nin wrote on Jul 3, 2012, 19:53:
Let's go back to your mcdonalds argument: Why are you asking the customer who placed his order to solve your issues in the back of the restaurant?
I'm not. I'm asking the customer whether or not one hamburger with pickles (when he asked for them without) is enough to make him boycott the entire franchise. Also, and here's where the analogy falls down, a customer who gets something at McDonalds is getting something that is 1) disposable, 2) marginal in price, 3) marginal in effort to create.
You want to boycott people with game breakers? I say, go right ahead. But if you're asking me why, from a business point of view, most minor bugs don't get fixed in game post ship, it's because it isn't the smart application of resources. You've already paid for the game. Now if you're unhappy with the game, you won't buy another one from that particular studio, and that's fine. It might not be fair, but it's fine. But you're asking me why game developers ship games with bugs, and I'm giving you an answer - because sometimes it's ship it buggy or don't ship it at all, and if you know the studio's closing up, getting some money for your months or, more likely, years of effort is better than nothing.
The games industry's a bitch.
Cliff "Devinoch" Hicks
Host of the Starlight Society Podcast
http://tinyurl.com/starlightsociety/