Can/should digital download distributers ensure their games work (patch as required)?
- Thread starter gorfias
- Start date
they are a retailer and just like all retailers they have a requirement to ensure that the product is fit for purpose, if its not then its a breach of most consumer laws to sell itzumbledum said:
I would LOVE everything to work straight out of the box. But I've had a succession of poor PCs which means there have been a significant amount of games I simply could not run, which is VERY frustrating.
I would be very happy if I could return all those old steam games that didnt work right (like fallout 1) but since I only spent 2 bucks on it I hardly have the motivation to produce much bile. I really wish steam had better quality control, but there isnt much I can do about it, since they are still the best distributor on the web (except for GoG, I <3 GoG)
I would be very happy if I could return all those old steam games that didnt work right (like fallout 1) but since I only spent 2 bucks on it I hardly have the motivation to produce much bile. I really wish steam had better quality control, but there isnt much I can do about it, since they are still the best distributor on the web (except for GoG, I <3 GoG)
you are both right and wrong, i mean if the game doesnt work because is not compatible with newer operating systems, i think its a bit trickier, is like saying "hey i bought this N64 cartrige and it doesnt work on my WiiU!"Anthony Corrigan said:
they should put up a warning atleast
Not if they offer a refund policy... A RELIABLE REFUND POLICY!
Yes if they don't, abso-freaking-lutely. You wouldn't buy a desk lamp only to discover it shorts out your circuit breaker every time you plug it in and upon asking for a refund be told; "Sorry, not our problem, you should have double checked it would work, it's upto the manufacturer to provide you with a working fuse and that could take a couple of months... or never, depends really."
Yes if they don't, abso-freaking-lutely. You wouldn't buy a desk lamp only to discover it shorts out your circuit breaker every time you plug it in and upon asking for a refund be told; "Sorry, not our problem, you should have double checked it would work, it's upto the manufacturer to provide you with a working fuse and that could take a couple of months... or never, depends really."
There is a huge difference between selling a game cartridge marked as N64 and selling a game on steam and it not working. If an uneducated person walks into Gametraders and says "will this cartridge work in my PS3 and they say yes then they would be in breach of the Australian Consumer Laws as the product is not fit for purpose. On steam unless SPECIFICALLY marked as requiring a specific system the assumption that any normal customer can make is that it will work for any current system. It would be no different from a store putting PS1, PS2 and PS3 games in the same cases and then selling them from the same box with no identifying that they only work on this that or the other system.NuclearKangaroo said:
I'm just going to put this here.
http://imageshack.com/a/img845/4503/4aes.png[/umg][/spoiler]
This was taken from the vampire masquerade page. If it doesn't say an OS is supported, then the least you can assume is that it's not going to work out of the box. It MAY work if you use compatibility options within the OS, and you MAY need to look to a 3rd party solution.
The warning's there, you just need something to gripe about, it seems. This is the exact same as buying this game for linux and going "The hell, it doesn't work without Microsoft libraries? There needs to be a warning!! Big red letters!"
This was taken from the vampire masquerade page. If it doesn't say an OS is supported, then the least you can assume is that it's not going to work out of the box. It MAY work if you use compatibility options within the OS, and you MAY need to look to a 3rd party solution.
The warning's there, you just need something to gripe about, it seems. This is the exact same as buying this game for linux and going "The hell, it doesn't work without Microsoft libraries? There needs to be a warning!! Big red letters!"
I wouldn't lie to you folks, one of the main draws of consoles for me, is that if you buy a console game, its almost guaranteed that it'll work on your console.
When you buy a PC game, there are a tonne of variables that can result in the game not working (and you wasting your money).
And unfortunately, not all of them are fixable.
It dare-say it would encourage a lot more tech-inept people to buy more games on the PC if it was tested, or at least proven, to work on a certain setup.
When you buy a PC game, there are a tonne of variables that can result in the game not working (and you wasting your money).
And unfortunately, not all of them are fixable.
It dare-say it would encourage a lot more tech-inept people to buy more games on the PC if it was tested, or at least proven, to work on a certain setup.
I really don't get the whole its a 7 year old end of life game, so its ok that is does not work argument.
If the game is not supported any more then why the hell are they selling it. If you are going to sell a game to modern consumers using modern OS's then you should make sure they can play it. If the game only works on old systems or requires hours of work to patch and mod and get running then let it become abandon ware and let the fans spend their time tinkering with it without the risk of buying a game that may not ever work correctly.
GOG gets it right, how hard can it be for steam to make sure their games bloody work.
If the game is not supported any more then why the hell are they selling it. If you are going to sell a game to modern consumers using modern OS's then you should make sure they can play it. If the game only works on old systems or requires hours of work to patch and mod and get running then let it become abandon ware and let the fans spend their time tinkering with it without the risk of buying a game that may not ever work correctly.
GOG gets it right, how hard can it be for steam to make sure their games bloody work.
Can/should digital download distributers ensure their games work (patch as required)?
No/No. It is not the retailer's job to determine if a product works for you or not. The retailer can however pull products off the shelf based on feedback, and provide guidelines in case of problems.
That being said, I'd like to see a refund policy in place, somewhere along the line of
- 30 min playtime or 3 days from purchase for 1st time buy.
No/No. It is not the retailer's job to determine if a product works for you or not. The retailer can however pull products off the shelf based on feedback, and provide guidelines in case of problems.
That being said, I'd like to see a refund policy in place, somewhere along the line of
- 30 min playtime or 3 days from purchase for 1st time buy.
Its the legal responsibility of a retailer in every country EXCEPT the US (where companies rule people rather than the other way around) to ensure that the products they are selling are fit for purpose, work as advertised and aren't broken. Does this mean that they have to individuality test every light bulb? No it means they must know that these light bulbs generally work and that if one is broken or not fit for the purpose that the customer states to the sales rep, that the sales rep states to the customer, that the store advertises or that the company advertises then the customer is entitled to a refund. For games this means that steam should be ensuring they work on MOST systems and if they don't providing a refund and if known stating this upfront and\or removing it from sale. This is not time dependent, if the game has a game breaking bug in the last 5 min then you can demand a refundduwenbasden said: