Well played, EA, well played!
And this is why competition is a good thing.
Your move now, Valve.
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valve has amazing sales on a frequent basis and allows me to install things without having to uninstall my graphics card and let the origin service install it for me every time i want to install an update or another game... your move EA
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Thats a big step forward. Steam does not offer smthing like this.....
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It's hard to find it through Google these days, which seems to want to return stuff like the tons of articles about the Steam Box. What I could find after sifting through a bunch of unwanted results was a few sites covering Gabe Newell's University of Texas speech where he mentions turning Steam into a network API that anyone could use to distribute their games, and allowing people to make their own stores. It isn't actually the coverage I was looking for, but finding any specific Gabe Newell/Steam related conversation seems to be nearly impossible if you don't remember the exact words of a quote.
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Dumbass like you is why we don't have these things from companies. You think it's smart to abuse it.
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hm,I thought the ;) would show how serious I am with that. FYI I don't even have origin and I think this move by origin is like politics. Promise something great but not really thought through. Since it is coming from the great company behind SimCity I say we shall see how this turns out.
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On the flip side, we could say it's your dumbass that is allowing companies like EA to get away with publishing games that only last 6-10 hours story time, with most of that being cut screens.
I feel that, if I've just spent that $40+ on a game and I've only got 10 hour game play from it, I'd be in titled to a refund, as per EA's Origin statement: "we'll make things right if you decide the game you just bought didn’t live up to your expectations".
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Can you imagine if other industries worked the same way gamers wanted this industry to work? "What!? This movie was only 89 minutes long and I had to pay the same price as my friend who say the 130 minute movie? I demand a refund!" or "Sorry, I finished my meal in ten minutes, when it should have taken me an hour. I'm not paying."
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Well, sure. Ten minutes is pretty short for a meal. Most meals I get at restaurants last about 30 minutes, if I rush it.
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The majority of single-player games can be finished in around ten hours (certainly less than 24). Next time you play only single-player, beat the game and check how long Steam says you spent in the game - I think you'll be surprised. Not every game is Skyrim, nor does every game have to be.
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I agree. Especially new games are really easy to finish. I finished AC:Revelations in 25-26 hours and it took me 15 hours to do the achievements and all the challenges and the other stuff... When it comes to a single player game with just playing for the storyline it doesn't take more than 15 hours. And I agree with the Skyrim mention. People are always saying "if Skyrim was very big, then any game can be so" which is totally wrong... Skyrim was big because it's not just an open world game, but because it features thousands of side quests, and if you play it in a harder difficulty, you'll have to play slower and do more side quests than main quests... It's a very different game. To be honest, this refund system works great for people who actually want to buy the game so they can support developers who did a good job, and also to test the multiplayer... Not to finish the single player and then take your money back.
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What is this "only" 10 hours thing? A game should be measured on it's quality, not it's length. If people are gonna start buying a game, beating it, and trying to get a refund within 24 hours it'll open up huge doors for abuse.
FYI, the following games are "under 24 hours", some close to that magic "10 hour" mark:
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oh i dont know thats maybe 4$ an hour thats pretty cheap for entertainment. ive more of a problem with bad ports, drm punishing me for being fool enough to buy a game when pirating would be easier, i know how to get illicit games but i choose not to and it annoys me when the DRM makes it harder to play the game
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imo Origin 7.5 - Steam 10
Origin is good but it doesn't even have half of the features that steam had 2 years ago, it is making progress though and recently got achievements, and obviously now this, if Steam adapted their policies it would be nice.
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If that happens, chances are EA will take away the generous offer or just enforce it... More.
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^If they notice someone constantly buying new releases and then requesting refunds, they'll probably flag that person's account and not approve that any longer.
EDIT: Yep, they actually mention it in the details: "Refunds may not be supported where Electronic Arts detects fraud or abuse of the refund process."
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As the details state, "Refunds may not be supported where Electronic Arts detects fraud or abuse of the refund process."
So I'm sure they'll be monitoring it and if they notice someone doing constant refund requests, it'll be denied.
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EDIT: On second thought, this seems like a genuine act of kindness from EA, even if it still has its purposes at more users.
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After the incident happened on the first few days of the launching of origin bundle (the redeem code function does not work because of the huge demand), I doubt its effectiveness if a huge group of players demand a refund on a certain game...
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Interesting. i am guessing they will track that stuff so people don´t buy games that can be won in less than 24 HS and then ask for a refund.
Now if i could only finish downloading Dead Space 3 once and for all and it would stop going bloody backwards on the percentage, get a good GUI and stop insisting in selling me the stuff on Euros i may not hate Origin so much.
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Very nice move. It'll probably be a long time before I buy much of anything from Origin for a couple of other reasons (including already having way too many other games to play), but I'm always in favor of the competition pushing more consumer-friendly features that Steam and others will feel pressure to keep up with.
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I'll cross post what I wrote as a comment there.
Why is everyone so worked up over the possibility of people buying and beating a game within 24 hours? You know that people do that for console games right? The only logical explanation I can think of is that you are unable to do so yourself whether it be from lack of time or lack of skill.
Anyone care to indulge?
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Those console gamers would rarely get a full refund, they'd have to sell it back used.
I beat Remember Me and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon in roughly ten hours (each). Why should I deserve a refund when I enjoyed the full experience??
If someone isn't interested in multiplayer, they could easily beat a lot of games in less than 24 hrs if they don't value sleep. I think a "less than X number of achievements" should be implemented to, or always have story-based achievements and if the end boss one is achieved, players can no longer ask for a refund.
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Those were the only two logical explanations I can think of and both are plausible, otherwise they're just bitching to bitch.
People do post irrelevant and useless replies all the time, so it's not unlikely that there was no thought put into them.
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Your first point is valid if you're assuming that EA is full of retards that have no common sense whatsoever. I do believe that someone in the organization would have seen the potential issue and they're prepared to deal with it or simply aren't concerned. As others have stated, there is a good chance the refund will be in the form a credit and from a business perspective, the credit does not cost EA anything until it is used.
Your second point could be valid once they release their EULA and TOS, but I personally wouldn't start calling me "unethical" before receiving EA's stance on it. I do find it rather funny though as the common consensus is that since EULA and TOS "aren't law" and as such they are irrelevant. I think we're probably thinking of the same thread too. :p
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I personally see this as particularly abusable simply because of the amount of discontent customers who have old EA accounts. I foresee a fair amount of "You screwwed me, so I may as well screw you a little too". Though it really is a double-edged sword if you try to abuse this. Sure you can try to clear a game within 24 hours, but that may require a whole day of effort, and naturally if you don't like the game, you're trading hours of your life just to give a company who doesn't care about your anger the middle finger. You may of course find yourself addicted to the story/gameplay as the time limit rapidly approaches, and end up with a new game you didn't budget for purchasing, haha. They are also likely going to check your achievements/score/whatever to see if you cleared the game based on certain milestones, too.
Besides, the "This is why we can't have nice things" doesn't really apply when it comes to EA, because the main block to 'nice things' with them, has simply been due to their service or executive decisions. :P
Though admittedly these recent moves are a refreshing change, given the reputation it's likely just a PR move or an attempt to gather new customers.
This really just sounds like a kind of extended demo service, which even then is a really good idea. Though wouldn't it make more sense to extend the entire returns deadline until you've actually played the game? I often don't play a game within a week of purchasing it, depending on how busy I am. I foresee a number of (non abuse) players finding themselves stuck with games they don't like, having shown too much faith in this policy. At least, if EA's history is anything to go by.
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If that's the only explanation you have, do you also believe that people only get mad at scammers because they weren't able to scam a game for themselves?
People see the behavior as unethical and potentially damaging the group as a whole. It's really basic instinct to care about keeping the group you are with doing well. We evolved and advanced because we're social and able to cooperate for the sake of a group, no one person could take down a mammoth but a small tribe could.
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Even if you would never use it, it is far, FAR from useless. EA (and by extension Origin) is one of the big, heavy hitters in the industry. Them offering refunds sets a huge precedence. Now, for example, Steam has no way to argue that refunds simply aren't possible. Since Origin is offering refunds, the only excuse Steam has for not offering them is that they don't want to, and that's a pretty big blow.
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What if you buy a product that doesn't work? I buy a lamp at Home Depot, it won't turn on. I should be forced to just toss it in the trash and "make better decisions" next time?
What if it's a videogame that doesn't work? Just shrug and say "well, that's $60 gone. Oh well."?
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What do you think a company like EA or Steam would rather? Refund a few games because they fail to work -or- never sell another game because people don't want to get ripped off?
When consumers feel protected in their purchase they are more likely to make it. The more risk there is, the less likely people will risk their cash. Companies like cash.
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Having that kind of attitude will lose you customers faster than you can say "competition.' Let that sink in, because that is who they will be going to if you try that with a customer. People are kind of fickle like that.
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Sometimes a game or program simply has a bug up its butt about one part of your configuration. Being able to get a refund if you're one of the unlucky souls who gets a game that freaks out on X chipset is a good thing.
Updating drivers for a game? Sure, ok...replacing a mobo? Not gonna happen.
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Wow, I didn't know Don Mattrick had an account on here.
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You've never bought or even heard of a buying a defective product? I've had a vacuum cleaner and a floor lamp not work out-of-box in the last 5 years. Bring em back to the store, they give you a new one, no problem.
Returns are a natural form of consumer protection, to prevent people from being ripped off from faulty or shoddy products. Games need to adopt the same policy.
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What if there's no demo? Or if it's like Alien Colonial Marines...
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I'm still not sure I'd buy any origin games. I do like some EA games and I really dont mind using origin but honestly theres not that many games I see in the near future which will require Origin.
Although BF4 does look interesting so I might pick that up, and I do play Fifa but thats pretty much it.
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I would trust a big corporate entity to put in place appropriate contractual measures. If not, people will go crazy pre-ordering AAA games just to play and return.
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Introducing The Origin Great Game Guarantee
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