Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Rant on DLC, Pre-Order Bonuses, Corporations, Consumerism, etc

Please note: This is an older post that has been sitting in draft form for some time.

This is just going to be a rambling, perhaps slughtly incoherent rant. Just go with it. Or don't, see if I care!

.....No, please, come back!! I need you! Please don't go.

*pets you*

Ok, to the rant we go.

You know, just a decade or two ago, the customer was always right. Anyone else recall that saying (and the prevailing mentality amongst businesse especially those in retail)? The customer was right, and the customer had the say. If you don't like a product, return it for a refund. When you get to the cash register, you pay and you're on your way. You don't have to give your phone number. No email. No sign up for this and sign up for that and

''don't forget, no refunds.''
When I bought Mass Effect 2 (big mistake) I had a miserable experience trying to get my ''bonus'' content (aka content that was stripped from the game in order to be included with pre-orders as a quote unquote bonus, to entice people to pre-order, and coincidentally discourage people from buying used.......and no, that doesn't actually fucking work, it's just a hassle for the people who buy new) content, and on top of it, the motherfucking import save thing failed.

I was already annoyed with all of the talk of the stripped RPG elements, and had debated long and hard about whether or not to pick up my pre-order (the decision was made for me when my wife picked it up on the way home from work and said ''just play the game you've been talking about it for months'' but I digress). But then, on top of it, I couldn't import my character from ME1 (an advertised feature) and I couldn't access my stupid fucking "bonus" content that really just should have been on the fucking disc in the fucking first fucking place!

So annoyed, I told my wife,

''that's it! This game is going back.''
Except it wasn't, because THEY DON'T TAKE GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING REFUNDS!!


How convenient!

Of course, some readers will say ''duh, it's opened.''

But don't they already sell opened games as new?

Think about it:

How many times have you bought a game, only to find it buggy and not very playable? Should you not be able to return that game?

Think about it.

You're buying a product (game) and it does not work as advertised. The back of the box didn't mention the glitches in the bulletpoint list, did it?

Nope!

Back in the day (and yes, I know how old I sound) if something didn't work as advertised, you brought it back and got a fucking refund!!

It was that goddamn simple.

In the ''old days,'' when a customer was unhappy, the company remedied that situation. Now, we allow ourselves to be run around by them like little sheep.

Little fucking sheep.
Baaaa!! Baaaaa!!!
-Today's consumers, including gamers.

Well, no more. If they want to ''reward'' us for buying new, or pre-ordering, whatever, then give us $5 off the game!! Or include the content on the disk, and give us an unlcok key to be used in game. Or any number of things. These ''rewards'' end up friggin punishments. and disguised marketing and advertsing schemes.

How fucking irritating and stupid are these exclusive pre-order bonuses? Now, when you buy a fighting game, you're guaranteed NOT to get the full cast of characters, because one store has fighter A, the other has B, the third has C and the fourth has fighter D.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT????? WHY THE FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK ARE WE ALLOWING THIS GARBAGE?


These companies are screwing us over, and people don't fight back. No, they line up and ask for more.

Like I said in a previous blog that discussed this (in greater detail and more coherently),

Enough is enough, people. We have to stop this madness.

Let's take back some of our dignity, and re-exert some control, shall we? Before it's too damn late. These corporations own us, and it's time to wake up a bit. Lies, false advertising, name brand myths, exercise myths, pseudoscience, stretched claims, and our ridiculous exuberance to willingly thrust ourselves into indentured slavery to the whims of these lying money whores.

Fucking stop it, people. Just stop it!

9 comments:

  1. I'm not sure why your save game didn't cross over. Worked for me perfectly. Then again, mine was for PC. What system did you get yours for?

    But that's besides the point I suppose.

    I agree with you. This DLC shit is annoying. And more than half the time its not even worthy content (The pre-order bonuses I got for ME2... only thing I used was the armor.. the character and weapon sucked).

    DLC has been around for PC games for a long while. However, it usually came in the form of patches/updates, that sometimes included new stuff. But was always absolutely free. Many PC games also had modding communities that offered more than enough extra content.. again for free, and sometimes even more creative.

    I believe that if companies are going to charge us for extra stuff, it should be an extension to the game, rather than some pre-planned crap. By "extension", I mean adding more than a few gimmicks. Add entire back-story to the characters, extending the play time by at least a few hours, along with a plethora of new equipment, items, and locations. Say, like. $5 for an extra 5 hours of gameplay average. Sounds reasonable.

    As far as different companies offering different bonus content... I really couldn't care less. The "bonus content" is typically mediocre, and not very enticing. I go with the one offering the best price, or one that is most convenient. For example, I went through Steam to get ME2, because I could pre-install most of the game before launch date. Plus Steam is a great service, and I don't have to worry about losing my discs. Furthermore, I had bought ME1 on Steam, so transferring over my data was simplified.

    I don't really have any input on the fighting genre thing, since I don't really play fighters that often. However, from what you've described briefly here, that sounds really... stupid. Especially for those that want more than just one of the extra characters. They shouldn't have to pay extra money for each one.

    As far as company's policies go... many places still offer great customer service and return policies. Unfortunately this is probably not the case with video games, as you've clearly pointed out. That is bullshit. Now, if it was a PC game, I could understand, because you can install the game on your computer, get a no-disc hack, and you're good to go without the discs anymore (or the discs can easily be imaged). Now, for console games.. hacking is a lot more difficult, and definitely not as wide-spread as PC game hacking. There is absolutely no reason the company shouldn't have given you the money back, or at least credit towards another game. I wouldn't purchase games through them anymore. Instead, look around for companies that sell games and offer reasonable return policies.

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  2. What system did you get yours for?

    Xbox 360.

    look around for companies that sell games and offer reasonable return policies.

    Do any exist? No, seriously, I'm actually asking. I was under the impression that the policies regarding game returns were basically industry standard.

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  3. Btw, tx for the awesome comment.

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  4. So I looked up return policies, because frankly I didn't know either... now I've only checked out a few stores (mostly department stores), and... wow, none, except maybe Walmart (it didn't specify either way on their website, so not sure), accept opened video games for returns... THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  5. Fucking piss off, isn't it?

    I could see PC games, as you said, but even then they could do a return for anothe rgame, and limit you to one return or something.

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  6. Luckily I typically only buy games that I know I'll thoroughly enjoy (unless they're bargain bins, then losing out on a few bucks isn't bad). I'll rent games prior to buying. PC gaming is more difficult; however, Direct2Drive has just begun a rental service, which looks promising (though $5 for 5 hours is a horrible amount of time.. its better than wasting $50 on a game you'll never play.. hopefully the 5 hour limit increases as new games are introduced to the program).

    So.. even though this isn't really fair.. I suggest never preordering any games unless you know for sure you'll enjoy it. Preordering bonuses shouldn't make us decide on whether or not to preorder.

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  7. Luckily I typically only buy games that I know I'll thoroughly enjoy (unless they're bargain bins, then losing out on a few bucks isn't bad). I'll rent games prior to buying.

    Same, but once in a great while I take a chance, and sometimes I get burned. *glares at Prototype and Mass Effect 2*

    $5 for 5 hours

    LOLOLOLOLOLOL. You can rent games for a week for $7-12 at rental stores.

    I suggest never preordering any games unless you know for sure you'll enjoy it. Preordering bonuses shouldn't make us decide on whether or not to preorder.

    I agree on both counts. 100%. My wife picked up ME2 for me, as I was hesitant due to the changes they implemented, but she was sure I'd like it. Sweet of her, but she was wrong in the end.

    Prototype's gameplay videos were mindblowing, so I was sure it was going to be amazing. I still don't understand how the fuck a game that looked so excellent could end up being such a turd.

    Other than those 2, I haven't been burned this gen, although let down (to varying degrees) (but still clocking many gameplay hours which at least justified the purchase) has happened. Fable II, Ninja Gaiden II, Crackdown 2 are the 3 main culprits. Resident Evil 5 would have been in that list but I rented, due to the forced co-op, too much action and too much sunlight. I still played it through 5-6 times (I had a rental plan then, so no return dates) and liked it a lot, but it was a huge letdown compared to the SPECTACULAR Resident Evil 4.

    Basically, all of my fave games last gen had disappointing (to varying degrees) sequels this gen.....Ninja Gaiden, Fable, and Resident Evil :(

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  8. I have yet to be burned. I wasted some gift cards on a game once, but it wasn't "my money", so mentally I didn't really care.

    I don't buy games often, so taking a chance in once in a great while can't really apply to me, lol.

    Yes, $5 for 5 hours.. really sucks. But as far as I know, its the first PC game rental program out there. And I won't use the service ever unless the time is extended significantly. I rarely rent console games as it is.

    Have yet to play prototype. Looked good at first, but was hesitant. Saw some gameplay videos, reviews, etc, decided it probably wasn't worth my time.

    I've lost my train of thought now, so this is the end of the comment. Bye. LOL

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