14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has learned a lot from the controversial launch of Driveclub on the PS4 and hopes not to repeat the same mistakes by accurately testing all the different aspects of a game before launching it into the wild.
Driveclub appeared in October of last year after almost a full year delay, as it was initially set to debut alongside the PS4 console in November of 2013. The reason for the massive delay was that developer Evolution needed extra time to ensure that all the mechanics of the title worked as intended and that its social racing experience would delight fans.
However, even with a beta stage, the actual debut of the game saw its servers buckle under the huge influx of players, and for many weeks the title was unplayable online.
Sony has learned from the whole Driveclub debacle
Nowadays, things are much better and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss Jim Ryan tells Metro Game Central that his team has learned a lot from the whole thing.
According to Ryan, the new consoles have led developers to explore new ways of letting players interact with others online, but it's also proven to be a much bigger technical challenge.
What's more, in terms of testing, it's quite hard to ensure that all of a game's aspects are thoroughly examined and work as intended.
"[Testing] this stuff… a lot of it is load placed on servers, simply due to concurrency. It’s hard. Again, that’s not to excuse publishing something that’s not fit for purpose. In any form of entertainment, in any business, whether it’s a washing machine, whether it’s a book, whether it’s television, whether it’s a video game you shouldn’t put something out until it’s ready. One would hope, and certainly we’ve learnt an awful lot from the Driveclub experience, that those mistakes, once made, should not be repeated," he explains.
He also mentions that Sony has learned from the experience both as a publisher, which handles full game testing, but also as a platformer owner, as it also tries out all the games coming to the PS4 to ensure their quality and functionality.
