During Penn State's Playing to Win conference last week, I spoke about the new spirit of activism among game consumers. Little did I know just how active that spirit would become this week. Today, GamePolitics takes note of three separate issues that are roiling gamers.
The Consumerist writes about a problem that a gamer who lives on a military base is having with Microsoft over getting his RROD'd Xbox 360 fixed:
Reader Dustin lives on a military base and Microsoft keeps telling him that they can't fulfill his warranty because UPS doesn't ship XBOXs back and forth from military bases. According to UPS, this isn't true. Dustin tried escalating his complaint and got some apologies, but months went by and still no box arrived for his broken XBOX 360...
It seems to us that Microsoft isn't living up to their manufacturer's warranty... We've been hearing a lot of similar complaints, Dustin, so you're not alone out there. In fact, it might be a good time for people who are having this issue to start complaining formally to their state's attorney general.
Meanwhile, Sarcastic Gamer is calling for a boycott of EA's upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company. The issue? EA will be selling extra in-game weapons as DLC on Xbox Live. That's after the player has shelled out $60 for the game:
I’ve played almost every iteration of Battlefield since Battlefield 1942. I love the series. I love DICE as a video game company, even though they’re now owned by EA. I just can’t take any more of this DLC crap. Not anymore...
How, in good conscience, can EA take more money out of fan’s pockets, who have already spent 60 bucks on the game. EA has said that the game’s weapons are appropriately balanced and that the new guns won’t unbalance a game. If that’s the case, then why buy them? What value do they even have? I’m not buying what EA is selling and you shouldn’t either.
It’s time to boycott EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company.
Finally, GamesIndustry.biz reports that UK gamers are outraged over the Rock Band pricing structure announced by EA. The full instrument kit, which sold in the US for the dollar equivalent of 85GBP, will cost UK gamers 180GBP - more than twice as much.
Who can blame them for being upset? From GI.biz:
Following the news this morning that Electronic Arts has confirmed the pricing structure for Rock Band in the UK, gamers have expressed anger at the cost difference between regions. Among the milder comments posted as first reaction to the price on Eurogamer.net were:
"At least Dick Turpin had the courtesy to wear a mask,"
"That's just disgustingly shameful, in all respects."
"What a joke. Months late and double the price. No sale."
GP: By the way, the pic is from the great B/W collection of photographer Bill Emory.
UPDATE: GameSpot reports that EA has apparently heard the voice of the consumer and scrapped plans to sell weapons as DLC...
Comments
We get this shit every time anyway.
The best example of this is, again, BF2142. At no point did EA ever put any notification on the package for BF2142 that the game included in-game advertising (a violation of the FTC Act), which is why there were so many articles pointing out the disclaimer that was included with the game.
Then there is the issue of the disclaimer. When I read a legally binding piece of paper that states "When you use the software while connected to the internet, the Advertising Technology may record your Internet Protocol address and other anonymous information ("Advertising Data")." I tend to worry about my privacy and my identity.
In the year that I kept fighting with EA on this issue, I was never told how or even if they bothered to think about the security of the consumer's identity, privacy, or the possible security risks that are associated with such an advertising system.
Seriously, what kind of company allows this kind of crap to be put into a game where a good portion of the revenue is going to come from kids and individuals that fully comprehend what exactly is written within all that legal jargon?
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/865/865549p1.html
Moreover, the complete lack of accountability when it comes to online gaming forums is my major gripe.
I despise the fact that if you're subscribed to an online game and have access to the forums that you're basically at the mercy of the moderators. I don't just mean that you have the follow the rules, what I mean is that if you have a problem with something on the forums the person you have to complain to is the mod. But if the problem that you're having is with the moderators themselves who are you supposed to complain to?
The moderators...
That drives me up the frickin' wall. I don't often have issues with moderation, but very occasionally I'll have a problem with someone like Alex Von Minden (A.K.A. Lighthouse of City of Heroes Forums and SOE fame) and where does that leave me? I can go into any store or business on the planet and if I'm not happy with the service I can ask for the supervisor. If the supervisor is a douchebag I can ask for the manager, if that's no good then I can talk to head-office.
With online games you can't do that. You can't talk to anyone other than the Community coordinator. It's the ultimate "Fox guarding the henhouse" scenario, they are ultimately and for all intents and purposes completely unaccountable.
I call for a complete boycott of all EA productions! Seriously. Who's with me?
I know Microsoft took a big hit with the Ruby Ring of Death issues (I still call them that because then they're Ruby RoDs... in honor of Chris Tucker's character in 5th Element: Ruby Rhod). Actually, before then, they wouldn't 'fess up to the problems.
This stems from an amusing true moment. My buddy got Guitar Hero II for his 360, and at one point last year, he downloaded the patch (mandatory, mind you). Soon afterward, his 360 ended up with the Ruby RoD. He checked online and found that other people who downloaded the patch had similar problems.
With that, he called Microsoft. They wouldn't fix it for free because he owned it more than a year, thus having an invalid warranty. His complaint, however, was that it was Microsoft's fault for letting a faulty patch through, and that because of poor QA, his 360 unfairly bit the big one. They wouldn't acknowledge any wrongdoing (of course. I wouldn't expect them to). As a result, he got fed up and wanted nothing to do with Microsoft anymore, so he traded in ALL of his Xbox and 360 games and the console for a PS3 and a few games...
The amusing part is 2 days after he traded his stuff in, Microsoft made the official announcement of extending warranties for 3 years because of a relatively high console failure rate.
Nice to see they're still the same Microsoft I've come to know and loathe.
Hell, one of my friends in the Netherlands wants me to send him a US version of Rock Band. He'll pay for the cost, and the shipping. Oh sure, the game won't work, but it'll still save him about 100 to 150 bucks in the long run.
One of the most prevailing gamer stereotypes I've seen is that of an overweight person glued to a couch who will buy anything that looks cool, regardless of pricing or who's selling it. I want to see everyone do everything possible to defy this.
As for Microsoft... perhaps it is time to form a unified front with the Linux community.
I've called, I've written but I haven't gotten any answers from Sony.
It's bad that we have people who are going to continue buying Xbox 360s, Rock Band in Europe, and BF: BC's DLC despite knowing the egregiousness of all the circumstances surrounding the products.
What's worse is that when I look at books, they still carry the Canadian sale price as being 1.5 times the US sale price. Sony may be emulating other media, albeit mistakenly.
I know I've been able to make a PSN account for Japan so I can download free stuff from the Japanese Playstation Store... I'm sure once the pre-paid PSN cards come out in North America, you might be able to get away with making a US PSN account and using that for your downloads.
I only suggest doing that because I'm not sure if they link CC info with address... otherwise, you could theoretically get away with a fake US physical address. I'm not going to guide you through the steps, though.
Add to that their molestation of the industry and its proponents and you have a real dick of a company that I'd rather piss on than support.
For the record, I've never played Rock Band and Harmonix can kiss my ass so long as they're publishing under EA. So can Valve. So can DICE. So can Take-Two if EA devours them. (Please don't. Please don't. Please don't.)
@Werrick
I completely agree. Moderators are tyrants. They're not paid, they're just users picked from the top of the class. Power corrupts and even the most insignificant amount of power is no exception.
I have made numerous posts on EA's shady business practices ever since BF2, which, for me, was the straw that broke the camel's back. The lack of patches, fixes to their shotty coding, their complete disregard to providing a decent product, then the audacity to demand more money for content updates (BF2's booster packs).
DLC is just a repeat of what they did with BF2. At least in a console environment, it will be difficult to put up an in-game ad system based around spyware concepts and coding since there are very little files to collect that would easily identify you, your location, and your interests on the internet like they did with BF2142.
I have urged people to start voicing their opinions on the matter openly but with very little support in the past few years. It's good to hear that people are finally waking up and taking a stand against such actions from companies like EA.
Luckily, Maxis tends to be one of tbe better developers for EA, and as such, it's not too bad (except the millions of Sims expansion and stuff packs). I actually expect Spore's sharing ability to be somewhat similar to other Maxis stuff in that EA won't charge anything for it (*fingers crossed*).
I know Microsoft took a big hit with the Ruby Ring of Death issues (I still call them that because then they’re Ruby RoDs… in honor of Chris Tucker’s character in 5th Element: Ruby Rhod).
I'm sorry to change the subject, but this is the most awesome thing I've heard in awhile. Kudos to you, Ragnaar!
Sorry...
ScarcasticGamer all the way
Lono we are finally on GamePolitics
F yeah
I see it this way. EA is like the Hitler of the video game industry. Hear me out, I got a point with this one and it doesn't involve millions dying. EA is in this attempt to take hostile control of any and every video game company that they set their eyes on. They did this to Westwood. They did this to Maxis. The did this to DICE. They did this to Origin. They did this to Bullfrog. They did this to Ubisoft. They're trying to do it to T2. They've got an exclusive license with the NFL now so the only football games with real teams and players are theirs and theirs alone. If they get T2, then they also will have an exclusive on the MBL. Their newer games seem to trade in innovation, gameplay, in-game hours, and many other things for what they feel is a "visually entertaining game". I really hope to god T2 stands its grounds because if it doesn't, EA owning the video game industry is closer than ever.
@Ragnaar
You, my friend, are awesome. Ruby R(h)oDs it is. So let it be written. So let it be done.
Just so you know, you don't need to get Xbox Live Gold to download stuff from XBL marketplace. It is, however, required to actually play the games online.
Of course, there's corporate beauty in DLC. These companies know gamers will feel they're not getting the full experience, thus shelling out extra dough for extra content. It's out of control at times. I'm sure part of the reason Rock Band has many downloads that can grow to be a pretty penny is to mollify the RIAA (another Evil Empire).
To be fair, not every company does that. Many release a game and just leave it at that. Some release content later at no cost. Some of the company segments in the upcoming Home are a prime example of this. PS3 owners will be able to run around deserted maps of Warhawk and Uncharted.
Some have the initial release, then have a collection and/or an edition later on down the line that incorporates those features (Oblivion, Knights of the Nine and Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition respectively), and I find that much more acceptable. At least with Oblivion, you get tangible media if you can't download it all.
The funny part is that Microsoft publicly announced that they don't want Blu-Ray in their 360s because they feel DLC is the way of the future. When asked why they had HD-DVD, they claim it was a strategic move to distract people from the Blu-Ray in the PS3. I say there's still something to be said about holding tangible media in your hands. I loved bringing home video games from Toys 'R' Us back in my day. Plus not everyone will want to use DLC for one reason or another, so Microsoft might lose a big portion of the market should they choose to ditch optical media altogether after the 360.
@SithLibrarian and Ben Ambroso:
Thanks for the compliments on my translation of "RRoD." I've actually mentioned it in other forums, but it never seemed to catch on.
@ Michael Brooks:
iirc, Mass Effect was already well into the works by the time EA assimilated... erm... insorbed... ummm... acquired Bioware.
about your point regarding XBL I used battle.net specifically because it involves multiplayer access
other than that i dont particularly disagree other than that lately i've been seeing trend where despite disc sizes being bigger there is less content and later map packs are conveniently released at a later date for a price of course. Once again i am a pc gamer so this kind of behaviour is quite new to me.
I call for a complete boycott of all EA productions! Seriously. Who’s with me?
I'm with you........Fuck EgAy
Gift.
Okay... I keep my cool around here about everything, but in regards to the EA Battlefield: Bad Company...
OH MY GOD!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!?! DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT?!?!?!
It's a point, click, bang, dead game... You... You SOULESS SHILLS AT EA!!!
I was planning on picking this up with a group of 8 of my friends as the new FPS to play outside of Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2.
Now?
HELL NO!!!
So... Lemme do the math for ya now EA...
8x$60 = $480
You're out that much with me and my social group. I hope EVERY gamer out there does the same and boycotts this game.
Man this ticks me off...
BTW, is there a site online to sign up for the boycott and display just how many of us there are so they KNOW how much of a cost this is?
It depends on a couple things. Just what does the content add, and what's its price for what you get?
If it adds quite a bit, then I could see them charging quite a bit. If it adds just a cosmetic change, then even micro-transactions seem outrageous. Though $10 is way too much for a gun... perhaps $.99 would be better (yet still unforgivable).
On a side note, I can't wait for the new PlayStation Store and the Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror Expansion!
I don't think they're complaining about the DLC for Rock Band its the retail price for the game plus instruments is twice as expensive as it is here in North America. EA gave some lame excuse about the general price for electronics is higher in Europe or some such. The worse part is they need to get ne game and peripherals seperately, no bundle whatsoever. I mean they finally get the game months after everyone else and then they get charged double....
Gift.