Microsoft charges $40k to patch XBOX 360 game

[eyebiter]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/microsoft-comes-under-fire-for-five-figure-xbox-360-patch-fee/

"Developer Phil Fish knows there's a problem preventing some people from enjoying his Xbox 360 puzzle platformer Fez as intended. But he's not going to fix it, thanks to what he says is an exorbitant fee of "tens of thousands of dollars" that Microsoft would charge to recertify the game after a needed patch."

[Arctic Blast]

Couple of issues that Phil Fish (and most of the gaming media, who can't be bothered to actually research anything when it's so easy to spam up "EVAL CORPORATION" stories) chooses to ignore.

1. He's sold over 100,000 copies of the game already at $10 a pop. He could certainly afford to pay the fee and issue the correct patch. He isn't a starving artist by any means. If any mainstream publisher refused to pay for a needed patch after selling that number of copies at that price, they'd be raked over the coals. The same should be true for this guy.

2. He knew that MS charges for patches as a way to try to encourage as clean a release as possible, yet HE still CHOSE to release exclusively through Microsoft. He put himself in this situation. His complaint that as a comparison, the patch would be free through Steam is especially rich considering his earlier comments that PC's are for spreadsheets and that's why he was going console only.

3. The first needed patch actually isn't charged for. It was the first patch for Fez that broke the save game function for some Fez owners, and that's the problem Phil doesn't want to issue a new patch (and pay) for. Again, self inflicted wound to a certain extent.