Unless of course, you’re talking about the great Patches O’Houlihan from the movie Dodgeball.

Anyway, a new gaming site has just launched, Game Patch Central, dedicated to game patches, though not limited to. Among patches they also include some of the most popular new demos, some FAQs, and walk-throughs. While the service the site offers is a benefit to the gaming community, it’s a shame the gaming community needs this so much. This hasn’t always been the case. Game publishers and developers have gotten lazy, sloppy, or just plain greedy, shipping unfinished products and expecting us, the consumer, to wait for a fix once we’ve already paid for the product.

If this was any other media product, movies, music, books, whatever, these kind of practices wouldn’t be tolerated. When was the last time you bought a movie on DVD, took it home, and if it didn’t play or work like it’s supposed to you’re told they’re working on a patch so you’ll have to wait? Hmm. Let’s see, how about never! Ever read a book with a missing page, then later they announce the page has been completed and they’re sending it to anyone requesting it? No. It just doesn’t happen outside of the gaming world.

When a product is shipped it should be complete. If I have to pay $50 to $60 for a game, it better be finished. This problem has existed in PC gaming for quite some time. It’s only recently that these issues have trickled onto the consoles with the addition of online connectivity. The problem isn’t getting better. It’s expanding. What can we do to help? Not much really. Just don’t buy a broken product. If a game doesn’t work out of the box, then the game is broken. What about all those console gamers that aren’t connected to the internet? Yes, there are still some. What happens when their game doesn’t work without a patch? Think about it. They’re just stuck with a broken game, period.

Boom!

What do you think? Is anyone out there actually a fan of patches? Let us know. Comment below.