With the ressources needed to make a game these days, there's just no way to survive releasing "flawless" games anymore, unless we're talking 3D tic-tac-toe simulators :)
I'm sure you've heard the saying "The first 90% of the code accounts for the first 90% of the development time. The remaining 10% of the code accounts for the other 90% of the development time" ?
Now consider that M2TW took 3 years to develop, and that's using much if not mostly Rome's code. To release M2 pristine would most likely have taken two, three more years. Who feeds CA during that time ? I'm sure they're all great guys who are utterly dedicated to the quality of their work, but they still have metabolisms. And mortgages.
So SEGA does. And SEGA watches over CA's shoulder and sends auditors in little grey suits who use words like "return on investment" and "honor the blood compact, minion !". Publishers are fairly rarely altruistic people. They do look snazzy from the top of their pitchforks to the bottom of their hooves though

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So CA rushes the game for Xmas, because the choice between having to disappoint its fanbase a bit, for a few months, until they can iron out that other 10% ; and missing out on the millions of grandmas and mummies who want to buy something cool for little Kevin who likes knights, weeeell... It's not even a choice at all :/
Especially considering the fact that the perfect, mindblowing game they wish they could have released if not for ugly monetary considerations, they can hope to achieve through later patches and expansions.
And frankly, CA has been pretty frickin' committed to their bugfixing and feature-adding in the past, compared to some other studios I could name (Troika, anyone ?).
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