I normally avoid internet petitions – in the past they have been too easy to implement, and their impact overestimated. These days, it’s still the same, BUT in this instance, the issue at hand certainly does bear some exposure.
Since its release, the Ghostbusters video game has had a few issues, namely with bugs that make it impossible to obtain a couple of the achievements/trophies. In August of last year, the PS3 version got an update to improve the underwhelming rendering quality, and a couple of the trophy issues were fixed, but one trophy bug remains. The PC and Xbox versions still have outstanding issues as well.
I remain skeptical about the chances of getting these patches – fixing the bugs, getting the patch vetted by Sony/Microsoft is not a simple process, all of which adds up to time and money, neither of which Atari has expressed any interest in spending on games that do work (you can play the game beginning to end). Hence their priority to fix the graphics of the PS3 version – that is seen as an immediate detriment to the playability of the main game.
However, if you’re looking for a nice, clean, organized place to add your voice for Atari to hear, I do recommend the Ghostbusters: The Video Game (patch) group on Facebook. You can also follow their progress on Twitter.
Personal skepticism aside, I’ve joined. Who knows, right?
Not logged in 
I joined! I’ve been hoping for a patch for the 360 version for some time. A friend of mine and I would love to finally catch that Polar Slimer.
I also remember hearing somthing about all this “Downloadable Content” that they said they had and would be released. What the hell happened to all that?! This was BEFORE the game was released, and I have been wondering what it was and have been very curious about it since I heard they had it, and that it WOULD be released! ATARI, you’re letting me down!
Sorry about sliding off topic there though.
A lot of stuff got made that didn’t make it to the home stretch – a lot of people take it for granted that video games are a) easy to make and b) easy to distribute via console. Sadly, games, particularly extra content, have a cost and where there’s cost, there’s always an accountant with a calculator ready to tell you if it’s worth your while. Atari wasn’t in a position to follow through on the extras, and that’s up for argument. I’m on the side that understands that, as much as I’d dig the content. The argument being made here is that achievements, as announced and listed in the game, should work. This I can see – it’s true not having the achievements aren’t breaking the game, but it is something that was supposed to be there, right up to release, and in the end didn’t work. It will still cost time and money to fix them, but there’s a much better argument for demanding them of the publisher.
And I don’t think the downloadable content was ever promised, at least not as the game finalized. A lot of things were expressed as possibilities early on, but they stopped talking about them as the game solidified.
I wouldn’t mind being able to have the GBII suit that did come with the game, but didn’t allow me to download it. FAIL
Many thanks for the article and your support, it’s very much appreciated.
Its hard to say if a patch will be released but its nice to know that people are trying to get it done. Good work AJ and everyone over at the facebook groupe
The issue isn’t so much of whether or not DLC was promised, it’s more of a game playing fan’s observation. We fans know it’s possible, therefore Sony can choose to do it or waffle and come up with backpedaling excuses. Companies like Valve can turn out high quality games and tons of DLC for free ( a move financially justified by Valve stating their games see best sales in their 2-3rd year of release ) and yet Sony claims it’s just not feasible? BS. It’s a choice, it’s a conscious choice they’re making all the way. Their choices are always one that obviously favor the PS3 and shun the other platforms and PC in a rather passive and backhanded way. Sony’s rather Japanese philosophy is that customers will see the PS3 as a superior product and will buy a PS3 to get it. The reality is that people see Sony as being so overtly manipulative that they resent it and will avoid the PS3 to avoid Sony BS. There’s a reason I own every console out there except for the PS3. Sony’s sales can choke on it for all I care.
Well, for starters it’s not Sony. Sony licensed the game – once they did that, they have no say in how it goes. After Activision planned to walk away, Sony went all out to find the game a new home. But once the paper was signed, it wasn’t up to them. Atari, as it turned out, wasn’t sitting on a lot of cash (unlike Valve, which is drowning in money, comparatively) – a continuous stream of DLC is something that is designed into the project from the beginning, not something that you decide to do after release. And Atari wasn’t planning on a long game for Ghostbuters. It’s as simple as that.
Well, in my opinion the PS3 GB game is superb and i enjoy it very much it really is a very simple game once you play it for the first time and as they say you can play the game beginning to end, i can honestly said that i bought the PS3 mainly because this game and i confess im a huge Gb fans since the first movie came out, that being said i think is not such a big deal the lack o extra content or not being able to obtein some of trophies i mean that would be cool but i think it would be so much better a secuel of this great game!!
Thanks for posting this. I know its a long shot too but I’m really hoping that these issues get fixed.
If a games achievements can’t be unlocked its against the xbox standards and isn’t suppose to be released in the first place. Also an update is not considered DLC and really isn’t that hard to do once the bug is fixed. They fix it, then have to put it through a 3 day test cycle, or as long as it takes to get all achievements and a full play through. I use to do this all the time at my last job. I think they are just pooping on us.
I’m glad you’re hear to set us straight on how video game production works.
As you can see, Microsoft is seething mad that the achievement doesn’t work and is sure to take action… any time now…
“really isn’t that hard to do once the bug is fixed”
How hard is it to fix the bug? Will it take an hour? A day? More than one day? More than one programmer? Who’s paying for them? Does Terminal Reality have a relationship with Microsoft? Does it matter – everything probably went through Atari. Contractually, can Terminal Reality go around behind Atari’s back? Would they want to, setting the precedent that they’ll do work for free? Does Microsoft care? Does Atari?
Microsoft certification can test it in 3 days – what happened to the initial certification that had achievements unachievable?
There are a million things that go into a game and a million reasons they have no interest to fix the game. That’s not to say they should or shouldn’t and that’s not to say it wouldn’t be nice if they did, but “how hard can it be?” isn’t exactly a great – or realistic – argument.
I’ve given up on the achievement issues, but I’d sure like it if my GB2 flight suit didn’t look like crap. It’s the typical complaint, but seriously, it needs to be fixed.
Sony has no say in how it goes? Really? Sony ( and Microsoft ) don’t arrange with developers to create DLC and then assure it’s something that has to be paid for? ( As opposed to Valve who gives it away for free on PC? ) I may have to take point with you sir. Sony very strongly has a hand in assuring that ALL games ( not just Ghostbusters but all of them ) which are capable of offering DLC do so at a price, not for free. Developers do not have that much freedom as to over-ride the console/network provider’s intent to make money from as many sources as possible. If they did, then Valve’s L4D2 would offer DLC for free on the consoles as it does on PC. No, Sony’s hand is very present in this case and thousands of others.
Sucks. I have the PS3 version and the first and only patch fixed things for me.
Just focusing on the PS3, not that I disbelieve other players who still don’t have all the trophies, but is everyone absolutely sure that this is the problem (can’t do payday unless you had acheived its requirements pre-patch)? The Payday trophy is both very annoying to complete and mislabelled. You don’t need to be the simply the top earner in every campaign type, you need to fulfill a whole host of invisible requirements. I was able to unlock it after the patch, but it required a couple days of solid playing.
I don’t think Atari gives a rat’s behind. A company that cared about the customer would fix bugs simply because it is the right thing to do for the paying customer. Atari doesn’t even have customer support for this game. Their support page links to a forum. Visiting that forum reveals that there are a large number of people who bought the PC game who can’t even install it. No Atari reps actually visit to help, all you can do is chat with other customers and try to troubleshoot issues with other people who have no clue. Atari is just terrible.
Well, this is more heated than I though my feedback warrented.
Bryan, I think, not for the first time, nomenclature is failing the debate. When I say Sony has no say, I meant Sony Licensing, not Sony Consumer Electronics. I assumed that’s what you meant too. So, Sony Licensing, which did put effort into landing the game and then re-landing it with Atari, THEY do not have a say in there being DLC or not once the contract is dried – and obviously, the contract didn’t stipulate that any Ghostbusters video game Atari made HAD to have DLC.
Now, as for Sony Playstation;
Valve is not a good comparison for this discussion – it’s like complaining about the snow and pointing at Florida as an example of how it should be outside. Valve holds the money, pays the devs internally, and publishes their games. As publisher, with final say on money and direct access to the dev team, they can put out whatever they want on PC – they make it, they pay for it’s production, they test it and vet it and they release it, and while boxed versions of PC games exist, DLC is more often than not going to be free – you can’t release it for free to box owners and make DDL buyers pay for it. You can decide there’s so much content that you’ll make a mini-expansion pack out of it, and charge for it, but anything under that, it’s a gimme.
While Microsoft and Sony (the playstation guys, not the licensing guys) do like DLC, as it’s more money for them, they can’t demand it, and they won’t pay for its creation (assuming they’re not the publisher of the game) – that’s ultimately up to the game’s publisher. In this case it was Atari and they didn’t want to spend more money.
Yes, you’re right that Sony and Microsoft have a say in content being paid rather than free, but they don’t have a say in there being content in the first place is my point.
All that said, this isn’t about DLC, this is about patching the game, which currently is broken in a couple of achievements.
Currently an Xbox disc title (I’m less versed in PS3 publishing requirements) has to have 1000 gamer points, but what if it doesn’t? Well, if by design it didn’t have 1000 points, Microsoft would have failed it in certification. But if it doesn’t have them by bug, like in this case, then what?
We don’t know – it’s a black box of business we’re not privvy too. Yes, the developer would like the game working and reflecting well on them? Can they pay for the time needed to fix it? If they do, can they submit without Atari’s involvement? Microsoft has a policy? Are they enforcing it? If they are, did Atari tell them to get bent, knowing Microsoft doesn’t want to shut down possible future titles?
Unlike PC development, at this point, there are several parties involved, all of them wanting the most for the least – in the case of the Ghostbusters video game, the most important patch made was all about the graphics on the PS3, which were – in spite of all the hype before hand – less than impressive compared to the Xbox. Again, we have no idea what business went on behind the curtain, but in that instance, it’s a sure bet Sony Playstation insisted it get patched. Who took the hit, money-wise, we don’t know. More than likely shit rolled downhill onto Terminal Reality.
I started this so long ago today, I’m not even sure what the point is anymore – why were we arguing again?
Actually, there are more bugs than just the achievements. I have the XBOX 360 version.
Sometimes ghosts will fly ridiculously high into the sky beyond the invisible “borders” of the defined level, or outside of the walls on indoor levels. They then become trapped there, since for some reason they can’t fly back through the “border” the way they came. You can throw a capture stream on the ghost but you can’t wrangle or slam it back into the level. This is game-breaking, since you have to reset to fix it.
Also, sometimes the possessor ghosts will enter an Anubis statue and the game becomes “stuck.” The PKE shows it is possessed, but the statue does not move, and it is unaffected by the streams. Also game-breaking, must reset.
There are also non-breaking issues with the lip synch, which does not appear to be an error in the animation, but a problem with the audio loading slightly before or after the video starts playing. This seems like it could be fixed with a patch which would not require re-animating anything.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic game. The biggest blemishes, though, are these glitches — which do go deeper than just the achievements.
[...] They haven’t sworn an update is coming, but this is definitely a good first step. Maybe petitions can work? [...]
@Ross
No, it’s the other way round. On the PS3, the patch fixed things for MOST players No Job Too Big, fixed for all PS3 players, however Payday… in MOST cases it was alright, but not all.
The reason is, as you said, Payday is a tricky one to get, lots of things affect it (like someone dropping out during the campaign! Or all players getting knocked out, except in survival after wave 1 that is), so to achieve “Payday Standard” on ALL FOUR campaigns before the patch, especially considering people didn’t know the exact things to do (and avoid).
However, some users were so desperate to try and unlock it (refusing to believe, or hoping to believe it wasn’t glitched) as such they DID manage to earn “Payday Standard” on all FOUR locations. Unfortunately, once they did this on all four, after the 26th August patch, when they tried to redo it, the game believe they’ve already done it. They’ve been trying for months since, different partners, different consoles, nothing. However, if they start a new PSN ID, they can get it in minutes (they’ve done it so many times they’re Pros now).
The reason it wasn’t more widespread, is if you had just 1 of the 4 campaigns the game believed you hadn’t done to payday standard… and you did that location, it unlocked for you. This is why some people said they played 1 campaign after the patch and got Payday, while others took anywhere from 1 to all 4 campaigns to unlock, and some still had problems due to the odd rules (no dropping out, no passing out, except on survival after wave 1, etc.)
That patch came out 2 months after release, it’s now been 8 months, so if they do just speedily release the same patch for Xbox, ALOT more players will suffer the “Patched- Payday” issue, as they’ve had longer to do “Payday Standard” on all four locations.
PS3 needs a new patch that will alter the trophy trigger code, to check and unlock the trophy after someone does a campaign to payday standard instead of only when a campaign has been done to payda standard that wasn’t before. This should mean donig any campaign to payday standard should unlock it.
Obviously this new patch should be the one released to Xbox players, not the old PS3 one, because of this issue.