Refuse to download them and you can't enter the game world, simple as that. This is where things are different with the console world too. Sure, you can stop someone from playing in an online multiplayer game if they don't download patches, but you can't stop them playing through a "campaign" style game by themselves just because they won't apply fixes. With MMOs, patching is a way of life. It's easy to fix problems and easy to roll-out these fixes due to the nature of the customer base and the product itself. Not so with a console.
Would Windows users complain?
It's odd as I can't imagine any other group of users (Microsoft Windows users for example) complaining about having free fixes applied to the piece of software that they use. However, with gamers it seems that they feel differently (I'm not going to get into a discussion about the merits of the relevant License Agreements at this point and who actually "owns" the product). It seems that gamers feel like they have been "conned" if they have bought a particular game, and then the developer admits that there is a problem and supplies a fix to it. I've never bought into that mentality myself but I do know that it exists. For me, I'd rather have a game that functions as well as possible, even if this means downloading a small fix to a problem.
Is the game finished when it goes gold?
So this is what the crux of the discussion seems to be for some people. When a game goes gold, it is deemed to be ready for retail, and that the majority of the bugs have been worked out of the product. And there's a key word in that sentence. The "majority" of bugs have been worked out. I can't imagine any game developers (or software developer for that matter) ever putting their hands up and saying that their software is 100% bug-free. It just never happens.
Article comments
1 - Dynamo of Eternia
I'm just speaking for myself here, but here is my feelings on the matter.
I am a console gamer. I have Xbox 360 and the Wii, and have yet to hook either to the internet. Currently I still unfortunately have dial-up internet for my computer, mainly because Cable is too expensive, IMO, and DSL wasn't even available in my area until just recently, and I just haven't had a chance to upgrade yet (I probably will eventually).
But even when/if I go online, I still don't necessarily like the idea of relying on downloaded 'patches' that are sent directly to the system's harddrive/memory.
I admit, I may be a bit extreme, but I always like to think of my games and systems in the long term and consider the worst case scenarios. Let's say that 5 to 10 years from now, my Xbox 360 harddrive crashes. So, I have to now obtain another one to replace it with (whether it be a brand new one, if they are still being produced, or a used one). Now, my problem is that I've lost all of the info on my harddrive, including the patches.
Now, at that point in time, the next new system might be out and these old 'patches' may no longer be available.
Another possibility is what happens if the next Xbox system comes out and is backwards compatible with the Xbox 360 games. Do you now have to redownload every patch that you ever used? And again, will they still even be available?
What I think, at the very least, is that if these companies have to release a patch, they should find a way to produce a CD with the patch on it that they can send out to people. Also, they could make it so that you have the option to download the patch file from the internet onto your home computer, burn it to a CD-R or DVD+/-R, and load it on your system that way. (Similar to some of the options for downloading the original Xbox backwards compatibility updates for Xbox 360, which I have frequently used). They just need to somehow program it in such a way that it will detect the save info from the game on the system and make whatever adjustment accordingly.
This way, you will still have a physical disc. You can keep it near or even in the same case as the actual game that it goes with (just put it in a CD envelope and put it in the clips where the booklet goes), and this way, if ever you need to reuse the patch, you have the disc for it.
As the programming, graphics, and time it takes to make newer, modern games advances and increases, it does become harder and harder to check for every little possible bug scenario. I understand that. But none the less, there does need to be a more reasonable way to do these things. Going online with a game system should be an option, not a requirement. And even if 99.9% of the gaming community CHOOSES to go online with there systems, there should still be an option for those who don't go online, or just want something physical to hang onto incase something ever happens to their hard drive, etc.
Honestly, I am really anticipating a lot of problems when the next generation of game systems comes out in another 5 years or so.
In recent years, backwards compatibility has become more and more of a desired option. Xbox 360 already gets a lot of criticism for not having all of the original Xbox games backwards compatible from day 1. And worse, they didn't even make it so you can transfer your save data from the original Xbox to the 360. But, what the hell is going to happen when their next system comes out? Will you be able to transfer your patches? And what about your Xbox Live downloads, which only work on your particular unit and no one else's?
The same goes with the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console and the games that are downloadable for PS3, and any possible patches that may occur on those units.
As far as I can tell, the gaming companies seem to be focusing more on the right here, right now, and not so much the tomorrow. They want any and all old games from the past backwards compatible right now (or as close to it as they can get), they want to make all these download options to make your current buggy games bug free, but do they have any plans on how to make your current data that isn't on a physical piece of media to the eventual, inevitable successors of the current generations of systems?
If my friend can't even use his Virtual Console Wii games on my Wii console, then I really don't see how these will work on whatever unit Nintendo puts out next.