This seemingly rhetorical question is the subject of an editorial on the Examiner.<blockquote>Fallout 3 is Bethesda's most recent--and best selling--title. Released on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, the game has received universal acclaim from critics and rightfully so. This may be the third in the Fallout franchise, but it is the first time Bethesda has taken over the reigns of this fan favorite PC series and brought it to console gamers to boot. The post-apocalyptic role playing game has been widely enjoyed in Europe, North America and recently, has stunned aficionados of the RPG genre by actually cracking a recent Japanese poll of best RPGs of all time, an unheard of feat for a western RPG. It is also, sadly, a game that is riddled with glitches, bugs and other defects across all platforms. The fan/knowledge-base site wikia has a Fallout 3 section with numerous documented bugs and glitches for every version of the game. Everything from the game slowing down, freezing, crashing and missions not correctly playing out despite required objectives being completed have been noted by gamers since the game went on sale. In some cases, these errors and bugs have been fixed by the numerous patches that have gone on-line subsequent to the game's release. In other cases, these errors remain within the game to this very day.
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But in all fairness, a lot of what has occurred with Bethesda games are understandable to a degree. Expansive games such as Fallout 3 are some of the most technically complex games available on the market with numerous variables to consider. Between free roaming NPCs, conflicts between multiple objectives and numerous conditions and factors built into environments, missions and even equipment, it's a daunting task to go over such a massive work with a fine toothed comb and take every consideration into account. Other games such as Bioware's Mass Effect have had the occasional hiccup that was eventually addressed. Recently the multi-platform Gearbox title Borderlands had a bug that affected the multi-player component on the PS3, though the error was rapidly corrected in less than 24 hours. It is unrealistic to expect that with games as large and complex as those we enjoy today, they will be perfect, bug free experiences. What gamers should be concerned about is whether this is a trend that will worsen in the future, particularly in terms of response from the creators of these games. Right now Bethesda is in a comfortable position; they make brilliant games that are enormously fun to play and gamers have few, if any alternatives for similar experiences. However if they continue to release games riddled with bugs that either take weeks to address or remain ignored entirely when developers such as Gearbox issue fixes within a day, it does not reflect well on the company and may possibly affect how willing gamers are to forgive their gaffs in the games to come.
If the future of gaming is one where gamers must accept the reality of fixes to games after release, then it will be the developers and publishers that get their fixes out in a timely manner who will win the favor of consumers. The good will Bethesda has among fans who love the games they provide may not last if a competitor arrives that offers a similar experience with fewer issues, or more timely fixes.</blockquote>Spotted on GameBanshee.
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But in all fairness, a lot of what has occurred with Bethesda games are understandable to a degree. Expansive games such as Fallout 3 are some of the most technically complex games available on the market with numerous variables to consider. Between free roaming NPCs, conflicts between multiple objectives and numerous conditions and factors built into environments, missions and even equipment, it's a daunting task to go over such a massive work with a fine toothed comb and take every consideration into account. Other games such as Bioware's Mass Effect have had the occasional hiccup that was eventually addressed. Recently the multi-platform Gearbox title Borderlands had a bug that affected the multi-player component on the PS3, though the error was rapidly corrected in less than 24 hours. It is unrealistic to expect that with games as large and complex as those we enjoy today, they will be perfect, bug free experiences. What gamers should be concerned about is whether this is a trend that will worsen in the future, particularly in terms of response from the creators of these games. Right now Bethesda is in a comfortable position; they make brilliant games that are enormously fun to play and gamers have few, if any alternatives for similar experiences. However if they continue to release games riddled with bugs that either take weeks to address or remain ignored entirely when developers such as Gearbox issue fixes within a day, it does not reflect well on the company and may possibly affect how willing gamers are to forgive their gaffs in the games to come.
If the future of gaming is one where gamers must accept the reality of fixes to games after release, then it will be the developers and publishers that get their fixes out in a timely manner who will win the favor of consumers. The good will Bethesda has among fans who love the games they provide may not last if a competitor arrives that offers a similar experience with fewer issues, or more timely fixes.</blockquote>Spotted on GameBanshee.
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