10 Lessons The Gaming Industry Must Learn From 2014

9. Studios Can And Should Apologise

Of course, even the loftiest wishes won't guarantee that quality assurance departments€”which must consist entirely of either albino unicorns or nobody at all, apparently€”do their job. We're sure to see more corporate and production blunders in this console generation, but that doesn't mean we have to see the same backlash that scarred such releases as Battlefield 4 and SimCity. Throw as many stones at Ubisoft as you want (really, feel free, because damn), but they've owned up to the absurd state of Assassin's Creed Unity. As Eurogamer reports, the game has recently received its fourth patch which, on top of the previous three, has done wonders for the once flailing game. What's more, Ubisoft is handing out free copies of Unity. Are they handing them out as condolences? Promises of a worthwhile product? Or just a sure-fire way to block potential lawsuits? Probably a mix of the three, but whatever the case, it's a free triple-A game€”not something many studios can lay claim to. Should we have to patch up our new game? No, and it's absolutely ridiculous to have to do so. But seeing genuine repentance from a studio which is now actively working to resolve a glaring mistake is ultimately a good thing. Better to not have glaring mistakes in the first place, but hey, halfway. Point is, if you screw the pooch, you'd better offer more than "we thank you for your continued patience" as recompense.
Contributor
Contributor

A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games? Well that doesn't sound anything like me.