Dateline: March 25, 2008

Sega releases the Xbox 360 version of Universe at War, a real-time strategy game riddled with tecnical issues. The back of the case has the following information on it. This is a quote, word for word, taken from my copy of the game:

"THE INVASION HAS BEGUN! For the first time, wage online multiplayer RTS battles agains Xbox 360 and PC opponents in this revolutionary new game from the developer of Star Wars: Empire at War."

The game is released without this feature--the one advertised prominently at the very top of the case, and in a press release distributed last June.

Dateline: May 11, 2008

A patch has yet to be released, so the big letters at the top of the game case are still, well, lies.

Petroglyph's upcoming patch notes promise that the functionality is coming at some unspecified date in the future. The Xbox 360 patch will include:

Guard and patrol moves, standard RTS features that should have been included in the first place.
Fixes for multiple freezing issues,a problem that plagued me and many others.
Disappearing build queues and ability carousels
Fixes for network lag issues.
"Performance optimizations."
And a crapload of other fixes, as well as some less-annoying and understandable tweaks dealing with unit balance.

I blogged about the issue of console game patches last month, and that entry was inspired by this buggy mess--a mess made more irritating by the fact that Universe at War had the makings of a great strategy game. It's clear that this game was rushed to market, and highly likely that the negative word of mouth and critical drubbing has hindered its success. I can't pretend to be very proficient at the business side of the industry, but common sense tells me that had Sega and Petroglyph waited to release a properly functional product, it would have sold more units.

I also can't pretend to know the reasons behind the embarrassing early ship date, but as a rule, it must come down to money. Perhaps inspired by the delay of Supreme Commander on the 360, and the June release of Kane's Wrath, Sega wanted to get a jump on the competition. Perhaps internal revenue projections, drawn up by a guy in a suit that needed to meet his numbers, relied on getting the game shipped before the end of Sega's fiscal year, which not-so-coincidentally ended on March 31, six days after Universe at War's release. Whatever the reason, I do hope that those in charge of these decisions at Petroglyph and Sega have sat down together and taken a good, hard look at the reasons that led to this disaster (and any less severe a word would not accurately describe the circumstance).

Perhaps they can break it down and put all the projected revenue crunching, marketing mumbo jumbo, and behind-the-scenes negotiations aside next time. It's easy to play armchair analyst, but sometimes a simpler approach is in order, don't you think? Let's try this one:

Release your product when it's finished--and don't make promises you can't keep. You'll make more money.

I know that doesn't always work in the real world. But it's worth trying. Other developers and publishers make high-quality products with this tactic.

GameSpot Community Game Night is becoming increasingly more fun each week, thanks to the releases of several games that lend themselves to pure, unadulterated mayhem. I am surprised at just how good GTAIV's multiplayer is; not only are the built-in game modes awesome (Mafiya Work and Cops & Crooks are my favorites) and customizable, but simply tooling around in the city with buddies is cool too. I expect I will be playing a lot of this game in the months to come--and I hope I will see you around.

We've also got a susprise in store for all of you regarding Game Night, so be sure to tune into On the Spot today to see more! In the meanwhile, check out some highlights from this week's games, courtesy of Sidburn19.

From: ***, *** [mailto:***@***.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 8:30 AM
To: ***
Subject: Stopping Uwe Boll = 1 Million Packs of Free Gum

It's a scientific fact that Uwe Boll makes the worst movies on planet earth. The only person that disagrees is Uwe Boll. The man himself said he'll cease making movies if 1 Million people signed the petition at www.StopUweBoll.Org. To sweeten the incentive to sign, Stride Gum announced today that it will give out a million packs of gum IF the petition number reaches 1 million BY MAY 14 (making this the most important week in the history of time). It's too late to stop Postal from coming out, but with your help, we can reclaim our theaters. Check it out.

-----------------------------------

A full press release followed. The gist is this: If you sign, you get a digital certificate for a free pack of gum. Sounds like a worthy cause to me. But don't do it for the gum--do it because it's the right thing to do!

"The government wants to kill you! They want to harvest your body... and turn it into cheese."

No Game Night has been more fun, more raucous, and more entertaining than this one. Period. Thanks to Sidburn19 for the footage. I will post my own tomorrow!

Hi all! Almost two years ago, when I was still just a regular old GameSpot user, I posted a video blog detailing my ten favorite films of the last twenty years. I promised back then that I would follow it up with a blog about my least five favorite films. Well, I suppose it's better late than never.

I didn't put nearly as much effort into this entry as I did the other, but you get the idea here. I suppose you could consider the movie scenes inside this video as spoilers, but really--you shouldn't be watching these films anyway. Well, with one exception: the second movie in the video should, imo, be seen by everyone so they can make up their own minds. You can tell what I think about it in the video.

Anyway, enjoy! And be nice with the comments--I am aware some of these films have their fans! If I piss you off by including a movie you love here, well, inhale and exhale a few times before you type