Amazon Refuses to Sell SimCity

[Epic Fail 1977]

Oh god EA what are you doing now? You made a statement that "[SimCity customers] can of course request a refund" and then you deny the refunds! It'd be funny if it wasn't so serious.

I think the escapist "News" section really ought to be called "(Second Hand) News About EA Being Evil" as that's all I ever seem to read in it.

 

[Winnosh]

The thing is that this is a server based game. And as such knowing that going in you are at the whim of the servers. No a refund should not be given. It would be like asking for a refund for an new MMO if the servers were at capacity when you first log on.

Yes it is a problem, but it is a problem that the consumer should expect going in and if they do not think they can handle waiting for more servers to pop up then they should not buy a game like that.

It's the reason I didn't buy it.

 

[Nurb]

It doesn't change the fact that EA has the ability to ban someone from their own paid-for game library, which should be the real issue.

People think digital distribution is super until they find this stuff out

Captcha: Heart break

 

[MPerce]

Geez, this has turned into quite the cluster-cuss.

I'm gonna need to refill my bag of popcorn before I'm done watching this one.

 

[Solo-Wing]

Smart choice of words, EA.

Maybe they won't ban users for REQUESTING a refund, but if the user blocks the payment for a defective product, they will be banned for sure.

Moral of the story: Don't buy online games, don't buy games with online DRM, don't buy games that require an online service.

Don't buy games from EA. Ever.

And Online service is a bit harsh. That includes Steam. Steam is great. Don't hurt Steam. Hurt Origin.

 

[mokes310]

Whoa, didn't see this one coming...said no one ever!

As much as it pains me to say this, I'm quite happy that this game is falling flat on its face. Nothing upsets me more than a dumbed-down game, and always online DRM. Take my money, give me the disc, and don't make me always be online to play MY game! As it stands now, you're not getting a single penny from me for this game.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

EA wonders why they get bad rep?

Refusing deserved refunds is one of them.

Good on Amazon for refusing to sell defective products too. I hope EA loses many many sales over this WHOLE ordeal.

 

[Terramax]

Nice to see Amazon stepping up here.

Amen. I just wish they'd done it earlier with certain other games i.e. with terrible DRM, with no clear indication it has as such until you'd bought the item.

 

[Easton Dark]

Who thinks Gearbox and Sega are really glad about this.

"Oh hey they screwed up talk about them now!"

Oh man totally. If Sim City wasn't a huge cock-up we'd still be going on about Colonial Marines.

Now everyone's going to start forgetting their disappointment and when Gearbox makes their next game everyone will buy it hoping it to be good.

Seems like gaming companies have each other's backs like that. There's always a new controversy.

 

[shiajun]

The thing is that this is a server based game. And as such knowing that going in you are at the whim of the servers. No a refund should not be given. It would be like asking for a refund for an new MMO if the servers were at capacity when you first log on.

Yes it is a problem, but it is a problem that the consumer should expect going in and if they do not think they can handle waiting for more servers to pop up then they should not buy a game like that.

It's the reason I didn't buy it.

Well, any product should work as advertised as is, even if you know there might be some kinks in the system. That's not the case here. It's the company's responsability to provide service to all its clients the moment you give them money, unless otherwise stated before the purchase (i.e. "please be advised that at launch server saturation may be experimented"). It's not the client's duty to buy a product then wait until they can use the product they've already purchased at some indeterminate time in the future. Also, you may be privvy to situations like these, but for every gamer who reads sites like these there hundreds who don't and don't know their product will be unusable at purchse.

Good for Amazon. They should protect themselves. It's a PR disaster for EA, they don't want to be the retailer that sold a product with full knowledge of problems in its functionality.

 

[Zigot66]

I keep seeing people essentially giving the "caveat emptor" excuse that people should have known better, but that doesn't hold up here, and the reason it doesn't hold up is EA's own doing. They made Origin a "service" so you are buying a service, not a product. When you buy a product, and it breaks just outside the door, you're out of luck. If they fail to provide a service, you are entitled to compensation.

They wanted control and now they have it, but they don't want the responsibility that comes with it.

Also, to those saying that anyone asking for a refund reasonably is getting it. Too bad, when you pay for something you get the right to be as unpleasant about it as you like. I always try to be as nice as possible to customer support, I've been on both ends of it, but if I wanted to be an unreasonable ass, I could and they (EA) are obligated to deal with it.

 

[GAunderrated]

Actually, EA is being quite reasonable about giving refunds to people who ask for them in a reasonable manner. But nobody wants to hear that.

This exactly.

In fact, EA is quite generous and the Origin customer service is amazing. Just yesterday I ran into the infamous Mass Effect 3 error where it suddenly tells you that you need to purchase an Online Pass to play multiplayer. Customer service fixed this in 30 seconds, and gave me a 15% off my next purchase promotion code for my trouble.

If you are polite and reasonable in your requests, they will return the favour.

You must have not read the screenshot because they did offer that to him as well. However, what they are offering is an upsale not a refund. If a customer is unsatisfied with a defective product they normally want a refund not a discount on next purchase.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Actually, EA is being quite reasonable about giving refunds to people who ask for them in a reasonable manner. But nobody wants to hear that.

This exactly.

In fact, EA is quite generous and the Origin customer service is amazing. Just yesterday I ran into the infamous Mass Effect 3 error where it suddenly tells you that you need to purchase an Online Pass to play multiplayer. Customer service fixed this in 30 seconds, and gave me a 15% off my next purchase promotion code for my trouble.

If you are polite and reasonable in your requests, they will return the favour.

Sorry, no. When they force your games into two separate accounts because you had an EA account and a Bioware account under different e-mail addresses, that is an understandable oversight. When they then refuse to merge those accounts on request despite the accounts both being registered to the same name, that is less understandable. When the system allows you to accidentally purchase DLC for the account that doesn't even have the game it is intended for registered to the account... okay, well that's not reasonable; it's goddamn retarded that you can buy DLC for game you don't "own." But when you point out the mistake to customer service, point out that the whole thing could have been avoided if they had merged the accounts when you requested it, and then they suggest that you buy the fucking DLC again for the other account...

No. Origin customer service is not amazing. It isn't even adequate.

 

[Epic Fail 1977]

Oh god EA what are you doing now? You made a statement that "[SimCity customers] can of course request a refund" and then you deny the refunds! It'd be funny if it wasn't so serious.

I think the escapist "News" section really ought to be called "(Second Hand) News About EA Being Evil" as that's all I ever seem to read in it.

You mean like that news article where EA supported a gay marriage bit of legislature? EA sure was evil in dat one!

Not the escapists fault that EA is just having a string of news worthy PR disasters instead of good PR.

OT: Good on Amazon

You're preaching to the the choir, or a member of it. I was defending EA, or at least agreeing with a guy from EA, just a few hours ago and saying people ought to be a bit more level-headed regarding EA and then I see this article and want to facedesk.

Edit: Oops, I just realised I misunderstood your comment.

 

[Epic Fail 1977]

Actually, EA is being quite reasonable about giving refunds to people who ask for them in a reasonable manner. But nobody wants to hear that.

This exactly.

In fact, EA is quite generous and the Origin customer service is amazing. Just yesterday I ran into the infamous Mass Effect 3 error where it suddenly tells you that you need to purchase an Online Pass to play multiplayer. Customer service fixed this in 30 seconds, and gave me a 15% off my next purchase promotion code for my trouble.

If you are polite and reasonable in your requests, they will return the favour.

Sorry, no. When they force your games into two separate accounts because you had an EA account and a Bioware account under different e-mail addresses, that is an understandable oversight. When they then refuse to merge those accounts on request despite the accounts both being registered to the same name, that is less understandable. When the system allows you to accidentally purchase DLC for the account that doesn't even have the game it is intended for registered to the account... okay, well that's not reasonable; it's goddamn retarded that you can buy DLC for game you don't "own." But when you point out the mistake to customer service, point out that the whole thing could have been avoided if they had merged the accounts when you requested it, and then they suggest that you buy the fucking DLC again for the other account...

No. Origin customer service is not amazing. It isn't even adequate.

Hmm, EA merged my two Origin accounts with no fuss.

 

[grigjd3]

Isn't the real story here that EA just discharged this biggest gaming turd the world has ever known? Am I supposed to suddenly love them because in response to complaints about said glorific turd, they are only *moderately unreasonable*? Have our standards fallen so low that when defecated on, we are merely grateful that on the second pass, they defecated on us slightly less than on the first pass? Oh wait, of course our standards are that low... Gamers are the economic equivalent of toilets.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Dear EA.

Next time you go to a restaurant, and order your food, I hope you're made to pay first, then told to, "come back tomorrow, you can have your dinner then."