So, I'm scrolling through some of the other writer's posts here on BrightHub and I noticed that some don't like the idea of betas before the game is released. I figured that I would post a forum thread here to gain everyone's opinion and knowledge on the subject.
Personally, I think that betas are a great idea, marketing ploy or no - and here is why: in a beta, you get actual gamers who fit into three different types of players: techies (those who look for all the little chinks and bugs that those normal players will never notice and have an intensive computer background), die-hards (those who will play every MMO/MMORPG game that they can get their hands on just to make it to the highest level asap so they can brag and then continue to do so with every toon they have), and common players (those who just want to try out a new game before anyone else). I fall into the die-hard category, and I like it there... Here is why this is good to get a full opinion from different types of gamers, the company gets an easy way to see where bugs are that they didn't expect, where they can (or need) to make the game better, what types of items and gear they need to improve, and general comments on real gamer's experiences in the game.
Without betas, gaming companies will put out games that are not fully tested and will end up spending most of their beginning months dealing with issues and paying overtime for designers and artists to fix bugs so they don't lose money by people returning the game, unsubscribing from it, and so on. Gaming and games is a multi-billion dollar industry - and even though I do make a living off of gaming, I can understand the bottom line and why you need a real player to get in there and test the newest games to the fullest. Also, if you always have the same testers and designers playing the game that they are working on and fully vested in, they will always overlook items and things that other players won't. Just like when you love someone, you overlook their flaws.
So - let me know what your opinions on this are... I am curious to hear from other writers in the PC games channel - and in the console games as well...