German Consumer Group Threatens Legal Action Against Blizzard

[Mullahgrrl]

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?

 

[kortin]

What the fuck are you talking about? Did you not read the article, or something?

This isn't a bunch of disgruntled forum-goers saying that they'll sue Blizzard because they didn't like the game, this is a consumer group asking Blizz to make a goddamn label more clear.

Regardless of what you think about that, your posts make you look like the "adorable idiot". Jesus H. Christ, the sheer pretentiousness that you're spewing out is sickening.

They can't read. There's no justification for their stupidity and it makes me laugh that you would defend their inability to do proper research prior to their transactions.

It is in no way Blizzard's fault that they didn't do the research. That lies directly on the consumer end.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

What the fuck are you talking about? Did you not read the article, or something?

This isn't a bunch of disgruntled forum-goers saying that they'll sue Blizzard because they didn't like the game, this is a consumer group asking Blizz to make a goddamn label more clear.

Regardless of what you think about that, your posts make you look like the "adorable idiot". Jesus H. Christ, the sheer pretentiousness that you're spewing out is sickening.

They can't read. There's no justification for their stupidity and it makes me laugh that you would defend their inability to do proper research prior to their transactions.

It is in no way Blizzard's fault that they didn't do the research. That lies directly on the consumer end.

I'm with you on this. When you look at the box and look at the requirements I would say it's pretty clear.

Not Blizzards fault people didn't read it properly, or if they did, understand what was written.

 

[LackofCertainty]

snipped

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 issue here is, "Why is Blizzard being held to a higher standard that the rest of the gaming industry?"

Blizzard has their requirements clearly listed on the box in the same way that every other game out there has their requirements listed, but people are saying "It's okay for everyone else, but Blizzard needs to be held to a higher standard."

Guild Wars 1 has a similar setup and identical box requirements and there was no outrage there.

Starcraft 2 has similar setup (online all the time) and identical box requirements and there was no outrage there.

It's not as though Blizzard devised some devious new way to hide information from the customer. They list their requirements the same way the rest of the industry does, but they're being singled out in this case.

snipped

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.

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.

I am not in possession of a German copy of D2 or D3, however I think it's kinda a conspiracy theory to jump the gun and say "Clearly Blizzard made the -German- box of D3 more ambiguous to trick Germans into buying the game!" The source (poorly translated as it was) made no mention of German D3 boxes being radically different from the norm. I'm certain that Blizzard listed all their requirements, and most likely did it in a way very similar to the north american box. If you own a German D3 box and can show that it's mislabeled, then that's something to talk about. If you're firing a shot in the dark that was not mentioned in the source, then that's just wild speculation with nothing to stand on.

Assumptions of the consumer don't change the fact that the product is clearly labeled in a manner that is consistent with industry standards. I'm sounding like a broken record at this point, but it is not okay to punish one company when this is the way all games are labeled. If this consumer group wants to change the standards for game boxes to have their internet requirements listed in large text on the front of the box, then they should be pressing the entire industry to do that not singling out one company and attacking them.

 

[darkszero]

I fail to see how this is a problem with Diablo III exactly and not with all the MMOs that boxed copy...

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Oh boy! It's gotten to the point that whenever I read/hear the words "legal action" or "lawsuit" or any variation there of I suddenly get the tremendous urge to bash my head against the nearest wall. In fact, excuse me a moment.
*WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM WHAM*

 

[zinho73]

This is not a thing from the past. The game still disconnects, lags and rubberbands to this day. It is less frequent but no less annoying. Other online games are far more reliable.

And if you think that you have to put up with this to play single player, and that the measure did not stop scamming and exploits, the always online thing only benefits Blizzard and is a huge f*** you for the consumer.

 

[Li Mu]

it said, which I'm guessing means that if Blizzard doesn't respond by the end of the week, it'll be time to wake up the lawyers.

Lovely piece of imagery.
I now imagine a man call out "AWAKEN THE LAWYERS!" followed by a servant walking into a dark cave and blowing a conk shell horn to awaken some beastly lawyers from their slumber.

 

[Khazoth]

To be fair..


I hadn't payed much attention to D3's development other then it exists. I had played Diablo and Diablo 2. I didn't know about D3's always on feature.

 

[Headbiter]

OT: I'm all for this change. Half of PC games have that "internet connection required" note on it somewhere, whether it's for the multiplayer, the Steam registration, or a Securom activation. Not everyone is going to know that Diablo 3's online rules are the same as a MMOs. Why should they expect that? Diablo 1 and 2 weren't a MMO at all! It's easy to forget how informed I am, because I go "duh!" at my last sentence, but not everyone is me.

This is also a little knowledge to the whole "Duh, you just need to read"-crowd. The "Internetverbindung wird benötigt"-sign has been on packages ever since this online-registration trend started here in Germany and they're using the same wording no matter for what that connection is required.
So no, it has nothing to do with "reading comprehension", if people use the same sentence to describe different requirements that's just not giving the necessary information.

Oh and to Mr. Chalk: Next time you think about translating a legal statement through Google Translate, please watch Yahtzee's "Psychonauts"-review and follow his instructions. Thanks.

 

[NiceJobBreakingItHero]

I don't know what you're talking about, but the german box of Guild Wars has a label on the front that designates it as an online game. It's then repeated on the back of the box right next to a screenshot and not in the fucking fine print.

In Germany essential contract details have to be clearly labeled AND NOT hidden in the fine print because we value the costumer more than the corporation (as it should be ...)

The way it is written on the box in german is very vague and again, it IS NOT the job of the customer to research everything of a product, it is the responsibility of the corporation to inform them accordingly.

The Consumer Protection Group demands from Blizzard to be more clear on the box and Blizzard failed to do so. End of story. If you really think this is somehow a bad idea you're suffering from stockholm syndrome ...

 

[chadachada123]

What the fuck are you talking about? Did you not read the article, or something?

This isn't a bunch of disgruntled forum-goers saying that they'll sue Blizzard because they didn't like the game, this is a consumer group asking Blizz to make a goddamn label more clear.

Regardless of what you think about that, your posts make you look like the "adorable idiot". Jesus H. Christ, the sheer pretentiousness that you're spewing out is sickening.

They can't read. There's no justification for their stupidity and it makes me laugh that you would defend their inability to do proper research prior to their transactions.

It is in no way Blizzard's fault that they didn't do the research. That lies directly on the consumer end.

I'm with you on this. When you look at the box and look at the requirements I would say it's pretty clear.

Not Blizzards fault people didn't read it properly, or if they did, understand what was written.

Unless you've seen the German box, and other German games that don't require a constant internet connection, you can't necessarily say that Blizzard didn't drop the ball in Germany.

It may be fine in the US, but it doesn't mean all translations aren't unambiguous.

 

[YunikoYokai5]

I quite agree with this. I'm a fairly new PC gamer and I am not an MMO fan so I don't know the ins and outs of them at all. Personally, if I picked up Diablo 3, with no prior knowledge to what it was (since I've never heard of Diablo until everyone started raving about 3 being released soon), and read 'Internet Connection Required' I would think 'Oh, probably for registration and multiplayer. Single player shouldn't need to be connected'. So a 'Internet Connection required at all times' would actually be very helpful. Not just to myself but to others.

I think some people here are being a bit ignorant with their level of knowledge on the subject matter. As my example said above, even if you play games for most of your life, there are still things people don't expect or know. If you play MMOs all the time, you come to expect this. I also don't know why people are kicking up so much about a sticker being added to the cover.

 

[Aeshi]

I quite agree with this. I'm a fairly new PC gamer and I am not an MMO fan so I don't know the ins and outs of them at all. Personally, if I picked up Diablo 3, with no prior knowledge to what it was (since I've never heard of Diablo until everyone started raving about 3 being released soon), and read 'Internet Connection Required' I would think 'Oh, probably for registration and multiplayer. Single player shouldn't need to be connected'. So a 'Internet Connection required at all times' would actually be very helpful. Not just to myself but to others.

Except the 'Internet Connection' requirement is in the 'Minimum Requirements' section (you know, the section where all the stuff you need to have active all the time to run the game is) and not the 'Extra Multiplayer Requirements' section (like with every other game that doesn't require a constant internet connection.) just like it is with every MMO ever, yet I don't see any of the latter games being asked to make their always-online requirement more visible for the benefit of 'New PC gamers/Not-Computer People' with 'No prior knowledge'

Are we supposed to believe that these 'New PC gamers/Not-Computer People' somehow know that every MMO requires a constant internet connection without needing to check the box, instantly know when a game is an MMO and that Diablo III is 'singleplayer' just by looking at the box but somehow don't know that Diablo III requires a constant internet connection without a massive sticker telling them so?

If you think 'Internet Connection' type requirements should be made more obvious, fine but don't go whining about how Diablo III is at fault for putting its requirements where every other game that requires you to be online to play has put them.

 

[YunikoYokai5]

If you think 'Internet Connection' type requirements should be made more obvious, fine but don't go whining about how Diablo III is at fault for putting its requirements where every other game that requires you to be online to play has put them.

...Can you please tell me where I blamed Diablo 3? I've never played the series so I have no feelings either for or against it. It is just my general feelings towards all game developers to make sure there is as much clarification on the boxes as possible.

 

[McMullen]

So they're saying that people who are rash in their decisions need their hands held? It states on the box "Internet connection required." If they can't read, or choose not to, fuck 'em.

You ever seen non-gamers try to buy games as gifts for others? They're so bad at it that it's painful to watch. They don't know that educational and licensed games are a sort of scam aimed at them, they don't understand the differences between consoles, and some don't even understand the concept of exclusive games. The DRM, DLC, and always-online bullshit we know and hate so much is completely beyond the scope of what they're looking at.

While it's tempting to say "Fuck 'em for being stupid", they're otherwise capable people who don't understand just how hostile this market is towards consumers, and they're the people this protection is for.

 

[Aeshi]

You said you agreed with what they were doing (threatning legal action for something dozens of other games have done in the past without blame), Blaming of Diablo III may not have been directly said, but it was sure as hell implied.

 

[YunikoYokai5]

You said you agreed with what they were doing (threatning legal action for something dozens of other games have done in the past without blame), Blaming of Diablo III may not have been directly said, but it was sure as hell implied.

I see I didn't make myself clear. I agree with adding clarifications to the box, not the legal action or anything else.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

So they're saying that people who are rash in their decisions need their hands held? It states on the box "Internet connection required." If they can't read, or choose not to, fuck 'em.

You ever seen non-gamers try to buy games as gifts for others? They're so bad at it that it's painful to watch. They don't know that educational and licensed games are a sort of scam aimed at them, they don't understand the differences between consoles, and some don't even understand the concept of exclusive games. The DRM, DLC, and always-online bullshit we know and hate so much is completely beyond the scope of what they're looking at.

While it's tempting to say "Fuck 'em for being stupid", they're otherwise capable people who don't understand just how hostile this market is towards consumers, and they're the people this protection is for.

No, it's people complaining about Diablo 3 again. All their trying to do is discredit the game and Blizzard.

No company as far I can tell says little more than what Blizzard disclaimed in regards to always online DRM, but yet it's Blizzard getting the shtick for it.