, and doesn't even post it on its own website--it posts it on video game magazine websites!

This has happened to me before.  All I want is a patch for Call of Duty--shouldn't I be able to download it without hassle since I BOUGHT the game??
[/QUOTE]

I agree COMPLETELY with you Wur!  More often than not now you'll go to the website for the update/patch (annoying in and of itself) and all they have are a bunch of links to get the patch from other websites.  Then, 80% of the time, THOSE websites won't let you download the patch without 'registering' and giving them a bunch of your information.  JUST GIMME THE PATCH!  It's such a scam.
Sudz

I've gotten so much flak over the years for my lack of on-line play, yet I see complaints like this all of the time!  God help us if consoles ever adopt this approach.

Actually, I've had the same type of experience when looking for patches and drivers for PC non-game software.

Sorry Dave but I think the whole 'need a patch' problem is indeed starting to creep into the console world, and you'll be seeing it more and more as the console makers push "going online" for their users (for content, games, achievements, etc.) and begin to just assume that all console users go online.  Kind of like how all PC software makers now just assume that everyone who has a PC goes online with it.
Sudz

Most official sites are just Flash and loading screens.  I actually like that I can find one  site that will have all the major updates to games. 

I totally agree with everyone on this issue. Hunting for patches can sometimes be a time wasting nightmare, especially when the game company does not host the file on their servers. In one game I had to apply 2 older patches in order to get the latest patch to work but finding a working set of the older ones took an hour of Google searching, arrgh! Is it too hard to ask to have a "check for updates" button on the main menu like they do in Rise of Nations or even an auto update like in many console games?

Not only they assume that you have an Internet connection, they assume you have a high speed connection. Some patches clock in at nearly 1 Gig of space now, which is ludicrous. If the server is busy and manage only 100k per second it will take you 3 hours to download the thing.

When on-line play is REQUIRED, Game consoles won't be game consoles they'll be bonifide computers. That's the day I'll
stop buying new game consoles. The purpose of a game console is supposed to be SIMPLICITY...stick a cart/disc in, it loads,
press start and play. Computers are a nightmare.

While I've had FAR fewer problems with MAC than WINDOWS (I LOVE my MACMAME!) , I still recall all the things PC games did to me. Shortly after getting a PC, a Puzzle game caused windows to crash and at the time you had to BUY a backup for $49!!!!! So that "freware game" cost me fifty bucks! Not to mention two hours to reinstall on 3.5 inch floppies! After that I NEVER even tried another windows game, only DOS but even there...you have to install the game, verify passwords, load patches, call consumer support....No thanks, gimmee a C=>64 anyday!

searching for older game patches is quite an endeavour. Many times I find it only for it to say "sorry, the file is no longer present on our servers"

I just don't see what the big hassle is.  I can find just about any patch I need on Filefront.com. 

I was there yesterday to find a patch for the original Baldur's Gate.  It couldn't have been easier, and that game is 10 years old. 

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?