14 DAY TRIAL // Driveclub was among the first games ever revealed by Sony for its new PlayStation 4 home console, a next-gen racing game that not only combined great mechanics with a heavy social aspect, but that also made use of the new hardware and features of the device.
The news that it would be launched as a full-fledged retail game, as well as free edition with less content for PlayStation Plus subscribers also piqued the interest of many people, especially since PS Plus is now mandatory on the PS4 to access multiplayer features.
The result was that plenty of people were excited about Driveclub ahead of the PS4's launch back in November 2013. Unfortunately, publisher Sony and developer Evolution decided to abruptly delay the game for extra polishing. During that period, Evolution highlighted that it was busy fleshing out the social racing elements, while improving the many other aspects of the game, from its visuals, to its handling, and much more.
There was still hope
Even if people were surprised to see that the delay extended to almost a whole year, many retained their hope that Driveclub would be worth the extra waiting when it finally appeared on the PS4.
Unfortunately, once October 8 came around, the game was released and it soon became obvious that the social racing experience was available just as a solo affair, as the multiplayer and social aspects were unavailable due to the servers being swamped by the huge number of players.
It's not uncommon for games with heavy online audiences to experience launch issues, so players still stuck with the game, hoping that whatever was causing the problems would be solved soon.
It's been almost one whole month since the game launched, and quite a lot of players are still encountering issues when trying to play Driveclub online or access its social features.
This is inexcusable
It's since become clear that, while Sony's servers had some problems, the main issues lie with the multiplayer code employed by Evolution in the actual game. The studio worked hard to remedy the issues, but even with extra engineers and programmers from Sony's Worldwide Studios team, a solution is still far from becoming a reality.
Meanwhile, no amount of apologies can fix the terrible experience that Driveclub owners are going through.
The game had a closed beta on the PS4 and enjoyed a huge amount of development time. This isn't even Evolution's first racing game, so the problems can't be blamed on surprising circumstances or lack of experience.
What's more, the promised PS Plus edition is now indefinitely delayed until all the problems are dealt with, and Sony is sure that the influx of users won't cause other issues.
Sony has to make amends
While Driveclub Director Paul Rustchynsky initially mentioned that the team wasn't ruling out rewards for those who had to endure the online issues, nothing has been mentioned about it since then.
Whatever scheme will be devised, it had better be worth it as Sony has already lost a bit of its credibility when it comes to the PlayStation Network and its multiplayer services and this new situation isn't making it any better.