But of course, the QAs on a game don't have the final say - even if they report a bug, it doesn't mean it'll get patched out. Maybe there's not enough time, or money, or people to do the job. Likewise, Bungie is not the publisher of their own game - that's Activision - so they might not have the final say on any of this kind of stuff, because they're not the ones taking their game to market. These are decisions made by a bunch of different people, at different times, and for different reasons.
But nevertheless, some people - mostly vocal ones, mostly on Twitter and in comment sections - have been blaming the most visible person involved in these situations, which is something that seems to happen time and time again in the gaming industry.
Sometimes an apology is issued - as with Assassin's Creed Unity's problems last year, which resulted in free DLC, or Halo: Master Chief Collection's online issues, for which Bonnie Ross, the head of 343 Industries, apologised and gave out various free extras. Other times, people's reputations and jobs are ruined because they become the public face of a PR disaster.
Sometimes mistakes happen, and often they tarnish the fun and our expectations for a game. It's a shame, and it's frustrating, but they still happen. There is a lot to be said for those who campaign for better work conditions for developers and coders, more transparency and better treatment of consumers, and all of this is important in an industry that's still finding its feet - but it's also our responsibility to avoid making one person a target when the bad decisions are often the result of many, many fingers in one pie.
There's plenty to learn, too: pre-ordering is no longer a wise choice; if you're going to blame someone, make sure it's the people who actually made the bad decisions; and if a company is withholding review copy, be wary.
But it's also important to remember that not everyone is the bad guy. The video game market is broken in many places and needs fixing - we just need to make sure we're fixing it by pointing the finger at the actual problems, not the little guys.
