When video games are tested by QA teams, the last thing on the agenda for the members to do is to execute a complete play-through of the game, no matter how solid it may appear in the final beta version. Apparently for Taito’s Bubble Bobble Revolution, for Nintendo’s DS, this crucial last stage of testing was overlooked.
In a boss battle occurring on the 30th level, the boss fails to appear for battle and the gamer is stuck wandering around the screens in search of the boss. For all intents and purposes, the whole game comes to a halt and the remaining 70 levels are unattainable. To put a famous phrase from Martha Stewart on its head to describe this situation, "This is not a good thing."
According to game developer Codemasters, "We have been looking very hard into this issue with Nintendo and have now determined that all of the cartridges that have been shipped in North America are faulty. Needless to say we are extremely sorry that this situation has arisen and would like to apologize… for this issue."
But there is more bad news for Bubble Bobble addicts. If you want a replacement cartridge, it’s going to take at least 2 months. "We have already started the process whereby a corrected version is to be manufactured and will ensure that all customers have their copies replaced. Unfortunately this will take 8-10 weeks."
Profits from Bubble Bobble Revolution may take a heavy hit with the recall, because cartridge-based games have traditionally been more expensive to manufacture than games produced on disk-based media.
