Hello, Debug Ducker here and have you ever thought how low quality a software you use feels, despite being made by a well known company. This is how I feel when it comes to videos games.
It was a thought that came to me during class when a professor said, if a company release buggy untested software that may ruin the companies reputation. A student ask well what makes the game industry different then. For those in the know the game industry has been plagued with the problem or releasing products in a buggy or half-finished state, that they expect the consumer to buy.
You would think after years of doing such thing, game development companies would be careful about development. Many gamers have criticized this on going problem within the industry and some gaming companies are seen in a poor light, though such reputation never seems to completely ruined them, it does make them less trustworthy. So why are video games different in terms of software testing.
This question kept bothering me, and I brought this up with a friend who may know more. He states that it is because that the consumer is not the most important person to disappoint, that in the software testing field the one who you don’t want to give a poor product or low quality product would be a company or a business. As they aren’t the average customer and have a lot more money to spend.
This is where I did a bit more digging and found out a lot of interesting things when it comes to making a product for the average consumer and making one for a company.
There is a lot of money making a product for a company. The graph from Dells revenue throughout the years showcase how much money can be made in enterprise products
As you can see the commercial products, which are products businesses themselves purchase make most of dell revenue compared to the average consumer. In a way I can see them being prioritized when it comes to reputation, you don’t want to have bad relations with the ones bring in the money.
There is possibly a more logical than financial answer to the question. Consumers are the common people and there are a lot of them. They may have different reactions to the product but since they are so many, there will always be someone willing to buy a product despite the quality. Then comes the company who probably needs the product to do a services and would prefer it thoroughly tested before getting it.
With this I can understand a little of why it is so important to test products in software testing especially when it comes to businesses. We need them for their continued support and they bring in a lot of money.
Admin. “Dell Statistics 2024 by User and Revenue.” KMA Solutions, 22 Apr. 2024, http://www.kma.ie/dell-statistics-2024-by-user-and-revenue/.
From the blog CS@Worcester – Debug Duck by debugducker and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.