Microsoft Attacked For Five-figure Xbox 360 System "patch Fee" (updated)

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UPDATE, 7/20/12: Microsoft provided the subsequent statement to Ars Technica after that story was originally published: "Polytron and their investor, Trapdoor, made a decision not to work towards an additional title update for Fez. Microsoft Studios thought i would support this decision in line with the belief that Polytron/Trapdoor were in the best position to determine what the acceptable quality level is for their game. While we do not disclose the expense of Title Updates, we did offer to use Trapdoor to ensure that wasnt a blocking issue. We remain huge fans of Fez." We have yet to listen for back from Fish for further touch upon the tale.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Developer Phil Fish knows there is a problem preventing a number of people from enjoying his ps3 controllers elite puzzle platformer Fez as intended. But he's not about to fix it, because of what he admits that is definitely an exorbitant fee of "1000s of dollars" that Microsoft would charge to recertify the game after having a needed patch.

The problem going on June 22, when Fish released a patch intended to fix some outstanding gameplay as well as difficulty with Fez. That patch gave rise to new problems for a few players, though, by causing their save files to appear as corrupted, ultimately erasing their progress with the game.

Microsoft pulled the initial patch for the game mere hours after it first went up, in order to avoid the bug it contained from spreading too far. But even though Fish initially described the matter as "fairly widespread," he now says he estimates the progress-destroying problem only affects the a lot less than one-hundredth of players which may have already completed the overall game (or come very close) before installing the patch.

So instead of pay Microsoft "this type of large amount of cash" to approve a fresh patch that will fix the tiny issue (Double Fine's Tim Schaefer pegged the price tag on submitting an ps3 accessories console patch at $40,000 in a interview with Hookshot Inc. earlier this year), Fish has thought i would squeeze initial, slightly error-prone patch support on Microsoft's servers.

This entire saga would have been a non-issue if Fez wasn't only at Microsoft's system, Fish said. "Had Fez been released on Steam rather then [Xbox Live Arcade], the action could have been fixed a couple weeks after release, free of charge to us," Phil writes within a recent post for the Polytron blog. "And if there is a worry to be able patch, you can easliy have fixed that instantly too!"

Fish offered his sincere apologies for the small number of dedicated players according to him are "screwed" with the first patch, saying it broke his heart to go away these with a broken game. But paying what Fish calls "a ton of money" to mend such a minor issue "just doesn't make sense at all, specially when Microsoft itself considers the current patch "good enough," as outlined by Fish.

"We already owe Microsoft big money for your privilege of being for their platform," he explained. "People often mistakenly feel that we got paid by Microsoft if you are exclusive to their platform. Nothing could be further from the truth. WE pay them back."

Microsoft didn't immediately answer our obtain comment, but it's hard to realize why developers needs to be facing such hefty costs to produce their games better after release. Yes, Microsoft has an interest in ensuring that games on its hardware aren't going to cause permanent hardware or security issues. But the company would also be smart to make sure its developers can offer the most beneficial version in their games to its customers without having to incur extra costs or jump through a great number of hoops.

Apple manages to review and approve thousands of iOS app updates for similar issues without charging developers extra money for every distinct update. Sure, iOS developers often complain about delays and headaches due to Apple's approval process, butPS3 Move Accessories developers are actually recognized to make similar complaints about Xbox certification. And Microsoft's process can on occasion miss major problems with title updates, regardless of the added monetary and time costs the developer incurs.

Nonetheless, you'll find nothing physically stopping Use ironing the game-breaking issue his very own patch produces for most players. For all those his talk about Steam's more open update system, Fish presumably knew the roadblocks inherent in Microsoft's certification process when he agreed to make Fez a selective Xbox 360 elite release. You could potentially reason that Fish owes it to his most devoted players to fix the game he himself broke using the earlier patch. (Fish also hasn't immediately responded to a request for comment.)

by: royaaa

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