As a gamer, you only have ONE rights, that is, you have the rights to refuse to buy a game, or anything, from a certain company.
Which is also your rights as a consumer.
I think people are too into themselves that they believe that they are entitled for everything, creating rights where it doesn't exist, or punishing a certain entity in a business deal.
The reason for places like MMORPG.com is to help you be educated on game products before you purchase them. Because once you purchase the product, you agree to ALL of their terms.
Actually, from a perfectly legal context this is incorrect. The company makes an offer, the consumer has the right to consideration before acceptance of the the offer. If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, typically contract law allows for the consumer to reject the offer, i.e. returning the item. Why should software be different that every other item in business? If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, why is it considered that the contract is completed at the Point of Sale?
As a gamer, you only have ONE rights, that is, you have the rights to refuse to buy a game, or anything, from a certain company.
Which is also your rights as a consumer.
I think people are too into themselves that they believe that they are entitled for everything, creating rights where it doesn't exist, or punishing a certain entity in a business deal.
The reason for places like MMORPG.com is to help you be educated on game products before you purchase them. Because once you purchase the product, you agree to ALL of their terms.
Actually, from a perfectly legal context this is incorrect. The company makes an offer, the consumer has the right to consideration before acceptance of the the offer. If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, typically contract law allows for the consumer to reject the offer, i.e. returning the item. Why should software be different that every other item in business? If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, why is it considered that the contract is completed at the Point of Sale?
typically you can return the product most software has a warranty of some sort whereby you can send the product back for a full refund, most software companies honor such warranties but they usually have terms and conditions applied to them.
We go trough life with many yet there is a time we must walk our path alone.
Although I disagree with some of the OP's "rights" (3,7,8,9,10) the others are all pretty sound and are legally actionable.
If a product does not work according to the advertised or labeled descriptions then either the company can make it right or risk being sued. In many cases, a class action suit would be in order.
If a game lists minimum requirements and your computer meets them and the game doesn't work on your computer you can take legal action if you do not receive a refund. (This is related to 1 and 5)
If a game advertises via the internet site or on the box that it had certain features and those features do not appear in game you could demand refund or take legal action against the company for illegal misrepresentation, fraudulent business practices and false advertising.
Advertised "free to play" games that require a download manager that allows your computer to upload content to other users arguably are violating fair business practices as they are requiring you to allow access to your computer for purposes other than for your own private use of the game. It is hard to say who would win this one in court.
Hidden drivers and the like need to be disclosed in the eula. If they are not you can take legal action against the company claiming you are the victim of internet fraud.
Furthermore, if you read the eula and do not agree to it you are entitled to return the game for a full refund. The onyl exception is if they presented you with the eula at the time of purchase, either listed under the prodcut description online or written on the game box in a retail store. If they do not allow the return you can take legal action for misrepresentation.
As a gamer, you only have ONE rights, that is, you have the rights to refuse to buy a game, or anything, from a certain company.
Which is also your rights as a consumer.
I think people are too into themselves that they believe that they are entitled for everything, creating rights where it doesn't exist, or punishing a certain entity in a business deal.
The reason for places like MMORPG.com is to help you be educated on game products before you purchase them. Because once you purchase the product, you agree to ALL of their terms.
Actually, from a perfectly legal context this is incorrect. The company makes an offer, the consumer has the right to consideration before acceptance of the the offer. If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, typically contract law allows for the consumer to reject the offer, i.e. returning the item. Why should software be different that every other item in business? If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, why is it considered that the contract is completed at the Point of Sale?
An offered good is not a purchase good. Offered goods falls under the "Free Trial" agreement. Once you made a purchase, you agree to abide with the End User License Agreement, because if you don't agree with the terms, why did you buy it, and installed it, and played it?
In legal stand point, you agree to the contract agreement and by law you have to honor that agreement.
If the company agree to refund you in any case you want to return it, then that's part of the agreement. But if the agreement didn't specify such guarantee, you cannot declare that you have the rights for a refund. That's just ridiculous.
why would they need to patch any bugs if there games follow there own bill?
They should have been released finsihed according to the games own developers.
All software gets released in the same state, that is just how it's always worked. It's not just games that need post-release updates and patches, it's every single piece of software out there.
In other words players have a silly and unrealistic notion of what "finished" means, when it comes to software.
The only real exception to that is the old console cartridge games, and even then at some point updates started getting released, once consoles had some form of HD's
Yep.
I just bought Stardock's newly released game, Elemental: war of Magic. As soon as I was done installing the game itself, there was a patch to install. Why? Because at some point, software needs to "Go Gold", i.e. get sent to the physical publisher for manufacture, and you can't update anything after that. Also, you want to make patching the same for both physical and digital copies, so you leave the original publish version alone, and patch from there.
Which is fine.
As Warmaster said, almost every piece of post release software since the invention of the internet is going to have some post release patching. The "Gamers Rights" are ideals that Stardock tries to live up to. With the number of operating systems going and the endless amount of different hardware models out there, it is literally impossible to write a clean piece of software beyond the complexity of a screensaver that will work on everything flawlessly. The most you can legitimately hope for from a developer, is that all of the major bugs (i.e. game breaking or system crashing) are gone at launch, and the minor bugs are patched out quickly.
That is what we have with Stardock: there was a fairly major patch after install and another 12-24 hours after release. Why? Because they care about their game, and want their customers to be happy with their purchase out of the gate, and have a successful launch.
And that seems to be different than some other game publishers, MMO and otherwise, that I could mention.
We the Gamers of the world, in order to ensure a more enjoyable experience, establish equality between players and publishers, and promote the general welfare of our industry hereby call for the following:
Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will adequately play on that computer.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent.
Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.
1. and 5. need to go together, and you already have this one actually, well kind of. If you go purchase a game, or any software for that matter, and your computer does not run it even though you system meets the minimum requirements, you can contact the company that made the software for support, replacement, or refund depending on thier service/guarantee polkicies. You do not however have the right by law to take that software back to the retail store you purchased it from and DEMAND a refund unless thier companies refund policy states so. Most retails stores do however allow for a return on software within a very short window after purchase.
2. You only have the righ to demand that what you purchased is what you got if it is in fact not what you got. If you purchase an online computer game, and found out after purchase that it was in fact nothign more than an advertising pamphlet in the box, AND the box doesn't say this, then you can DEMAND a refund. As for demanding ait being released in a finished state?? Who's finished state? Yours? Or thiers? Becuase it may be finished to them and not you, but of course you aren't publishing it are you.
3. Nope, unless you sign a contract with the company which specifically states they will provide updates on a set schedule you do not in fact have this right.
4. If your box says 'online content / experience may change' and you are expecting updates, than you do in fact have to have this too. Not sure how you can expect regular updates and not want the game to update.
6. I haven't seen a game yet that installed hideen drivers or software on my PC, what games are you playing that does this? Or have you just not been reading the manual that comes with it? You are aware not everythign pops up in a window on your PC right?
7. You can contact the software company and request a replacement, most times this might have a small fee for the CD and shipping costs. Or they may provide you with a 1 time e-link for it. They will however require a registration key and/or online account. It also helps if you actually fill in your registration card and mail it in when you get the game/software instead of tossing it out with the box 5 minutes after you pulled the CD out.
8. No comment, personally I have never been treated with anything less than respect with all my dealings with developers/publishers/game support personel. Maybe the context of your conversations with them or the manner in which you communicate might be the fault here. Anger begets anger, disrepect begets disrespect.
9. and 10. kind of go together - both of these are in place for copywrite protection purposes. either coublechecking the key on the disk or validating the IP to ensure the single copy hasn't been spread to 40 people. Come up with a better system and give it out to the software industry and they will change it for you I'm sure.
Anyway sure it would be nice to think we could come up with somethign that works - most of these however can't because of current law or misunderstanding of current law. But hey, its a work in progress right.
(DISCLAIMER - The use of the word YOU in the above post is not directed at any one person in particular, but towards those who fall into the category itself - there is no personal attack here, neither intentional nor implied.)
Comments
Actually, from a perfectly legal context this is incorrect. The company makes an offer, the consumer has the right to consideration before acceptance of the the offer. If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, typically contract law allows for the consumer to reject the offer, i.e. returning the item. Why should software be different that every other item in business? If the product is not up to par with the consumer's expectations, why is it considered that the contract is completed at the Point of Sale?
typically you can return the product most software has a warranty of some sort whereby you can send the product back for a full refund, most software companies honor such warranties but they usually have terms and conditions applied to them.
We go trough life with many yet there is a time we must walk our path alone.
Although I disagree with some of the OP's "rights" (3,7,8,9,10) the others are all pretty sound and are legally actionable.
If a product does not work according to the advertised or labeled descriptions then either the company can make it right or risk being sued. In many cases, a class action suit would be in order.
If a game lists minimum requirements and your computer meets them and the game doesn't work on your computer you can take legal action if you do not receive a refund. (This is related to 1 and 5)
If a game advertises via the internet site or on the box that it had certain features and those features do not appear in game you could demand refund or take legal action against the company for illegal misrepresentation, fraudulent business practices and false advertising.
Advertised "free to play" games that require a download manager that allows your computer to upload content to other users arguably are violating fair business practices as they are requiring you to allow access to your computer for purposes other than for your own private use of the game. It is hard to say who would win this one in court.
Hidden drivers and the like need to be disclosed in the eula. If they are not you can take legal action against the company claiming you are the victim of internet fraud.
Furthermore, if you read the eula and do not agree to it you are entitled to return the game for a full refund. The onyl exception is if they presented you with the eula at the time of purchase, either listed under the prodcut description online or written on the game box in a retail store. If they do not allow the return you can take legal action for misrepresentation.
An offered good is not a purchase good. Offered goods falls under the "Free Trial" agreement. Once you made a purchase, you agree to abide with the End User License Agreement, because if you don't agree with the terms, why did you buy it, and installed it, and played it?
In legal stand point, you agree to the contract agreement and by law you have to honor that agreement.
If the company agree to refund you in any case you want to return it, then that's part of the agreement. But if the agreement didn't specify such guarantee, you cannot declare that you have the rights for a refund. That's just ridiculous.
Ready for GW2!!!
Yep.
I just bought Stardock's newly released game, Elemental: war of Magic. As soon as I was done installing the game itself, there was a patch to install. Why? Because at some point, software needs to "Go Gold", i.e. get sent to the physical publisher for manufacture, and you can't update anything after that. Also, you want to make patching the same for both physical and digital copies, so you leave the original publish version alone, and patch from there.
Which is fine.
As Warmaster said, almost every piece of post release software since the invention of the internet is going to have some post release patching. The "Gamers Rights" are ideals that Stardock tries to live up to. With the number of operating systems going and the endless amount of different hardware models out there, it is literally impossible to write a clean piece of software beyond the complexity of a screensaver that will work on everything flawlessly. The most you can legitimately hope for from a developer, is that all of the major bugs (i.e. game breaking or system crashing) are gone at launch, and the minor bugs are patched out quickly.
That is what we have with Stardock: there was a fairly major patch after install and another 12-24 hours after release. Why? Because they care about their game, and want their customers to be happy with their purchase out of the gate, and have a successful launch.
And that seems to be different than some other game publishers, MMO and otherwise, that I could mention.
1. and 5. need to go together, and you already have this one actually, well kind of. If you go purchase a game, or any software for that matter, and your computer does not run it even though you system meets the minimum requirements, you can contact the company that made the software for support, replacement, or refund depending on thier service/guarantee polkicies. You do not however have the right by law to take that software back to the retail store you purchased it from and DEMAND a refund unless thier companies refund policy states so. Most retails stores do however allow for a return on software within a very short window after purchase.
2. You only have the righ to demand that what you purchased is what you got if it is in fact not what you got. If you purchase an online computer game, and found out after purchase that it was in fact nothign more than an advertising pamphlet in the box, AND the box doesn't say this, then you can DEMAND a refund. As for demanding ait being released in a finished state?? Who's finished state? Yours? Or thiers? Becuase it may be finished to them and not you, but of course you aren't publishing it are you.
3. Nope, unless you sign a contract with the company which specifically states they will provide updates on a set schedule you do not in fact have this right.
4. If your box says 'online content / experience may change' and you are expecting updates, than you do in fact have to have this too. Not sure how you can expect regular updates and not want the game to update.
6. I haven't seen a game yet that installed hideen drivers or software on my PC, what games are you playing that does this? Or have you just not been reading the manual that comes with it? You are aware not everythign pops up in a window on your PC right?
7. You can contact the software company and request a replacement, most times this might have a small fee for the CD and shipping costs. Or they may provide you with a 1 time e-link for it. They will however require a registration key and/or online account. It also helps if you actually fill in your registration card and mail it in when you get the game/software instead of tossing it out with the box 5 minutes after you pulled the CD out.
8. No comment, personally I have never been treated with anything less than respect with all my dealings with developers/publishers/game support personel. Maybe the context of your conversations with them or the manner in which you communicate might be the fault here. Anger begets anger, disrepect begets disrespect.
9. and 10. kind of go together - both of these are in place for copywrite protection purposes. either coublechecking the key on the disk or validating the IP to ensure the single copy hasn't been spread to 40 people. Come up with a better system and give it out to the software industry and they will change it for you I'm sure.
Anyway sure it would be nice to think we could come up with somethign that works - most of these however can't because of current law or misunderstanding of current law. But hey, its a work in progress right.
(DISCLAIMER - The use of the word YOU in the above post is not directed at any one person in particular, but towards those who fall into the category itself - there is no personal attack here, neither intentional nor implied.)