• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Fez glitched-patch goes back online, will not be fixed due to re-cert fees

W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
http://polytroncorporation.com/were-not-going-to-patch-the-patch



We’re bringing the first FEZ patch online.
It’s the same patch.

We’re not going to patch the patch.

Why not? Because microsoft would charge us tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game.

And because as it turns out, the save file delete bug only happens to less than a percent of players. It’s a shitty numbers game to be playing for sure, but as a small independent, paying so much money for patches makes NO SENSE AT ALL. especially when you consider the alternative. Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too!

We believe the save file corruption issue mostly happened to players who had completed, or almost completed the game. If you hadn’t already seen most of what FEZ had to offer, your save file is probably safe. It doesn’t happen if you start a new game.

We believe the current patch is safe for an overwhelming majority of players.

The patch fixes almost everything that’s been wrong with the game since launch. The framerate issues, the loading, the skips, the death loops, everything! All that stuff is fixed! And right now, nobody can get to it since the patch was pulled. For 99% of people, it makes FEZ a better game.

To the less-than-1% who are getting screwed, we sincerely apologize. We know this hurts you the most, because you’re the ones who put the most times into the game. And this breaks our hearts. We hope you dont think back on your time spent in FEZ as a total waste.

Microsoft gave us a choice: either pay a ton of money to re-certify the game and issue a new patch (which for all we know could introduce new issues, for which we’d need yet another costly patch), or simply put the patch back online. They looked into it, and the issue happens so rarely that they still consider the patch to be “good enough”.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, paying such a large sum of money to jump through so many hoops just doesn’t make any sense. We already owe microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform. People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.

So we’re going to go ahead and put Title Update back online, and for a vast majority of people it’s going to make FEZ a better game.

Thank you for your understanding and continuing support.

Sincerely,

The Polytron Team
Click to expand...
 
T

Tomat

Wanna hear a good joke? Waste your time helping me! LOL!
Why didn't they release on Steam? Did they have a deal with Microsoft?

I have to wonder though why it costs so much to patch a game on the 360. What exactly is that money going toward? Does it cost to patch games on Steam too?
 
B

BolognaSoup

Member
I was waiting for the patch to continue playing. Now I'm just going to forget about it.

Between this and the Pinball Arcade BS, I'm done buying games on XBLA.
 
E

Effect

Member
Isn't this the company that was talking trash about Japanese games and how they were made and how they sucked?
 
C

Card Boy

Banned
toythatkills said:
Maybe they should have got it right the first time, then.
Click to expand...

10's and thousands of dollars for a patch is not really ideal though.

People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.
Click to expand...

Cool so why isn't the game not on Steam/PSN? Not a port beg but a honest question.
 
N

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
It wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, paying such a large sum of money to jump through so many hoops just doesn’t make any sense. We already owe microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform. People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.
Click to expand...
So, they got zip from Microsoft? Why go exclusive then?
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Didn't a similar thing happen with a patch for Costume Quest? I remember having a corrupt save with that and then some sort of complaint from Double Fine about the cost and them basically saying "just start the game over, it's a good game."
 
Harlock

Harlock

Member
I understand that too much money for a small company. I don´t understand why the game was not made for steam.
 
E

epmode

Member
It wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end, paying such a large sum of money to jump through so many hoops just doesn’t make any sense. We already owe microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform. People often mistakenly believe that we got paid by Microsoft for being exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay THEM.
Click to expand...
Haha.

I'd still like to buy this but I'm not going to grab the banged up XBLA version. It's always nice to see someone ranting about Microsoft's insane update policy though!
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Effect said:
Isn't this the company that was talking trash about Japanese games and how they were made and how they sucked?
Click to expand...

Well, the Phil Fish guy was.

His bullshit convinced me to not support his company or his games. I can't stand arrogance, especially from people trying to sell a product.

A lot of people said it was just him and not the rest of his company.

Well it looks like their "official face" is an arrogant prick, too.
 
R

Rickenslacker

Banned
But I thought they didn't want it on Steam because it's a "console game, not a PC game" that was "made to be played with a controller, on a couch, on a Saturday morning".
 
S

smr00

Banned
Gez said:
10's and thousands of dollars for a patch is not really ideal though.



Cool so why isn't the game not on Steam/PSN? Not a port beg but a honest question.
Click to expand...
But selling a broken game is ok? or is the first patch that broke it?

I don't know, i didn't buy it and after watching Indie Game Movie and seeing Phil's immature behavior i refuse to give any money to him, he comes off as an incredibly immature douche bag.
 
T

toythatkills

Member
Gez said:
10's and thousands of dollars for a patch is not really ideal though.
Click to expand...

It's not ideal, but those fees are there for a reason, and Polytron would have been WELL aware of them before they submitted the first (free) patch.

It's not comparable to releasing a game on Steam, however much people make the comparison.
 
T

The M.O.B

Member
They deny being paid by MS to make the game exclusive...yet they go exclusive....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................WAT
 
S

saunderez

Member
Fuck these guys. I was one of Fez's biggest promoters when it first came out but I won't abide any dev who refuses to patch their broken titles for any reason. It's good enough to take my money but its not good enough to fix your broken product since you've already got my money. Last Polytron game I ever buy, great job!
 
linko9

linko9

Member
Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too!
Click to expand...

Wasn't he talking shit about PCs and saying that this game has to be on a console and would never come to PC at one point? I know he changed his tune later, but I hope he learned his lesson.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
Yeah, stop blaming Microsoft (shitty as their stupid patch policies are) when it was your damn choice to jump onto that platform in the first place.

If you wanted Steam's update policies, then maybe I don't know put the fucking thing on Steam.

What an idiot.
 
Z

zephervack

Member
The M.O.B said:
They deny being paid by MS to make the game exclusive...yet they go exclusive....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................WAT
Click to expand...

Exactly what im thinking right now, this makes no sense at all, just release it everywhere.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Rickenslacker said:
But I thought they didn't want it on Steam because it's a "console game, not a PC game" that was "made to be played with a controller, on a couch, on a Saturday morning".
Click to expand...

Yep. More arrogance and asshattery. Fuck these guys, seriously. I don't think I could have a lower opinion of a developer.
 
D

Danielsan

Member
epmode said:
Haha.

I'd still like to buy this but I'm not going to grab the banged up XBLA version. It's always nice to see someone ranting about Microsoft's insane update policy though!
Click to expand...
Just wait a while. Mr. "This needs to be played on a comfy couch" might just bring it to Steam.

During the Q&A, someone inevitably asked if Fez would escape Xbox 360 exclusivity, and while Fish would not explicitly say yes, he didn’t try very hard to say no, either.

“Maybe?” he said. “We are looking at porting the game to other platforms, but there’s nothing concrete about it, so we won’t say which ones, just to be a tease. But, of course, I want the game to be on everything, I don’t want to be stuck on Xbox Live Arcade. I spent five years of my life working on this, I want everybody to play it.”
Click to expand...
 
V

Valnen

Member
Microsoft's policy is garbage and Microsoft doesn't deserve to sell consoles because of it.

But that said, the developers of this game deserve every misfortune they get.
 
B

Blake'sGrave

Member
I literally have no idea why Polytron decided to go xbox exclusive, their reasoning about the whole 'saturday morning couch' thing is just dumb as hell.

"Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too!"

shouldawouldacoulda, Polytron.
 
T

Tamanon

Banned
The M.O.B said:
They deny being paid by MS to make the game exclusive...yet they go exclusive....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................WAT
Click to expand...

I assume it was some sort of advertising/exposure deal instead? But yeah, seems pretty damn stupid.
 
R

Ridley327

Member
So, PC version sooner rather than later now?

I can't imagine that they can ignore not having to pay platform holder fees and be able to reach an even bigger audience for the game, especially if their complaints about having to pay MS so much money for the "privilege" of having the game on XBLA.
 
H

Htown

STOP SHITTING ON MY MOTHER'S HEADSTONE
toythatkills said:
It's not ideal, but those fees are there for a reason, and Polytron would have been WELL aware of them before they submitted the first (free) patch.

It's not comparable to releasing a game on Steam, however much people make the comparison.
Click to expand...

The fees are there to make Microsoft money, pure and simple.

We know for a fact certification doesn't do what it's supposed to do, because of the numerous AAA titles that have released in a ridiculously buggy state, and because of the fact that certification didn't catch this the first time.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Blake'sGrave said:
I literally have no idea why Polytron decided to go xbox exclusive.

"Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too!"

shouldawouldacoulda
Click to expand...

Holy shit, I didn't even read that part.

Damn, that got me fuming.

Gotta love the passive voice there. As if where FEZ got published was completely out of their hands. Fucking jackasses.
 
D

DaBuddaDa

Member
Mr. Comfy Couch has recently changed his opinion on comfy couches, even before this news came out:

During the Q&A, someone inevitably asked if Fez would escape Xbox 360 exclusivity, and while Fish would not explicitly say yes, he didn’t try very hard to say no, either.

“Maybe?” he said. “We are looking at porting the game to other platforms, but there’s nothing concrete about it, so we won’t say which ones, just to be a tease. But, of course, I want the game to be on everything, I don’t want to be stuck on Xbox Live Arcade. I spent five years of my life working on this, I want everybody to play it.”

In other words, look for Fez on Steam in the near future.
Click to expand...
 
S

saunderez

Member
Blake'sGrave said:
I literally have no idea why Polytron decided to go xbox exclusive.

"Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away too!"

shouldawouldacoulda
Click to expand...

I love how because they could've done something else it totally absolves them of responsibility for their broken game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 to Go Live This Week; Will Fix Slowdown Issues and More
News
2
695
kvltus lvlzvs replied
System Shock Remake for Consoles arrive in Early 2024 | Patch 1.2 Released
News Platform
21
3K
phant0m replied
Graven |OT| A heretic priest killing hexed creatures
4
413
mansoor1980 replied
Update on the BG3 save issue on Xbox: "We’re doing everything we can to ensure this problem - which we understand is unique - is resolved asap"
Game Dev Platform
14
2K
ReBurn replied
Tintin studio posts a message on release day saying it’s not good enough, will take weeks to patch
News
31
2K
Jack Videogames replied
Top Bottom