40 Days #39: Set up a formal beta program and offer it to other developers

One of the most exciting aspects of having a networked gaming service like Xbox Live with many enthusiastic gamers is the emergence of public beta testing programs for games.

We've seen betas for Shadowrun, Halo 3, COD 4 in the past, and new beta programs are being planned for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Battlefield: Bad Company. All good stuff, and I wish more developers joined this trend, even for single-player aspects of games.

Given that Microsoft has had an internal Microsoft Game Studios beta program available for a while, why not spin off a general Xbox Live testing program? Let the public sign up and go through a selection process that tries to establish some sort of bar for quality (good luck there), then separate the willing volunteers into various demographic groups based on age, gender, experience, and even genre preferences.

Run a tight program where you keep track of all these little details as well as tester scheduling, and then offer these slaves to third-party developers. Not every company has the resources to manage their own beta program, so being able to outsource the dirty work and community connections, and just get back the testing data should be pretty attractive. And I bet a lot of gamers would jump on the opportunity to play unreleased games and perhaps try to make them better prior to release. At least that's what we all hope happens. No need for free incentives for every single game test - people would already be getting extra play time to begin with - but perhaps institute an incentive program for active or long-term beta testers. Plus, of course, distribute any free stuff donated by the developers.

Ultimately, beta testing games by at least somewhat responsible gaming members of the public should lead to an overall improvement in the quality of games, so a formalized beta program that would be easy to handle for both game players and game developers could only help.