It's gone gold

[Stop Mocking Me0]

It's more of an assurance thing. See even after the game goes gold, the studio continues to research the game. Anything they find in that time period is added onto the update. Sure they could re-print over 1000 disks every time they found a bug, but that's not logical or efficient. If they waited until all the bugs were out, they wouldn't have time to print all the disks. 

[Guest]

It's more of an assurance thing. See even after the game goes gold, the studio continues to research the game. Anything they find in that time period is added onto the update. Sure they could re-print over 1000 disks every time they found a bug, but that's not logical or efficient. If they waited until all the bugs were out, they wouldn't have time to print all the disks. 

Thats true but not all bugs are patched on day 1. I just find CoD having the release dates that they do sometimes to be a constraint to them.

[Stop Mocking Me0]

Well they can't find EVERYTHING. 

[GRILL]

Yeah @Lenne that was my point, games that are essentially broken without a day 1 patch are not cool, and make the whole concept of the day 1 patch seem like its a method for the devs to procrastinate.

Day 1 patch is something that should be expected, but a broken game? Not so much.

@Slade I couldn't even get local split screen campaign to work on MCC. What a total mess, huh? Traded that shit in for DAI like a week later.

 

Why would they have a day 1 patch and not just, you know release the game with it working and not needing a patch for a while? Sorry if it seems like I am asking as if you know, its just day 1 patches kinda bug me.

<cracks knuckles, and puts on professor's cap>

So - when David Vondehaar tweeted that BO3 had gone gold, it was September 22nd. The game releases on November 6th. The reason why they have a day 1 patch is because it represents all the work and fine tuning they've done from Sept 23-Nov. 6.

These games run along meticulously planned budgets, and schedules - from marketing, to development, to QA testing.  Ever since internet connectivity arrived, this schedules are essentially more flexible because it allows devs to continue to work on games after its gone gold, and even well after the release date.

As I said above, the past was quite grim on this aspect - in the sense that if you shipped a broken game, it stayed a broken game.

Short answer to why they have a day 1 patch: because they are unable to work on physical copies after the game goes "gold", and they can't just sit around twiddling their thumbs - hence they continue working.

Day 1 patches shouldn't bug you, if the game is up to par. You should in fact be happy for day 1 patches, because they represent an evolution in progress and quality.  Not to mention ongoing, they are a form of direct rapport between gamer and studio, as often the experiences/details/reports from those who play often effect what makes it into a patch.

Edited October 18, 2015 by GRILL