EA Offers Full Refunds For Unsatisfied Origin Customers

[Strazdas]

this is something that is too dramatic for real life. this kind of policy from EA. just wow. this looks pretty darn good. I guess the old EA CEO that used to be CEO back when EA were awesome is tryign to replicate its own sucess again. we can only hope so.

Aren't most EA games about 5 hours long? What's there to stop people from completing a game a giving it back?

nothing. and thats perfect motivation for the studios to make games people dont want to give back.

 

[Lightknight]

Whoa, glad to see others are as surprised as me on this one. New direction for EA or is this just step one in their evil plan. 24-hour return policy that only lasts for a couple years and then goes away after people have already been suckered into amassing an epic library there?

I'd like to see this as a new direction though. EA has some IPs that deserve to be in a better company's hands and if that's EA with a better CEO at the helm then so be it.

I expect this will have some absolutely hilarious effects should something like Sim City repeat itself.

 

[Bujiraso]

Good going, EA.
For this magnanimous show of consumer good-will, I have created an Origin account, downloaded the client, and redeemed my Humble Bundle codes.

Good show.

 

[l3o2828]

I appreciate the good business practice being adapted with EA, that we have been chastising Steam for years now.

But that's the thing, i don't think they are doing this because they believe that we as customers deserve a fair ground with more rights, they are doing this because 'Hey, Steam doesn't! and we are very fucking desperate!'.

I don't buy this ' New Good EA' for one second. And i really fear for all the gullible people out there who might be turning to EA now that it has shown it can somehow steal common sense ideas from looking at other, but not by looking at itself.

 

[Eleima]

Maybe EA is not literally Hitler after all.

Whatever our feelings about EA, I find your wording... questionable. Popular catchphrase or no.

Reading the fine print, there seem to be a few loopholes for them to exploit (you need to meet "certain criteria"), but the idea is there.
Too bad anything on Origin downloads at 120kb/s...

 

[thespyisdead]

it still does not cover your stupidity of purchasing a non existing product one month before the release, so every thing is cool (unless people grow a brain in the near future)

Edit: well fuck, they do refund if you prepurchace... but people still need to grow a brain

 

[schmulki]

I think people are overreacting a bit.

On a scale of 1-10, Valve's a 9.5 (always like to leave room to improve). Origin's a 1.

EA puts in this policy, they're now a 2. Valve's still a 9.5.

Improve 7 more points and a fuck will be given to EA. Until then, they get no fucks given from me.

 

[Zombie_Moogle]

It really is a pleasant surprise to see EA take it's new approach to consumer relations (ie: not dicking them all day) so seriously

EA, on the outside chance you're listening, nix the spyware aspects of Origin & I'm in

 

[Carnagath]

Since it only applies to EA games, and since the vast majority of those in the last few years, as well in the foreseeable future, are heavily multiplayer focused, it is highly unlikely that this feature will be used by anyone. It is also not possible for it to become widespread, since many other games are in fact not multiplayer focused and do last less than 24 hours. Steam can never implement this, imagine having such a return policy for a game like, for example, Amnesia A Machine for Pigs. You just buried the developers alive. Not gonna happen. Still, this is a clever PR trick. Very clever. In fact, it's the second such trick that EA have pulled within a week. From a company that was a complete communications trainwreck only a few months ago, this is an impressive change in the way that they present themselves.

 

[Dr_Fred]

Well, since after buying From Dust on Steam I discovered that it required UPlay, asked for a refund and got it on the spot without trouble, I wouldn't say that EA "one-upped" Valve, rather than they're investing more on PR.

On the other hand, that IS a great step in the good direction, so it would unfair not to give them credit for it.

 

[conmag9]

First giving millions to charity, now a refund process?

While I still don't trust the company's attitude toward many things, I remain open to the idea that somehow the company might turn around. I certainly hope they do. Maybe they finally found someone to exorcise the Spirit of Bad Business Decisions from their offices?

 

[Something Amyss]

I think people are overreacting a bit.

On a scale of 1-10, Valve's a 9.5 (always like to leave room to improve). Origin's a 1.

EA puts in this policy, they're now a 2. Valve's still a 9.5.

Improve 7 more points and a fuck will be given to EA. Until then, they get no fucks given from me.

It's hard to take serious a claim of overreacting when you're taking the scaling to such extremes.

Be realistic.

Origin is nowhere near that bad and Steam is nowhere near that good. There's a disparity, but that's just over-dramatic tripe.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

So now I just have to install, beat and remove RPGs within a 24 hour period to get the game completely free? Challenge accepted.

 

[Gameguy20100]

Oh EA you guys are awesome.

giving the gamer's stuff to get rid of the hatred, good for you my friends.

Keep it up I'm getting a little sick of defending you.

 

[Roxas1359]

Hm, EA doing something good and promoting a new policy that will better competition against Steam, GoG, and other distributors!? 0.o
EA...are you feeling alright? I ask because this is a wise PR decision and a good policy all around that I gladly accept...
Seriously though, this is a good thing and I wouldn't mind some more nice policies to come.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

...wow. Credit where credit is due, good job EA. Keep this up and maybe you wont be voted Worst Company in America for a third year in a row.

 

[ph0b0s123]

Step in the right direction. If EA gave an option to also return the extraneous personal data they took, as a price for using their service, then we would be talking. Until then, I could not really care less what other stuff they are doing with Origin.

Will never use a service that decides it has a right to collect data that is not directly related to the service they are offering, or data that you have not expressly decided to share with them by manually disclosing it...

 

[Youma]

Fantastic, I'm still not using origin, but it might persuade Valve to do the same, the steam return policy is awful.

 

[lacktheknack]

I think people are overreacting a bit.

On a scale of 1-10, Valve's a 9.5 (always like to leave room to improve). Origin's a 1.

EA puts in this policy, they're now a 2. Valve's still a 9.5.

Improve 7 more points and a fuck will be given to EA. Until then, they get no fucks given from me.

Be realistic, person-who's-never-used-Origin.

In terms of distribution, the scoring is more realistically a 7 for Origin (accounting for the many reported problems others have reported having, although I've not had them), a 7.5 for Steam and a 10 for gog.com.

Using such ridiculous extremes only makes your outlook appear extremely narrow.

 

[Ympulse]

If EA gave an option to also return the extraneous personal data they took, as a price for using their service, then we would be talking. Until then, I could not really care less what other stuff they are doing with Origin.

You mean, your system specs and the Settings information on the Origin games you run?

That's some NSA-level spying right there, I must say.

Edit: Not to mention Steam does the same exact thing.