Console Games vs. PC Games

[CraigSca]

I'll preface this with the disclaimer that I know the following is not necessarily true in EVERY case. However...

Why is it that console games are generally released bug-free when PC games are not? I know that consoles cannot be patched, so do the developments teams spend a great deal of time longer testing and re-testing whereas PC developers do not?

With the release of EHM, I noticed some people holding off their decisions on purchasing until the first real patch comes out. Being on the beta team for OOTP, I know the issues that had to be addressed. I'm just wondering why this scenario doesn't occur in the console market. I realize it would be the death of the game (to have to re-market the patched game) - is that the reason why? Or, do the console development kits have much more thorough bug-testing tools?

To me, it sounds like a $$$ issue - an opportunity for PC developers to cut corners any way they can because the public allows them to.

Any thoughts?

[markprior22]

One obvious answer for bug related issues is that all console gamers are using the same hardware. So once the game runs bug free on the testing machine, it should be bug free for the end users also. We all know how many variations of PC's there are out there.

[dawgfan]

I can't speak for all game studios or for all platforms, but here's my $0.02...

- To be certified for release on the Xbox, a game must past a rigorous batch of tests to confirm that the game is stable, i.e. won't crash, and doesn't contain any blazingly obvious errors, like UI screen links that don't go anywhere. Even with this process, it's possible for fatal crashes to slip through the cracks, but it is highly unlikely.

- Because of this, games studios are likely to devote a greater portion of their schedules to testing prior to release.

- All that said, many console games are released with issues that, were they PC games, would be updated and improved in a patch.

- As mentioned above, some of the reason for bugs in PC games is the lack of standard hardware which can be a testing nightmare.

Really, it breaks down to this - PC games are patched because they can be fairly easily. What will be interesting to monitor is the extent to which online gaming on the next generation of consoles will encourage game companies to update their released games. What you won't see is games studios doing this and calling them "patches" - they'll be somewhat disguised in the midst of content add-ons.

[Marc Vaughan]

Main differences between PC and consoles (having developed on both):

Consoles -
* Fixed target and consistent hardware.
* Games generally played for shorter periods of time than on PC (very rare that a console game will get played for 8-10 hours straight like some CM players do).
* Limited gameplay as this is generally a requirement by the manufacturer for test purposes (ie. they can be happy the game plays through to completion). CM-XBox for instance was limited to 30 seasons for this reason.
* Games generally not as customisable, ie. no add-ons or third party editing possible.

PC
* Literally millions of different configurations and installations throughout the world. Quite often a third-party app will do something it shouldn't which your program will have to handle.
* Games often played for extended periods of time which can lead to memory fragmentation and other problems due to open ended nature of system (ie. other programs may be active and eat memory).
* Gameplay duration can be 'open' (ie. not limited) - CM and most sports sims will run until you run out of disk-space.
* Games often editable and customisable by users, these add-ons if not constructed correctly can often cause problems which are percieved as 'bugs' by users.

Some people may recall that SI have created games on both consoles and PC, our development approach to these have been identical.

Main difference from my point of view was that we could continue enhancing the PC version post-release, whereas the Xbox version while stable and fun still had minor imperfections in gameplay that we'd have continued to iron out on the PC (not that many people noticed them .... I'm just a perfectionist).

[gstelmack]

- All that said, many console games are released with issues that, were they PC games, would be updated and improved in a patch.
This can't be emphasized enough. Most PC game crash-type bugs are due to the myriad of configurations that can't possibly be tested under (or often driver bugs). But gameplay and other bugs occur just as often on the console. They get fixed on the PC because they can.