MrCollins said:
In UK law, it is a legal requirement that if you sell goods by sample then, according to the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the product must correspond to the sample.
Now sure how that would work in the case of a video-game, mind you. Also, gearbox could argue it wasn't a sample.
Still, interesting thought, I wonder if we'll ever get an answer.
Indeedy, a further problem is that this is pretty untested. One thing you can say, is that the screenies at the bottom of the steam window for the game, were not/ are not from the game and so their sample is not representitive. I'd say that in the spirit of every consumer law which applies (unfair trading, distance selling regs) , steam and gear box are in breach. Consumers should be able to receive a refund due to misleading practices and Steam is guilty of misleading practices. The Service ( distant seling regs states that d/l media classifies as a service due to no physical goods)supplied by steam (valve/steam is the merchant here and so they are responsible), does not fit the description/is not up to the standard described.
Where this gets iffy and is untested: It could be argued that the game does live up the description given, at least as far as the text describes it, however the clip and screenies do not represent the game. There is no clear disclaimer as to whether they are supposed to be respresentitive or not. The further evidence of the demo may or may not be much use given that steam haven't (at least to my knowledge) used the demo as evidence of gameplay.
The fact that there is no disclaimer, under normal circumstances (tested with distance selling of actual goods, trading of actual goods as opposed to digital services) would be likely to 'mislead the average consumer'. Parentheses cos in UK trading law this is extremely important. Being likely to mislead the average consumer would be a breach, meaning the contract is unfair ie refund due to consumer and possibly action from Trading Standards. This would require A LOT of complaints to Trading Standards and only after exhausting other attempts at getting a refund.
Steam do have a defence in that a contract for digital services does not have to be cancelled because the consumer changes their minds, once services have commenced ie with A:CM; the consumer has purchased and played the game.
This of course "should" fail to be the case if it is demonstrated that the contract was unfair ie Not up to standard, does not match descrip, misleading etc. etc.
I say "should" because this is AFAIK mostl, if not, entirely untested.
If you are not happy with A:CM (and bought it):
1. take screenies. Steam store, pics, videos, description, actual game pics.
2. Complain through usual channels to steam, lay out your reasons, refer to trading regs (they are easy to find, lots of .gov.uk websites display the info clearly which can be found easily with google or whatever). If they refuse, you write to them in good old paper and snail mail, again stating reasons and asking for a refund. If this fails Try to telephone them.
3. If that fails, write to or phone the Office of Fair Trading, again easy websites, or Consumer Direct (CD are like the consumer side reception and help desk for OFT). They have phone numbers and contact details aplenty on their website.
If enough people complain to OFT having exhausted other options, then steam will be forced to deal with it, assuming OFT agrees with your complaint.
4. ????
5. Profit...well, get your cash back at least, with luck.
N.B If you live in and/or purchased the game in the UK/ using UK currency