Space Voyager Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Read the interview. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The Gamer's Bill of Rights We the Gamers of the world, in order to ensure a more enjoyable experience, establish equality between players and publishers, and promote the general welfare of our industry hereby call for the following: 1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund. 2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state. 3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release. 4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game. 5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will adequately play on that computer. 6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent. 7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time. 8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers. 9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play. 10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play. A lovely sentiment. Here's a thing I've oft-wondered about. Can you honestly not return PC games? Or does it depend upon what country you're in? Can't see how it's legal to simply not accept a game that doesn't work and is returned by a customer. I think the law is fairly clear, in quite a few countires, on the rights of consumers and goods that don't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 And the prize for best comment on that articlegoes to Mystery0000: These people not only make good games but also understand how to make them successful with a lot less resources. While EA and others stumble like drunk, obese retards face first into the exact same issues time and again, all along managing to find new ways to infuriate their own potential customers. Sums up the industry at present in two neat sentences And FA - you're right certainly with regards to the UK I'd say, though I have noticed a lot of software DVD's that came with my current PC had stickers on them warning that once opened you're adhering to all the legal junk (that, without any manuals, you actually have to load the disc to read ). It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if these "breaking this seal voids your warranty and acknowledges your acceptance of us being freely able to roger you with a cactus" types of stickers appear on games soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The US appears to be a country where the legality of EULAs and the like are fiercely contested in court. Sometimes they are upheld, sometimes not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_license_agreement The NCC here in the UK has raised concern over EULAs, and OfCom has cracked down on some of the worst examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimli Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 Is the EULA even legally binding? Now normally, the only way to prove that you had accepted the license agreement would be to catch you in the act. But I noticed in the EULA of Google Chrome that you accept the agreement as soon as you use it. Can they even do that? If I haven't been given the opportunity to read the EULA, I think it constitutes as forcing an agreement on me. Can something like this fly in court? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Voyager Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 I found the part about why people choose a console game instead a PC version most interesting. And it's true. Publishers choose to push the PC game out because on a PC it's easy to make a patch, people can freely download it whenever they choose. Perhaps they even tend to look at it as a form of anti-piracy protection; for installing the patch you'll need original files, and than perhaps get a new crack etc. etc., which is more than most can handle - and a casual pirate will only be able to play unpatched game. In some cases it means next to unplayable game. What they don't (ok, they don't seem to) realize is that a lot of everyday gamers don't even check on patches. They just want to buy the game in the box, labour through the install process, and play. Some don't even have an internet connection, and that doesn't mean just soldiers in Iraq. Whenever such an unfortunate sucker buys a PC game that doesn't work, he's leaning toward consoles a whole lot more. Otherwise in Slovenia you can return any product in 8 days, unless it's damaged etc. I'm not sure about this "etc." but I think you can return a bought game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Is the EULA even legally binding? Now normally, the only way to prove that you had accepted the license agreement would be to catch you in the act. But I noticed in the EULA of Google Chrome that you accept the agreement as soon as you use it. Can they even do that? If I haven't been given the opportunity to read the EULA, I think it constitutes as forcing an agreement on me. Can something like this fly in court? Can't see something like that sticking, myself. Usage as acceptance of a contract without first notifying the party that they are entering into a contract is usually illegal. However, courts sometimes make funny decisions. And not ha-ha funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimli Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Man, I just thought about a ha-ha funny court decision. Judge: "Mr. Wilkes, hahahaha, for your crimes against human kind, hahahaha, you will be sentenced to death! Hahahahaha, oh that one always kills me! Kills me, get it? Hahahaha!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Mr Wilkes, at least, is not laughing. Positech Games, a Brit indie developer, has also chipped in with their version of the Gamers Bill of Rights. * Gamers shall have the right to re-download a purchased game years later if necessary * Gamers shall expect a demo to be made available, direct from the developers site with no sign-ups, adverts or other junk. * Gamers shall not be charged anything to download their purchased game at a later date * Gamers shall have a direct contact email address for tech support, which goes to a real person * Gamers shall have flexible save game options, from any point, with unlimited slots. * Gamers shall not be pestered by un-skippable FMV scenes * Gamers shall not be bored by start-up advertising and logo screens * Gamers shall be able to expect windowed, full screen and alt+tab support from their game. * Gamers shall expect the developer to provide whatever information they can reasonably require in order to mod the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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