Are you sure it's not? All Blizzard games have a label saying Broadband Internet required, last I checked. But I got D3 digital, so I can't verify.Suki_ said:
German Consumer Group Threatens Legal Action Against Blizzard
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
"Internet connection required" is the industry lingo for "this game requires a constant internet connection." (Diablo 3 and every other MMO list this on their boxes)
"Online activation required" or "One-time Activation Required" are the industry lingos for "this game requires a one time activation online, and then can be played offline."
Both terms are very easy to understand in my opinion.
If you want to change the industry standards/lingo, then go after the industry standards/lingo, don't try to make Blizzard into a scapegoat just because you weren't satisfied by their game. I don't personally enjoy Diablo 3, but just because I don't like it doesn't mean that it's okay to drum up baseless lawsuits against Blizzard.
P.S.
The more I read of people claiming it's misleading in this thread, the more I find myself scoffing. "Internet connection required" guys.
Not "internet connection sometimes needed."
Not "internet connection preferable"
Not "You need internet once and never again"
"Internet connection required."
Do I need to bust out a dictionary and lecture people on what "required" means?
Lets try some synonyms:
Required = necessary
Required = obligatory
I swear, some of the people in this thread would buy from a store that advertises, "We sell lit torches," and then complain that they didn't realize the torch was going to be on fire when they bought it.
"Online activation required" or "One-time Activation Required" are the industry lingos for "this game requires a one time activation online, and then can be played offline."
Both terms are very easy to understand in my opinion.
If you want to change the industry standards/lingo, then go after the industry standards/lingo, don't try to make Blizzard into a scapegoat just because you weren't satisfied by their game. I don't personally enjoy Diablo 3, but just because I don't like it doesn't mean that it's okay to drum up baseless lawsuits against Blizzard.
P.S.
The more I read of people claiming it's misleading in this thread, the more I find myself scoffing. "Internet connection required" guys.
Not "internet connection sometimes needed."
Not "internet connection preferable"
Not "You need internet once and never again"
"Internet connection required."
Do I need to bust out a dictionary and lecture people on what "required" means?
Lets try some synonyms:
Required = necessary
Required = obligatory
I swear, some of the people in this thread would buy from a store that advertises, "We sell lit torches," and then complain that they didn't realize the torch was going to be on fire when they bought it.
So our hypothetical 'Not-computer' person knows all the specs of his machine aside from its internet connection?Suki_ said:
.
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I can second this, my Diablo III, World of Warcraft and Champions Online boxes all say "Internet Connection required" and not "Constant Internet Connection required" in their requirements section and the latter two never got any flak for their wording (or lack thereof)LackofCertainty said:
I feel you, friend. I dislike Blizzard a great deal. They have done a lot of good with their games and overall I'd even say they've done more good than bad... But they fucked me in the ass with Diablo 3. I wanted it. I was excited. I had the money. What happens? I find out about this always online shit, no single player and real money auctions. Totally turned me off the game. I'm moving (in about... two weeks, yay) to a beautiful rural property with a ton of land and a gorgeous house. My access to the internet is going to be somewhat worse off than it is now as a result, meaning the game I would be playing single player would lose its connection to the server from time to time and I'd lag. Fuck. That.RJ 17 said:
On top of all that, the same DRM that fucks consumers over, the one that's supposed to stop hackers and cheats ruining their precious real money auction house (they're not rich enough, I guess) FAILED. The game is full of cheaters and people having their account straight up stolen.
I also bought Starcraft 2 when it came out and had a blast with it. I have an anxiety disorder, so playing online was terrifying to start with, but I warmed up to it over time and eventually got really into it; I learned build orders, micro play, the ins and outs of the maps--all of it. Come to find out, instead of updating the game or something, they are just going to release two other games for you to buy. No. Just no. Fuck you, Blizzard and fuck your fragmenting the community.
/vent
I didn't group you, geography did.SmashLovesTitanQuest said:
You felt insulted somehow and I'm sorry for that. But still, you better stop seeing things as if you are not part of the world. We all get stereotyped and like it or not ... You are an Euro.
Sure, you are better person than me. But perhaps at least I admit how smug us on this side of Atlantic can act until we do exactly the same. So don't take it personal, but let's be honest here, you only reacted because you felt my post was anti-German.
Turns out, we are all too much alike, doesn't it? The irony in that is priceless.
I don't understand why people think that everyone should be as knowledgeable as them. Or why someone who buys the third installment of a single-player game should expect to always be connected to be able to play it. Especially when the other games could all be played offline.
Using the term "Internet Connection Required" is on the back of many games. It is often there for multiplayer. Why would someone who often buys games, believe that it would been you need to be online while playing alone.
The box always should have indicated that a constant internet connection was required. Any thing less is unethical. That they didn't do this, flirts with the conspiracy that they only wanted to drive sales in areas where internet is restricted.
The fact that people are defending Blizzard, and accusing the consumer is ridiculous. People are either not reading the article, or have some inflated sense of there own superiority.
Using the term "Internet Connection Required" is on the back of many games. It is often there for multiplayer. Why would someone who often buys games, believe that it would been you need to be online while playing alone.
The box always should have indicated that a constant internet connection was required. Any thing less is unethical. That they didn't do this, flirts with the conspiracy that they only wanted to drive sales in areas where internet is restricted.
The fact that people are defending Blizzard, and accusing the consumer is ridiculous. People are either not reading the article, or have some inflated sense of there own superiority.
Most games that require internet for multiplayer don't say "Internet connection required" on the box. Games that need internet for multiplayer say, "Internet connection required for multiplayer" on the box.Odin311 said:
You are required to have internet to play Diablo 3 at all, so it says "internet connection required" on the front. It doesn't say, "Internet connection required for multiplayer," or "Single player doesn't require Internet connection." It just says "Internet connection required," because the whole game requires an internet connection. It's not a matter of being overly knowledgeable; It is a matter of reading comprehension.
The perfect counterpoint to the Diablo 3 rage is Guild Wars 1. Guild Wars 1 requires a permanent internet connection to play, just like Diablo 3. It can be played through single player with ai mercs, just like Diablo 3. All combat takes place in instanced zones with small groups of players (or solo players) just like Diablo 3. It lists on it's box, "Internet Connection Required," just like Diablo 3. Why aren't there any threads calling for blood from the guild wars team?
If you want to change industry standards by introducing more precise categories as far as internet connection go, that is fine, but don't make Blizzard into a scapegoat. You want to make each game list out every game mode it has and whether it requires no internet, a one time activation, or constant access? Fine, but then you have to make every single game devote that same ink. You don't get to punish one company for doing the same thing as what everyone else is doing.
P.S.
Aeshi, you and I are sharing a brain-wave or something. It's nice to see someone else who gets it.
First off, using Google Translate on a news story..is kinda bad really. But to the Topic, for those People here who still havent gotten it.
The usual Requirements thingy is on the back, right? Now lets assume that some Mother or Father buys it for their youngun because they buggered them about it. Would they read the Requirements? Yes if they had any interest in computers themselves, hell i would bet you that only a few of those who have no real interest or knowledge of computers even know whether their kids PC could even run the bloody thing. So thats the first Problem, but thats more on the consumer there.
However, the Box clearly states that a Online Connection is required, though given that the previous 2 entries in the series also had a similar wording for it, not labelling it strictly as "Internet required for Multiplayer" either, that could be a bit of a Problem of being suprised by it now requiring a Internet Connection all the time. Not everyone knew beforehand after all, not everyone reads News Sites for games either.
But here's what they are actually saying, if a game requires a online connection at all times, then that Connection has to work from Day 1. Failing that, there needs to be a bigger label, about the requiring a constant connection to the internet so People with shitty Internet, which exist and arent just a Myth, or People who want it only for the single player know about it.
So are you People really suprised that someone who didnt know about the Requirement, and did not read the "Internet Connection required" box as "You need it always", or bought the game for single player only and is irritated by having to be online and subject to lags and other crap, if it even worked, wants his Money back?
Hell all they are asking for is a bigger sticker here, ya know a little bigger on the letters and not "mini-size"? Cause lemme tell you, if i look at some Boxes of Games i own, the font is tiny, and i dont have bad eyes.
The usual Requirements thingy is on the back, right? Now lets assume that some Mother or Father buys it for their youngun because they buggered them about it. Would they read the Requirements? Yes if they had any interest in computers themselves, hell i would bet you that only a few of those who have no real interest or knowledge of computers even know whether their kids PC could even run the bloody thing. So thats the first Problem, but thats more on the consumer there.
However, the Box clearly states that a Online Connection is required, though given that the previous 2 entries in the series also had a similar wording for it, not labelling it strictly as "Internet required for Multiplayer" either, that could be a bit of a Problem of being suprised by it now requiring a Internet Connection all the time. Not everyone knew beforehand after all, not everyone reads News Sites for games either.
But here's what they are actually saying, if a game requires a online connection at all times, then that Connection has to work from Day 1. Failing that, there needs to be a bigger label, about the requiring a constant connection to the internet so People with shitty Internet, which exist and arent just a Myth, or People who want it only for the single player know about it.
So are you People really suprised that someone who didnt know about the Requirement, and did not read the "Internet Connection required" box as "You need it always", or bought the game for single player only and is irritated by having to be online and subject to lags and other crap, if it even worked, wants his Money back?
Hell all they are asking for is a bigger sticker here, ya know a little bigger on the letters and not "mini-size"? Cause lemme tell you, if i look at some Boxes of Games i own, the font is tiny, and i dont have bad eyes.
Eh, cant find my copy of D2 right now to check, but unless you are in fact in possession of the german version in both cases, which may have a different label for all you know, there is little evidence that its clearly labelled. In fact if some consumer group goes through the trouble of threatening legal action, it usually means that the label as is isnt clear enough. And if you have been around for a while, on the internet and elsewhere, you'd know that alot of times, people are idiots, consumers more so. They want a bigger, less ambigous label on the box and thats really all there is to it.Aeshi said:
And lets be honest, just cause we knew it ahead of time, doesnt mean everyone else did, and again may i point to the other part about Moms buying it for their devilspawns, or people who do NOT frequent the escapist or other gaming-related news sites at all, maybe because their internet is shit and they expected D3 to be a upgraded D2, meaning the Single player would be single player..without needing internet for it.
Really? Its normal for a single player game to require constant online connection? If you are referring to the few ubisoft titles which did this you must also remember that A) They reasoned that it was DRM, Blizzard specifically said that this was not DRM and B) That Ubisoft stopped that practiceAeshi said:
If you are talking about Steam it is just as wrong because us consumers understand that having an always online connection to a gaming platform that is always online makes sense. You do not buy Steam games in a store.
So in both cases, DRM, multiplayer and an online purchasing system, it is understood to be the case, but there has never been a situation where a game that could be played single player, bought in a store, and was said to NOT have always online DRM, required always online connection.
I was referring more to the MMO genre (and as has been pointed out above, Guild Wars 1, which seems to be similar to Diablo III in this and several other regards.) and how nobody has ever demanded that they move their 'Internet Connection' requirement to the front.maxben said:
MMOs may not be single-player (for the most part anyway...) but this thread was a debate as to whether Diablo III's 'Internet Connection needed to play' requirement was obvious enough or not, I just pointed out that said requirement has been listed the same way in many, many other games and it's always been obvious enough for them.
Im with the Germans on this one.
It is just natural to assume that the internet required part is for multiplayer only. I mean, why would you need the internet if you aren't playing against anyone?
It is just natural to assume that the internet required part is for multiplayer only. I mean, why would you need the internet if you aren't playing against anyone?