The Division: 10 Crucial Questions Ubisoft Must Answer

5. Has There Been A Substantial Downgrade? (And Does It Matter?)

If there's any term slowly gathering steam and becoming more of an annoyance for both sides of the consumer divide, it's 'downgrade'. We saw it exemplified most in the difference between Watch Dogs' debut state versus how it turned out, and although other developers like The Witcher 3's CD Projekt RED note the term should apply more to optimisation when it comes to balancing graphics with frame rate and playability, it remains a hot-button topic currently applied to The Division. Basically, when it comes to debuting or demoing a game in the modern climate, if the release date is anything but within a month or two of said footage, what you're watching can (and probably will) change completely. Developers put their all into creating something that's supposed to be a representation of what the final product will look like, but that's before things like budgetary concerns, time restraints, play-testing and more are factored in. Think of it as having a film director or company show off the first few scenes of their film as the rest is still being shot. It'd be rough, out of order, may insinuate things that don't come true, and all-round wouldn't be a valid slice of the end product. The problem lies more in the 'hype culture' we're currently embroiled in, where games barely into production are shown off in abundance to drive pre-orders and console sales *cough* Final Fantasy VII's remake *cough*, but that's a debate for another time. For now, just ask yourself - if you were shown the latest version of a game first, would you still complain?