compl3x Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Earlier today, rumors were swirling that Microsoft had eliminated patch fees on the Xbox 360. A tweet from Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten confirms that some titles are now exempt from additional update costs. Javascript is not enabled or refresh the page to view. Click here to view the Tweet The patch fee has been removed for Xbox Live Arcade titles according to Whitten's tweet. The issue of update costs has been a hefty one for some developers, with Tim Schafer of Double Fine stating that it costs approximately $40,000 to patch a game. Additionally, Phil Fish, developer of Fez,decided not to re-patch a game after his first update (which had been free under the old policy) caused unforeseen problems. We have reached out to Microsoft to find out if retail titles are affected and how this impacts Xbox One development. Update: We have received a statement from a Microsoft representative on the matter. "Microsoft eliminated fees for Title Updates on Xbox 360 Arcade games in April 2013," he told us. "We?re constantly evaluating our policies and implementing feedback. While our development policies are confidential, and will remain so, we?re pleased to say that this is just one of many ongoing changes and improvements we?ve made to ensure Xbox is the best place possible for developers and gamers." Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmeunit Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Can't believe this wasn't already in practice. Or at least MUCH cheaper that that. $40,000 to patch a game? Really? Not like they aren't already making money off that game. Surely it's not just because they started receiving a lot of bad publicity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot B. Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 $40,000 per patch explains why TF2 on the Xbox 360 pails compared to the very-often-updated PC version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George P Global Moderator Posted June 28, 2013 Global Moderator Share Posted June 28, 2013 Can't believe this wasn't already in practice. Or at least MUCH cheaper that that. $40,000 to patch a game? Really? Not like they aren't already making money off that game. Surely it's not just because they started receiving a lot of bad publicity... No, I doubt it has anything to do with bad PR. The change was done back in April so on Xbox One DRM PR nightmare then. The changes have to do with them working on the new Xbox Store probably. The thing will work the same as the Windows Store and hell, it's probably the same backend actually. This change should also carry over to the XB1 to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 $40,000 per patch explains why TF2 on the Xbox 360 pails compared to the very-often-updated PC version. I believe you could do content updates for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyLH Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Can't believe this wasn't already in practice. Or at least MUCH cheaper that that. $40,000 to patch a game? Really? Not like they aren't already making money off that game. Surely it's not just because they started receiving a lot of bad publicity... I'm guessing they've changed internally with how they manage TU's. I bet MS went through a very thorough QA process with TU's which created the $40,000 charge. That could of very well been ditched in more-favor a self publishing model that'll be introduced with the X1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunknMunky Veteran Posted July 1, 2013 Veteran Share Posted July 1, 2013 Well it's not self publishing, but at least it's something...I guess :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper11 Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 Well it's not self publishing, but at least it's something...I guess :rolleyes: One step at a time. I would guess any big policy changes take time to get going behind the scenes with the usual red tape. If they are listening, then they are working get changes like that done before launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunknMunky Veteran Posted July 1, 2013 Veteran Share Posted July 1, 2013 One step at a time. I would guess any big policy changes take time to get going behind the scenes with the usual red tape. If they are listening, then they are working get changes like that done before launch. I hope so. Right now Sony have the headstart but hopefully it evens out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper11 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 I hope so. Right now Sony have the headstart but hopefully it evens out. I agree, they do, but I find it hard to believe it will be that hard to change the bad pr around with a combo of good pr and policies. Indie devs are like any small app developer, they are just looking to get their content to as many as possible. Heck that's why the pc is easily the biggest indie dev platform compared to consoles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted July 2, 2013 Author Share Posted July 2, 2013 One step at a time. I would guess any big policy changes take time to get going behind the scenes with the usual red tape. If they are listening, then they are working get changes like that done before launch. Well I imagine it would be their red tape considering they are the ones who makes the rules and regs which dictate how games are published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper11 Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Well I imagine it would be their red tape considering they are the ones who makes the rules and regs which dictate how games are published. I never said it wasn't. The only external red tape would involve deals with existing publishers/devs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts