It doesn't really say what type of lawsuit. Funcom is just going to give him his money back and that will satisfy the courts. Only a class-action can do something meaningful and that's a pretty large undertaking.
One thing that boggles my mind is , What lawyer is going to represent you in this case for under $50 ? Unless you plan to represent yourself. Whats the point ? Hell the court cost would probably be around $50 lol. So you really wouldn't be making your money back , You'd be losing more.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
There is actually a lot of proof of ill intent, you just have to look around. The simple fact that we only found after the game was released that the DX10 version was postponed is just such proof. Even during closed beta and early release, both of which I was a part of, we weren't told that DX10 is being postponed. Moreover, the ability to select DX10 was available in the video options, though it was non-functional. It was removed as soon as the game went live. What I highlighted is NOT correct, I do agree they have made it known pretty late but definitly not after the game was released. So that part of your proof isn't proof after all. "The full release of the game for North America was May 20, 2008 and for Europe May 23, 2008 for the PC version" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_conan "While Funcom is thrilled with the early success of Age of Conan, and proud of the game launching this week, the company regrets to inform gamers that the DirectX 10 version of the game will not ship with the initial launch. As Microsoft’s DirectX 10 is undoubtedly the future of PC gaming, Funcom has decided to ship only the DirectX 9 version at launch, giving the team more time to focus on building a DirectX 10 version worthy of Microsoft’s great vision for the future of PC gaming. This postponement will let Funcom include even more features in the DirectX 10 version of Age of Conan than originally planned. " May 19, 2008 http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/38759/Age-Of-Conan-Collectors-Edition-Sold-Out So I'm positive they thought about it even before the box was printed which is also the reason they have placed the words well AT LEAST FOR THEMSELVES on the box as no court wil engage in a case when a judge will see the print on the box, and trust me I know as I have show it to several people (lawyers) without even explaining the situations and only one suspected the game to have DX10, the rest felt FC had placed the right words on the box to prevent a lawsuit. But go ahead maybe law works different where you guy's life cause you can sue things pretty easy in the States. That is just one but there are other examples of withholding the truth from customers and downright lying. The 1000s of armor sets which were suppose to be in at launch, the fully functional sieges, working crafting and city building, etc. The proof is out there, all it takes is someone dedicated enough to compile it. Hell, the feature list on the main website would give anyone a nice start. Moreover, the box has a "Games for Windows" brand logo but the game failed the first stipulation for carrying the brand. This is taken directly from www.gamesforwindows.com. Now about the features especialy when looking them up on the gamesforwindows website there is something to say about that as many things are not working as intended or simply missing: Features
Enter the true Conan experience - The first official Conan MMO sends you on a brutal journey in the footsteps of the worlds’ greatest fantasy hero. Meet Conan’s friend and foes, battle demons and monsters known from 70 year of Conan history, and step up to the ultimate challenge and befriend the mighty king Conan himself.
First part is pretty right
Explore the world of Conan – Enter a gigantic and unique gameworld containing more than 30 distinct regions spread across the three mighty nations of Aquilonia, Cimmeria and Stygia. Explore deep jungles, burning deserts, inhospitable mountains, vast valleys, dark dungeons or gleaming cities, and take part in an incredible journey of exploration and adventure.
Don't really feel the gameworld is GIGANTIC
Real Combat Engine - Experience Funcom’s revolutionary Real Combat engine, and fight mounted or on the ground. A new multi-point melee system allows the players to swing their weapons where they direct it, in real-time, going head-on against the formulaic nature of MMO combat. The Real Combat engine also allow players to team up in battle formations and command both NPC’s and other players in epic multiplayer battles, as well as giving you the chance to participate in massive sieges.
Don't know about this cause I aint playing the pvp side and can't speak about things that I only have read on forums, but I havn't heard or seen someone command NPC's....or is this more meant in the way NPC will get into your Guildcity?
Single-player vs. massively multiplayer - Emerge as a hero from a story-driven single-player experience and embark into even greater adventures in the pure massively multiplayer part of the game. The branching single-player story is created by the award-winning writers behind The Longest Journey, Dreamfall and Anarchy Online so expect something extraordinary.
This one is very true but amazing to see so many people complain or say it feels like a single player game as part of it IS a single players game.
PvP and PvE- Meet the ultimate resistance in human opponents, and enjoy crushing the skulls of fellow players in mini-games, sieges, arena fights and drunken brawls. Charge into the world of Conan, and fight monsters and demons alone or in groups.
Hard for me to say as again I am not into PVP, and about the untimate resistance I don't see it but then I never felt MMORPG where REALLY challening but mostly pure fun, I seek challenge in other games mostly, but once in a while I enjoy some PUGS or duo and creat our own challenge.
Extensive guild and solo gameplay - Form guilds in the multiplayer game and lay siege to hostile castles. Let the catapults sing their merry song of death as the enemy is brutally crushed to a pulp. Team up with other players in large guilds, and explore a large range of social gameplay opportunities. ‘Conan’ also offers extensive solo gaming opportunities, taking you through an amazing single-player journey and deep into the lands of Hyboria.
Something need to be changed in this text as it's not completly true.
Varied gameplay – Besides bringing the most brutal experience ever seen in a MMO, Conan also promises to deliver what all fans of MMOs love and enjoy. Vast character customization opportunities, a deep character creation, lots of social opportunities, crafting, a deep and fun RPG system, exciting classes and player-made cities are but a few ingredients in this powerful RPG.
Agree to a certain extend, but also know this IS marketing.
Amazing graphics - ‘Conan’ takes graphics in MMOs to a new level! With the latest and greatest in technology and an amazing art direction the graphics in ‘Conan’ immerses you into a world as never before seen in any online fantasy universe.
Definitly true for a MMORPG
Stunning Sounds - Listen to a powerful and epic soundtrack in 7.1 surround. Hear gripping voices recorded by professional actors, and enjoy a dynamic soundscape bringing players to the edge of their seats
Overall most sounds are great but the strange lvl uip sound or quest finish sound sound kinda off.
A story to die for – ‘Age of Conan’ delivers a brutal, mature and compelling storyline that will send you headlong on a journey of brutality, intrigue and depth. Mixing the finest of storytelling found in classic RPG’s with the open-ended approach found in MMOs, ‘Conan’ delivers a rare and special story experience.
Nah I'll never die for a MMO or game .....MEH!
The first mature MMO - In the true and barbaric vision of Robert E. Howard, ‘Age of Conan’ promises to bring mature online players something dark, new and refreshing. This is no cartoony fairytale, ‘Conan’ is made by grown-ups, for grown-ups, giving online gamers the chance to unleash the ultimate havoc and fury.
Blood and Gore
Intense Violence
Language
Nudity
Sexual Themes
"1)Quality. Games for Windows branded titles undergo extensive testing, and not just by the publisher. Microsoft also invests in quality checking each title to ensure they meet performance and reliability standards." You do understand that knowing this would place the guilt upon Microsoft for placing their brand onto the game right? Where was the extensive testing to assure quality? The damn stats didn't work. The way Funcom conduced the beta test assured as much confusion as possible. Different clients for different test groups. Internal testers had one, closed testers had another older one, Fileplanet testers had a much older client and the tech testers tested the game for 3 hours once per month or so. Moreover, during the beta test the bug tool wasn't functioning properly and the developers completely ignored beta testers on the forums. For every bug or exploit that was submitted, we were told that it's fixed in the internal client and the game runs great. I do agree I didn't feel that when i entered OB that it was a beta, as like you said I missed decent bug report functions, access to forums didn't work correctly for everyone so it was kinda hard to give information about found bugs, so I can understand that many in OB didn't really go for the testing rather then just play/test the game for their own pleasure. Still my best beta experience, communication wise from developers/community managers LotrO 1 stand nr1 as I really felt a part of being a tester especially on the forums of LotrO. In my opinion the best beta test system was placed in Vanguard as I really enjoyed the questionnaires after completing a quest, easy to use bug report system, shame even with those nice beta test feature's it didn't work out as expected at release. But a mix between such system Vangaurd had as their beta system ingame combined with the communications that was given during beta with LotrO on their forum to me should be a road map to how developers should proceed with beta testing. But there is also one nother detail and thats when we look at whatever game ever made I am 100% we can find lots of things that never made it to game X or never worked as intended. Overall MARKETING can be a very clever but sometimes EVIL tool. And kinda all product so this means not only games market their product in way's mostly not truly believeble, like i said before AXE is a cool example of false advertising yet they continue to market their product that way, one things is for sure if someone can find a judge that will take FC to court, expect millions of people also able to start and sue AXE for false advertising as WAUW the commercials are very nice (especialy from a man's perspective) but has anyone ever smelled AXE, well I have and it's not something I would choose to spray on, most I know only love the commercials but do't use the brand. The axe effect < when was the last time that happend to you? just a common question and not directed at YOU/heartless
The game launched in a limited way on May 17th 2008. The game had actual paying customers playing it on May 17th and they announced the missing DX10 on May 19th, the day the game was already pretty much launched and the day a lot of people already purchased it. Remember, they had a lot of pre-orders for the game.
As for the Games for Windows thing, Mircosoft or Funcom, failed to test the game properly. If Microsoft claims to test all "Games for Windows" products themselves, besides the publisher, then it's their fault for allowing the game to release in such a poor state. If anything, it undermines their effort in creating this brand and shows that it's pretty much pointless.
As for everything else, while I'm sure that it has some good points, I just don't have the attention span to read all that. Maybe some time later.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court.
All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom.
Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
First of all, in order to do business in the US, a foreign company needs to register in the US and follow US laws while conducting business here. Thus, they can be sued.
Besides that, Funcom has an office in NC. So your point is moot.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
If this were the case I'd bet on them just settling and giving you a refund .
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
"A person who represents himself in court has a fool for a client".
Besides, suing over a game is silly. It's one of those things where you'd have to have hundreds or thousands of people in the same boat suing as a group, like when people sue a pharmasutical company for a drug that made them sick.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
Sorry to disappoint, but the minute they sold games in the U.S., they became subject to our laws. Especially in California where consumer laws are stronger than many other states. And in small claims, they won't be able to use the reasonable accomodations rules, either. Judges in those courts are in many ways less malleable than larger courts, and are more likely than not to say "If they can afford to make a multi-million dollar game, they can afford airfare.". Do you really think FC is gonna pay expenses just to lose, when they can just forfeit cheaper by giving the $50 and your court fees?
Is this guy serious? Or does he just want the money to get out of his mothers basement? Not you OP the dude on the link. Just because the game dosen't live up to the potential dosen't mean you can be sued, they basically just said words that didn't make sense. In short, say there was an announcement at the end of school outside about the hot dog giving ice cream and cookies and chocolate shakes. Well when he came he charged everyone for hot dogs and he just drove off without giving anyone something. Well you cant sue him. Also when you sue you mainly sue for thousands of thousands, or maybe just a few hundred. How much money has this guy lost? $50 for the game and maybe 2months of subs so thats...$80. Okay so he spent $80 on the game. He still got the play the game yes? Just the guy never got what was said. You could sue them if you spent money and never even got to play the game because it never came out. But it's only $80...sheesh Americans nowadays...Eh...I didn't really read much of this thread so if I'm incorrect about this link (Only had 2hrs of sleep and feel alittle dizzy) but I think he said he's suing for them not having what's promised so I guess...I made sense? I mean the guy CAN sue now I guess...just it's common sense...just work and get your money back....plus I'm sure Funcom will win, Companies always win with their lawyers...DAMN LAWYERS!
It all depends on the judge. Just think how biased a judge could be if he bought AoC and thought it was crap and that he got scammed... or if he/she is an AoC fanboi.
I know judges aren't suppose to be biased. But everyone is.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court. All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom. Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
If this were the case I'd bet on them just settling and giving you a refund .
Sending a letter asking for a refund is always the best course of action. Like you said most companies will just refund. If they dont then you have to make the decission if you want to take it further. If you make it known that you will be making a suit through small claims they are more then likely going to just refund you the money.
Also for small claims in most cases it is done in the state that the company does business. In the case of FunCom they are in North Carolina, but that is only for their customer support so it is not a lock that it would have to be done in the state, and the county they have that office in.
Like I said though if you are that pissed off about AoC, write a letter demanding a refund. If that does'nt pan out, go down to your local court office and sue them in small calims, it will cost you at most a few bucks and couple hours even if you lose.
Why dont we all use common sense and put this to bed....most people on this forum know the box art etc was released by an independent company a couple of months before the game was released. At that time FC were intending to implement DX10...it didnt happen! the box's had already been produced, do they spend thier already limited resources on redoing all the box's or trying to get the game as good as poss for release?
Dont ask me to link this as i dont really care and can't be bothered. But frequent posters on this forum nd most that followed AoC in production already know this so i apologise to those people for saying what they already know
Why dont we all use common sense and put this to bed....most people on this forum know the box art etc was released by an independent company a couple of months before the game was released. At that time FC were intending to implement DX10...it didnt happen! the box's had already been produced, do they spend thier already limited resources on redoing all the box's or trying to get the game as good as poss for release? Dont ask me to link this as i dont really care and can't be bothered. But frequent posters on this forum nd most that followed AoC in production already know this so i apologise to those people for saying what they already know
Limited resources? If I remember correctly, by the time AoC launched, Funcom had about $30 million on their account. I don't know if that money was slated for a different game or for some other project but the point is that they did not have limited resources.
Besides which, how much do you think it would cost to manufacture some stickers to cover up the DX10 thing?
First off, I totally agree that the game is a very shallow game and some stuff that was promised was not in the game at all. But, There is something called personal responsibility. Some people here actually said it best " buyer beware". Thank god nowdays you can not really sue someone or a company simply because you didnt like what you bought. There are limits to it though such has some of the fraud going on with Ebay, but someone not liking a video game isnt going to work. I really liked the McD comparison. You cant sue a company because your hamburger isnt four feet tall has in the poster. It is going to be hard to sue someone now for spilling hot cofee on themselves. Personal Responsibility is something that is long overdue in this country.
If someone or a group of people who are not happy with a product or company can easily protest or simply not buy the product. You can start a campaign against Funcom. You can go to Norway and get picket signs or something. You can hurt the company more by trying to make their product a failure. Funcom is in this for the money. Try to take away their money, and you can win. lol
They need to be sued. Its insane to think companys can take advantage of their customers like Funcom has. And the charging after subscriptions are canceled is outrageous.
I wouldn't buy or play anything made by Funcom again eve if it was free.
If the plaintiff can somehow prove that the MMO industry provides a substantial amount / portion of consumer spending -> stimulation of industry cash flows, then with enough rallying support he *might* be able to win aiming for punitive damages to set a precedent.
But very unlikely...though if he truly believes it's in his and other gamers' right to sue, best of luck and more power to him.
EDIT: My guess is his probability of success depends on the overall proof as to the amount and the degree of exposure MMO consumers have facing these fraudulent gaming companies.
This is just and update on my complaint sent to BBB about FC and no dx10 as stated on box. This was FC response to me through BBB: "Due to technical issues, DX 10 was not able to be fully implemented at launch. This will be addressed later this month (August)." I asked for a refund on cost of game because of fraud and this was there response. It's about just what I expected.
And that's another official statement from Funcom you can use against them in court!
Why? Because they kept claiming through interviews and videos that DX10 would be ingame AT launch!
Everyone bought the box at and before launch. The option settings for DX10 were ingame and Funcom was hoping the players would be so stupid they wouldn't notice the difference.
About a week later (Early Access included) AFTER many topics and posts about people complaining DX10 wasn't working! Funcom suddenly came with the EXACT same statement you mention above and suddenly removed the DX10 option settings in the game client!
For the above practices alone you stand a very good chance in court. As they tried to deliberately mislead people about the DX10 till AFTER launch, until enough people discovered this and expressed their anger on the official forums so Funcom could no longer hide the truth DX10 wasn't in the game at all and came up with the excuse you mentioned, wich they SURE did know before launch, but kept DELIBERATLY silent to sell as many gameboxes possible! As they knew when they would have said the truth BEFORE launch a great deal of people would have canceled their Pre-Order and / or wouldn't have bought the game at all.
Because there were many people that bought new hardware so they could run the game in DX10, because that was hyped so much by Funcom! Remember real good that Age of Conan was also hyped by even Microsoft to be a first MMORPG DX10 showcase for Windows Vista!!
Hope this information helps you to strenghten your case against Funcom.
Just check several public forums. I am sure these DX10 complain topics dating back in may are still floating around as you can bet that Funcom will have deleted them on their own forums. And if not, they probably going to do now.
Comments
One thing that boggles my mind is , What lawyer is going to represent you in this case for under $50 ? Unless you plan to represent yourself. Whats the point ? Hell the court cost would probably be around $50 lol. So you really wouldn't be making your money back , You'd be losing more.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
The game launched in a limited way on May 17th 2008. The game had actual paying customers playing it on May 17th and they announced the missing DX10 on May 19th, the day the game was already pretty much launched and the day a lot of people already purchased it. Remember, they had a lot of pre-orders for the game.
As for the Games for Windows thing, Mircosoft or Funcom, failed to test the game properly. If Microsoft claims to test all "Games for Windows" products themselves, besides the publisher, then it's their fault for allowing the game to release in such a poor state. If anything, it undermines their effort in creating this brand and shows that it's pretty much pointless.
As for everything else, while I'm sure that it has some good points, I just don't have the attention span to read all that. Maybe some time later.
If you want to make a point that costs you the least amount of time and money you sue someone in small claims court.
All states are diffrent but it costs roughly 25 bucks to file, and if FailCom does not show up, and there is a good chance they wont, you get your money back and the satisfaction of sticking it to FailCom.
Small Claims does not require an attorney, some states actually do not alow one period.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
First of all, in order to do business in the US, a foreign company needs to register in the US and follow US laws while conducting business here. Thus, they can be sued.
Besides that, Funcom has an office in NC. So your point is moot.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
If this were the case I'd bet on them just settling and giving you a refund .
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
"A person who represents himself in court has a fool for a client".
Besides, suing over a game is silly. It's one of those things where you'd have to have hundreds or thousands of people in the same boat suing as a group, like when people sue a pharmasutical company for a drug that made them sick.
Your kidding right? 1st off the company Funcom is in another country, they don't follow our laws and if you don't think they will show up, you better go read some articles on WOW lawsuits, they will fight and they will win and then they will stick it to you just for kicks.
Sorry to disappoint, but the minute they sold games in the U.S., they became subject to our laws. Especially in California where consumer laws are stronger than many other states. And in small claims, they won't be able to use the reasonable accomodations rules, either. Judges in those courts are in many ways less malleable than larger courts, and are more likely than not to say "If they can afford to make a multi-million dollar game, they can afford airfare.". Do you really think FC is gonna pay expenses just to lose, when they can just forfeit cheaper by giving the $50 and your court fees?
Is this guy serious? Or does he just want the money to get out of his mothers basement? Not you OP the dude on the link. Just because the game dosen't live up to the potential dosen't mean you can be sued, they basically just said words that didn't make sense. In short, say there was an announcement at the end of school outside about the hot dog giving ice cream and cookies and chocolate shakes. Well when he came he charged everyone for hot dogs and he just drove off without giving anyone something. Well you cant sue him. Also when you sue you mainly sue for thousands of thousands, or maybe just a few hundred. How much money has this guy lost? $50 for the game and maybe 2months of subs so thats...$80. Okay so he spent $80 on the game. He still got the play the game yes? Just the guy never got what was said. You could sue them if you spent money and never even got to play the game because it never came out. But it's only $80...sheesh Americans nowadays...Eh...I didn't really read much of this thread so if I'm incorrect about this link (Only had 2hrs of sleep and feel alittle dizzy) but I think he said he's suing for them not having what's promised so I guess...I made sense? I mean the guy CAN sue now I guess...just it's common sense...just work and get your money back....plus I'm sure Funcom will win, Companies always win with their lawyers...DAMN LAWYERS!
It all depends on the judge. Just think how biased a judge could be if he bought AoC and thought it was crap and that he got scammed... or if he/she is an AoC fanboi.
I know judges aren't suppose to be biased. But everyone is.
i don't think you would be able to get a corp like funcom into court without a lawyer present , That's who they pay to handle these issues . If you're representing yourself , You better have you're best pair of lucky shoes on.
Actually in California a Lawyer can NOT be pressent in small claims court, there are a few other states that do not alow lawyers also.
Small Claims is diffrent. It has a max amount of money that can be sued for depending on the state. It is a very quick process in the most part, as stupid as it may sound the TV show "Peoples Court" is basicly what a small claims court is like, but faster. The judges dont have time to dick around, so the plantiff has his say the defendent has his say then the judge makes a ruling.
In the case of Age of Conan, you take FailCom to small claims for the cost of the game, and better chance then not, you will win that case. If you write a letter to FailCom asking for you money back first and they dont, its almost 100% gurantee you will win in small claims.
If this were the case I'd bet on them just settling and giving you a refund .
Sending a letter asking for a refund is always the best course of action. Like you said most companies will just refund. If they dont then you have to make the decission if you want to take it further. If you make it known that you will be making a suit through small claims they are more then likely going to just refund you the money.
Also for small claims in most cases it is done in the state that the company does business. In the case of FunCom they are in North Carolina, but that is only for their customer support so it is not a lock that it would have to be done in the state, and the county they have that office in.
Like I said though if you are that pissed off about AoC, write a letter demanding a refund. If that does'nt pan out, go down to your local court office and sue them in small calims, it will cost you at most a few bucks and couple hours even if you lose.
Why dont we all use common sense and put this to bed....most people on this forum know the box art etc was released by an independent company a couple of months before the game was released. At that time FC were intending to implement DX10...it didnt happen! the box's had already been produced, do they spend thier already limited resources on redoing all the box's or trying to get the game as good as poss for release?
Dont ask me to link this as i dont really care and can't be bothered. But frequent posters on this forum nd most that followed AoC in production already know this so i apologise to those people for saying what they already know
This is just and update on my complaint sent to BBB about FC and no dx10 as stated on box.
This was FC response to me through BBB:
"Due to technical issues, DX 10 was not able to be fully implemented at launch. This will be addressed later this month (August)."
I asked for a refund on cost of game because of fraud and this was there response. It's about just what I expected.
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If you are insulted by being called a fanboi it's a good bet that you are one
Limited resources? If I remember correctly, by the time AoC launched, Funcom had about $30 million on their account. I don't know if that money was slated for a different game or for some other project but the point is that they did not have limited resources.
Besides which, how much do you think it would cost to manufacture some stickers to cover up the DX10 thing?
Its not about how much it costs but rather the logistics of it all. And for what?
First off, I totally agree that the game is a very shallow game and some stuff that was promised was not in the game at all. But, There is something called personal responsibility. Some people here actually said it best " buyer beware". Thank god nowdays you can not really sue someone or a company simply because you didnt like what you bought. There are limits to it though such has some of the fraud going on with Ebay, but someone not liking a video game isnt going to work. I really liked the McD comparison. You cant sue a company because your hamburger isnt four feet tall has in the poster. It is going to be hard to sue someone now for spilling hot cofee on themselves. Personal Responsibility is something that is long overdue in this country.
If someone or a group of people who are not happy with a product or company can easily protest or simply not buy the product. You can start a campaign against Funcom. You can go to Norway and get picket signs or something. You can hurt the company more by trying to make their product a failure. Funcom is in this for the money. Try to take away their money, and you can win. lol
They need to be sued. Its insane to think companys can take advantage of their customers like Funcom has. And the charging after subscriptions are canceled is outrageous.
I wouldn't buy or play anything made by Funcom again eve if it was free.
If the plaintiff can somehow prove that the MMO industry provides a substantial amount / portion of consumer spending -> stimulation of industry cash flows, then with enough rallying support he *might* be able to win aiming for punitive damages to set a precedent.
But very unlikely...though if he truly believes it's in his and other gamers' right to sue, best of luck and more power to him.
EDIT: My guess is his probability of success depends on the overall proof as to the amount and the degree of exposure MMO consumers have facing these fraudulent gaming companies.
And that's another official statement from Funcom you can use against them in court!
Why? Because they kept claiming through interviews and videos that DX10 would be ingame AT launch!
Everyone bought the box at and before launch. The option settings for DX10 were ingame and Funcom was hoping the players would be so stupid they wouldn't notice the difference.
About a week later (Early Access included) AFTER many topics and posts about people complaining DX10 wasn't working! Funcom suddenly came with the EXACT same statement you mention above and suddenly removed the DX10 option settings in the game client!
For the above practices alone you stand a very good chance in court. As they tried to deliberately mislead people about the DX10 till AFTER launch, until enough people discovered this and expressed their anger on the official forums so Funcom could no longer hide the truth DX10 wasn't in the game at all and came up with the excuse you mentioned, wich they SURE did know before launch, but kept DELIBERATLY silent to sell as many gameboxes possible! As they knew when they would have said the truth BEFORE launch a great deal of people would have canceled their Pre-Order and / or wouldn't have bought the game at all.
Because there were many people that bought new hardware so they could run the game in DX10, because that was hyped so much by Funcom! Remember real good that Age of Conan was also hyped by even Microsoft to be a first MMORPG DX10 showcase for Windows Vista!!
Hope this information helps you to strenghten your case against Funcom.
Just check several public forums. I am sure these DX10 complain topics dating back in may are still floating around as you can bet that Funcom will have deleted them on their own forums. And if not, they probably going to do now.
Cheers