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ESPN NFL 2K5 Rushes Into Bug Issues
Thanks to GameSpot for its article discussing issues with the online modes of Sega's PS2/Xbox title ESPN NFL 2005, as "a server update will be released on Friday 'to address the login and roster problems some of you are experiencing.' The problems affect both the PlayStation and Xbox versions of the game." Amidst messageboard rumblings of "AI issues", the high-rated, budget-priced title also seems to have a separate problem with the Xbox Live version, as it's advised if you're "having difficulties getting another user to accept your challenge or if you are not receiving challenges once you've created a match, [to] power down your Xbox and restart" - the developers, apparently wrestling with the previously mentioned Xbox Live "LSP (Live Server Protocol)", are planning to fix this problem by August 6th.
I thought console games didn't have any bugs?
Although it is fortunate that the problem can be fixed on the server end.
I know serious bugs occur with PC games. As the code becomes more complex, so the risk of bugginess increases. PC games can be patched easily however.
Console games are beginning to come close to PC games in terms of complexity, with the next generation of consoles around the corner now, so what will happen when a serious bug is found in a console game, that can't be fixed on the server side?
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
And so, one of the best things about colsoles -- inability to update on the fly, necessitating stronger quality control before release -- falls to the wayside. Bluh.
Do you know what is really going on in the world? (Beyond your bedroom door?)
In the console world (and the article is referring to console games) game sales in 2003 were broken down like this:
action (27.1%)
sports (17.6 %)
racing (15.7%)
role-playing games (8.7%)
fighting games (6.9%)
family entertainment (4.7%)
shooter games (4.6%)
Contrary to what you might guess by reading Slashdot, the world is not full of RPG playing geeks drooling over the latest mmorpg. Two of the most maligned genres (sports and racing) make up 33% of sales. That's a lot of games- and a lot of people. PC game sales are only about 1/3 of console game sales (and falling).
I just had 5 people come over to my house last night, and we played games for a while. Did they ask to play Morrowind? Or Zelda? Or KotOR? No...we played Basketball, Tennis and Golf.
Those games work in a social environment- there were guys and girls, some with experience on the games, some without. But we all had fun playing, and everyone liked the games. (I will go on record saying that Top Spin is one of the best party games ever).
It's fine that you like RPGs, and maybe you think they are the best things ever. But please realize that a large part of the world disagrees with you.
No reason to lie.
I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether patching console games is a good thing. In fact, I'm sure it totally depends on the developer. Case in point:
Ex. 1) Ninja Gaiden Hurricane Pack. This is awesome. New stuff that makes an already great game better. Some armchair critics will say that this stuff (especially the camera) should have been in the game in the first place. The fact is, even if Team Ninja never released this patch then Ninja Gaiden would still be one of the best games on Xbox.
Ex. 2) NFL 2k5. Bugs that interfere with normal usage are unacceptable. I don't want to get home from EB and find out that my new game crashes if I try to enter the second level with a crossbow equipped. This would be a step closer to PC gaming, of which I want no part of. Except for Doom 3.
I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
All in all, this game compares favorably to Madden 2k4, which i rented recently, especially to someone like me who isn't as familiar with football or football games (which seem to rival flight sims in terms of sheer number of buttons, and RTS's in terms of strategy and coordination of actions) as many. I can understand someone being faithful to the Madden franchise however due to its storied history.
The only complaint i really have is that the trading stuff seems to be needlessly confusing.. I can't figure out how to find free agents for example, and it's hard to quickly check out the stats of players on other teams' trading blocks.
Granted, I haven't taken it online yet, not being a Live subscriber (although it did come with a "2 month free trial" of some sort.. i gotta try and figure out if it really is free or what). It'll be interesting to see if they remove Ricky Williams, and how it will affect my Patriots franchise!
Ummmm, not even close. Consoles have a very strong presence in the RPG market, and console RPG's most likely outsell PC RPG's several times over.
Game developers are not allowed to patch games via Xbox live unless the update fixes a problem related to Online play. The problem with ESPN 2K5 clearly meets this requirement.
Theif 3 will not be patched because the AI bug does not effect online play. (besides the fact that Theif 3 is not a Live enabled title in the first place)
Well, I think you are wrong again.
From the same article I referenced earlier, here is the breakdown for PC games:
strategy (27.1%)
children's entertainment (14.5%)
shooters (13.5%)
family entertainment (9.5%)
role-playing (8.7%)
sports titles (5.8%)
racing (4.4%)
adventure (3.9%)
simulation (3.5%)
So, role-playing on a PC (which is about 1/3 of console market) being 9% equals about 3% of the console market.
Really- I am not trying to tell you that RPGs suck, but I do want to put the facts out there that YES a lot of people do play sports games.
No reason to lie.
There are so many issues with this years 2k5 that the ESPN forums are crawling with bug reports and angry gamers. Never have I seen such dissatisfaction with a console game of any type...
The developer, Visual Concepts, refuses to acknowledge many of the reports and has only acted now out fear and liability.
More disheartening is the fact that almost all the online reviews for the game made no mention of the bug filled mess that is online play. NFL 2k5 recieved almost perfect rankings from most of the magazines I read, leading me to beleive that most review sites do little, if any homework on the games they review.
Also, no mention was ever made of the features removed from the game that were present in last years version. Chat capability and the ability to change playbooks have been REMOVED from this years game, yet the developers chose to add useless features for marketing and hype that detracted from 2k4's flawless gameplay.
This is clearly the last year for the ESPN videogames. It's unfortunate, but they don't have the resources to compete with EA. They can't even playtest their games.
"Smokey, this isn't Nam, there are rules." -Walter
"Currently, users must reset their Xbox if they initiate or receive four or more challenges if they wish to send or receive game invites."
That's not a bug in your game; that's merely a feature of using a Microsoft platform.