They should've given them the best experience possible before they let gamers give them money, not after.Yeah, because Microsoft cares more about profit than they care about letting developers give gamers the best experience possible.
Isn't this the guy who said he didn't want to release it on PC because he wanted the game to be a console experience?
Fez is a console game, not a PC game, he states, emphatically. Its made to be played with a controller, on a couch, on a Saturday morning. To me, that matters; thats part of the medium. I get so many comments shouting at me that Im an idiot for not making a PC version. Youd make so much more money! Cant you see? Meatboy sold more on Steam! Good for them. But this matters more to me than sales or revenue. Its a console game on a console. End of story.
Phil Fish said:Fez is a console game, not a PC game. Its made to be played with a controller, on a couch, on a Saturday morning. To me, that matters; thats part of the medium. I get so many comments shouting at me that Im an idiot for not making a PC version. Youd make so much more money! Cant you see? Meatboy sold more on Steam! Good for them. But this matters more to me than sales or revenue. Its a console game on a console. End of story.
Yes. That's the entire point. Instead devs use the fees as an excuse not to fix their broken shit.
Isn't Microsoft the publisher? Why are they charging Polytron for the patch? What the fuck?
Polytron had the chance to patch FEZ for free and they fucked it up. This is their fault.
It'd be lovely if Microsoft could let them patch it 72 times for free until they managed to get a bug-free version, but unfortunately that doesn't come free.
(No one would realistically patch a game 72 times really, but I imagine these fees are there to discourage just such behaviour.)
Doubt it. Maybe as a Windows 8 release, but that Live exclusivity is pretty iron-clad.
What's Japanese for "comfy couch"?
Polytron ‏@Polytron
but HEY! only a few months left to our XBLA exclusivity!
dude's gonna take this one to the grave.
"Polytron ‏@Polytron
but HEY! only a few months left to our XBLA exclusivity!"
So wait. They didn't get paid and they still signed up for Xbox exclusivity? They must have gotten something out of that deal. Does Microsoft require exclusivity just for the privilege of being on their platform, for some games?
Those fees are there to make Microsoft cash. If Microsoft cared about the experience of gamers they wouldn't have such restrictions because those restrictions end up giving gamers buggier games. Nobody in their right mind should be defending Microsoft here.
“Fez is a console game, not a PC game,” he states, emphatically. “It’s made to be played with a controller, on a couch, on a Saturday morning. To me, that matters; that’s part of the medium.” I get so many comments shouting at me that I’m an idiot for not making a PC version. ‘You’d make so much more money! Can’t you see? Meatboy sold more on Steam!’ Good for them. But this matters more to me than sales or revenue. It’s a console game on a console. End of story.”
"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!"
"only a few months left" of XBLA exclusivity
https://twitter.com/Polytron/status/225746712692662272
yep, that's a great mentality... just push out patches since you can fix the shit you break!
Most likely promotion and marketing.
Those fees are there to make Microsoft cash. If Microsoft cared about the experience of gamers they wouldn't have such restrictions because those restrictions end up giving gamers buggier games. Nobody in their right mind should be defending Microsoft here.
this attitude only exists if you dont follow modern gaming development at all.
I don't folllow modern gaming development. Why couldn't they get it right the first time?
This isn't the developer's fault. Glitches happen in code. It's a theorem. The fact that Microsoft is charging them at least $20,000 to push what's probably 5 lines of code is Microsoft's fault.
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?
Could be an expiry date, but that's just idle conjecture on my part.Well they (he) posted this:
and I assumed that meant they were no longer bound, but is there a lifetime "live" (be it GFWL or XBL) contract involved as well?
Had FEZ been released on steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us
Lol, wow.I get so many comments shouting at me that Im an idiot for not making a PC version. Youd make so much more money! Cant you see? Meatboy sold more on Steam! Good for them. But this matters more to me than sales or revenue.
Cmon now. It can be both, not just one. 1: Make money in case someone has to re-fix their fixes and 2: encourage developers, financially, to not ship broken shit.
Phill wanted Fez to be like a Saturday morning cartoon style experience. Only available on a comfy couch in your living room and big TV.
Maybe they should have got it right the first time, then.
It'd be lovely if Microsoft could let them patch it 72 times for free until they managed to get a bug-free version, but unfortunately that doesn't come free for Microsoft who have to perform the cert checks.
No, those fees are there to encourage developers not to release broken shit, and they work for the most part.
Someone said to think of it like a fine rather than a fee, and that's spot on.
Unlimited free patches is not good for gamers. Getting developers to get it right first time is good for gamers.
MS have this policy for a reason. Its not to steal from people; its to force devs to publish workable games and not to patch unnecessarily or without testing first.
Don't bring out a broken patch. Fez always looked cool but its been a bit of a mess.
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.
It's not the push that's charged for, it's the *test*. Microsoft doesn't want to inadvertantly authorise a patch which results in the 360 being hacked wide open.
Not a problem on Steam, of course, because your computer is fundamentally open as it is. Consoles' entire business model is structured around the fact that the system is closed, however. You'd have a difficult time convincing any console manufacturer to allow untested code to run on their system.
Sometimes stuff just can't be foreseen, no matter how good the developer is. There is no good reason to punish gamers for this. The developer isn't getting punished here. It's 360 users who bought the game. Those are the real victims. You are supporting Microsoft crapping on it's users if you support this policy.