Will We Be the De Facto Beta Testers of NCAA 13?

[Capt Orygun]

So after the last couple of years I have stopped following the development of these games to a large extent. It just felt like every year I would get so amped about how awesome this game would be, only to be terribly disappointed after the release. When 11 came out I sold it a week after buying it. When 12 came out I played it for awhile, but when all the OLD bugs hit I shelved it for a few months. In both cases, I felt that after the final patches for these games were released, while the patches created some new problems, the game was really playable and I enjoyed it. The issue is it just hasn't been a franchise that has been playable out of the box upon release the last few years. A lot of really good new content every year, but the game comes out rough and unpolished.

Have the powers that be admitted/addressed this issue this year? Because I am trying to decide if I will pre-order NCAA 13 and it all hinges on this.

[JeffHCross]

If you feel that the series hasn't been playable at release the last two years, I would caution against pre-ordering. Not because I don't think it will improve, but because pre-ordering does not allow you to read the reactions of people who get the game at release, or see what was included in the first patch, before you've purchased the game.

Obviously, pre-ordering comes with financial incentives (like Amazon's common discount) and pre-order bonuses, so that can offset some of the disappointment if you feel like a beta tester. But, in my experience, it's not always enough. Waiting until after release gives you the opportunity to make the judgement about the game as it is released, and as patches address issues, rather than making your decision well in advance.

All that being said, I have no evidence that anything has improved, but I also believe that the developer has taken several steps to reduce the risk -- bringing in more developers, increasing the staff size, etc, etc. So my prediction/belief is that the experience of NCAA 12 (I didn't think NCAA 11 had as many problems) will not be repeated.

That said, only time will tell. So if you're on the fence, I'd say wait -- if nothing else, I think your peace of mind will be better.



Now, one thing that is worth addressing, since you mentioned "beta testers". There is almost no physical, let alone financial, way for EA (or any developer) to spend anywhere near as much testing in advance of release, versus how much the game will get played in even the first week after release. So, in a way, we will always be testers. Obviously, there's a big difference between alpha, beta, and final release, in terms of software quality. But developers being reliant on feedback and reaction in the first few weeks of release will always be the case.

[Capt Orygun]

There is almost no physical, let alone financial, way for EA (or any developer) to spend anywhere near as much testing in advance of release, versus how much the game will get played in even the first week after release.

Should anyone from EA be listening, my last final is monday and I am willing to Beta Test for free in exchange for the cost of postage and a disc, lol

Your point is well taken, Cross, the volume cannot be compared. But I was only half kidding in the above line: As much of a solution as could be found, can be found though being more inclusive with the community in the development of these games. I don't mean "the community" as in the fine people who run this site and OS, I mean the community as in a wide swath of the loyal customers who buy this game EVERY year and who are willing to help. Rosters, bugs, etc could all be improved through wider inclusion and as necessary as these sites are and will always be, they needn't be the hard-fast go-between middlemen between the community and "the community," if you follow all of that.

[JeffHCross]

Yeah, I totally get you. Unfortunately, the whole "put out a beta test!" argument doesn't work with quick turnaround titles in the sports genre. There's just not enough time in the development cycle to put out a beta test like Call of Duty or Halo is able to do. If you mean included in even earlier facets of the development cycle ... I don't have any concrete reason against it, except to say that I can't imagine that ever happening at any major studio. The Kickstarter projects we're now seeing are one thing, but community-influence development is going to be a significant rarity.

I do expect that, one day, we'll see beta tests become even more frequent and demos generally give way to an active beta test. It may not come to fruition, but I think that's the direction we're going, especially with digital downloads.

[jaymo76]

Needless to say I am very happy that I have the EA SEASON PASS... access to the game three days early will allow me to see what I like and dislike. If anyone has doubts, season pass is the way to go. That being said, I buy the game every year regardless.

[Rudy]

I could consider EA Season Ticket as a way to play both NCAA and Madden early. I don't think they had the Season Pass available before NCAA last year and with NBA Live coming out this year that may very well be worth the rentals for me. But currently NBA Live is not on the list of games available. I wonder if they will update that. I don't care about Tiger, NHL or Fifa. Right now it's only for Madden and NCAA and I would want that third game to be a possibility. Of course, with Blockbuster going down there is a really good chance I will not even be able to rent NCAA 13. The demo will be huge.

[JeffHCross]

The Season Pass is certainly a worthwhile investment if you would otherwise be regularly dropping $60 on multiple EA titles. It could be the difference between paying $60 and saving that $60. But, for me, since I'm only usually buying NCAA (and it's a guaranteed purchase), $25 to just confirm that I'll be buying NCAA anyway isn't a sound investment

Rudy, I imagine Live isn't on the list because we're still pretty far out from the release date. If you notice, the current site says "5 titles" while showing the images for six, so it's obvious the program isn't set in stone. And yes, it wasn't available in time for NCAA's release last year.

[jaymo76]

What I liked about Season Pass though is that if you are on the fence, it gives you the answers. For example, I downloaded NHL 12 but decided to pass on it as I find the experience between 11 and 12 gave me no reason to upgrade. This year, Madden 13 will be the big decision. If I don't feel 100% immersed from the season pass, I will pass on by Madden 13. Since the $25 is good for a full calendar year, you really don't notice it at all financially.

[SmoothPancakes]

What I liked about Season Pass though is that if you are on the fence, it gives you the answers. For example, I downloaded NHL 12 but decided to pass on it as I find the experience between 11 and 12 gave me no reason to upgrade. This year, Madden 13 will be the big decision. If I don't feel 100% immersed from the season pass, I will pass on by Madden 13. Since the $25 is good for a full calendar year, you really don't notice it at all financially.

Felt the same way about NHL 12. There were some great additions to it, but I've been still enjoying NHL 11 enough that I didn't feel the $60 was worth it. FIFA, now that I have wanted to get as FIFA 10 has been my most recent purchase, but just haven't gotten around to buying it. At this point, this late in the year, I may as well just wait for FIFA 13.

And it's gonna be the big thing for Madden as well with me. I passed on Madden 12, because I just couldn't get a good enough feel from the demo, nor was I sure I wanted to spend $60 on it. If I had had the pass then (I didn't get it until into September for FIFA and NHL), it might have possibly swayed me to get it, but I've been content with not playing Madden 12. The pass also came very much in handy this spring with Tiger Woods 13. After not caring for the changes they made to putting in the demo, I gave the game a chance with the Season Pass, but ultimately I just didn't care for it enough to bother buying it this year, so the pass more than was worth the $25 when it came to TW13. Spent $25 for the pass, saved $120 from not buying TW13 and NHL 12.

[JeffHCross]

See, my fear is that I'd get the pass and end up being swayed to get the games Jaymo's right about if you're on the fence, I'm just never on the fence about professional games. Or it's very, very rare at least. Haven't bought NHL is two years, FIFA ever, Madden only one ever, and the only NBA game I've ever had was the original NBA Jam.

[steelerfan]

See, my fear is that I'd get the pass and end up being swayed to get the games Jaymo's right about if you're on the fence, I'm just never on the fence about professional games. Or it's very, very rare at least. Haven't bought NHL is two years, FIFA ever, Madden only one ever, and the only NBA game I've ever had was the original NBA Jam.

Season Pass caused me to buy FIFA and realize what a great game it is. I have played nearly 400 matches since it came out. I never would have dreamed that would be the case, but I've come to realize what a great title it is and what an interesting sport soccer is because of it.

FIFA has actually put me on the fence for NHL 13, which is crazy because that title and NCAA are the only 2 that I have owned every version of for their entire existence.

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[jaymo76]

In the overall scheme of things, I wonder if EA has actually LOST money/potential sales because of Season Pass? Yes, they gain $25 per person. But, what if more people choose to opt out of a game rather than but it? You really need to be confident in your product for this type of thing to work. Much like Steeler, this year I bought FIFA 12 soley because of season pass.

[SmoothPancakes]

Season Pass caused me to buy FIFA and realize what a great game it is. I have played nearly 400 matches since it came out. I never would have dreamed that would be the case, but I've come to realize what a great title it is and what an interesting sport soccer is because of it.

FIFA has actually put me on the fence for NHL 13, which is crazy because that title and NCAA are the only 2 that I have owned every version of for their entire existence.

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Yeah, that's the only problem with liking a bunch of sports games. I'm always going to buy NCAA every year, that's a given.

Madden is one where it depends, I haven't bought Madden new since Madden 10, but I picked up Madden 11 last spring for a bit, and will probably pick up Madden 12 for cheap this month for some easy achievements and sell it back off. Madden 13, depending on what they add, I may buy new.

NHL and FIFA, I think I'm gonna fall into an alternate process to save money instead of buying both new year after year. Maybe this year I'll buy both (to upgrade from FIFA 10 and NHL 11), but then next year get FIFA 13 but not NHL, then in two years, get NHL 14 but not FIFA, etc. I'll have to think about it for down the road.

[SmoothPancakes]

In the overall scheme of things, I wonder if EA has actually LOST money/potential sales because of Season Pass? Yes, they gain $25 per person. But, what if more people choose to opt out of a game rather than but it? You really need to be confident in your product for this type of thing to work. Much like Steeler, this year I bought FIFA 12 soley because of season pass.

You're right, that is definitely a risk there. That actually happened to me this spring. I have bought Tiger Woods PGA Tour the past two years (TW 11 and TW 12) brand new on release day. This year, I didn't like the changes they made to putting in the demo, and while the overall game was nice in the season pass, there wasn't enough changes and additions, in addition to the disliked change made to putting, that made me want to buy the game this year. So instead of buying Tiger Woods on release day for the third year in a row, I decided to skip this year because of the demo and Season Pass.

[JeffHCross]

In the overall scheme of things, I wonder if EA has actually LOST money/potential sales because of Season Pass?

Probably not.

1) Very few companies would introduce this kind of thing without being very confident that the money will end up in the green.
2) For every 1 potential sale that opts not to get a title, they'd only need to offset with 2 other hardcore fans that want the game 3 days early. And for every 1 guy like yourself and Steeler that buys a game BECAUSE of season pass, that offsets three guys that have Season Pass and decided to not buy a game they otherwise would have gotten. There probably aren't THAT many people on the fence about an EA purchase. Certainly not that many that would have been in the audience for Season Pass anyway.

Have they lost potential sales? Probably. But the net money has probably been positive.

[steelerfan]

Well said, Jeff.

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[JBHuskers]

Hell I'm tempted to get it so I can play online against others that have it (unless they ever fix the retail vs. Season Pass, but I'm not sure that's fixable).

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[gschwendt]

Hell I'm tempted to get it so I can play online against others that have it (unless they ever fix the retail vs. Season Pass, but I'm not sure that's fixable).

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In talking with one of the devs, he said that they are in fact different games so it's unlikely that we would be able to play online together pre-release. I considered getting Season Pass for that reason as well, but to also try out NBA assuming it's included.

[JeffHCross]

it's unlikely that we would be able to play online together pre-release

Makes. No. Sense.

[gschwendt]

Makes. No. Sense.

I assume you know what I mean but to be clear, you wouldn't be able to play the retail game against the Season Pass game. Season Pass vs Season Pass would still be able to play against each other.

I agree that it makes very little sense but I assume it's somehow to related to the Season Pass version being a temporary one or something along those lines.