PC gamers get bill of rights : Including Full Refund

This is what u want more than 9800 GT



Edge Online had an interesting post in which it reported that PC game developers Gas Powered Games and Stardock have collaborated on a PC Gamers' Bill of Rights. The full 10-point list below:

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.

2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.

3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent.

7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.

8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.

9. 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.

10. 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.

All of these ideas sound great, but we're not sure how realistic that first one is. How would you return a downloaded game for a full refund?

A line in the Edge post states "our goal, if we get enough industry support on this, is to create a consortium that upholds the following basic standards for PC games." We cringe at the idea of yet another PC game-focused industry group on top of the PC Gaming Alliance. It's also unlikely that the industry at large would adopt this list in its current state, but we give all involved credit for making the attempt. Let's hope that these ideas at least give PC game developers and publishers something to think about.



Source: CNET + Edge-Online



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Nocturnal310

 

lol @ the first one. I see a new wave of buying a game, installing it, and returning it the same day with the claim it won't run if that one becomes a reality. The others are reasonable.

 

That seems more like the 10 commandments IMHO

 

#10 would be sweet

 

#1 should be "Gamers should have access to a fully playable demo, in order to determine whether a game runs on their system" but the rest are good.

 

haha..thats called piracy

 

Yeah, a demo would be nice. Or at least a performance test for the specific game.

 

If minimum settings are like these then what are recommended requirements for? :/

It's not really a good idea to play using an outdated client, it also allows certain hacks to run in some cases. What's the point of using outdated clients anyway?

I'm aiming this mostly on MMOs though. hehe. Just my 2 cents.

 

or one could say whats the point of even giving recommended requirements.

 

Yep, +1 for #10.

 

Well, the problem with minimum requirements is that they're usually the bare minimum to actually run the game. You buy the game after reading the minimum specs and seeing that you pass, only to find out, yes you can run the game, no you cannot play it at an acceptable FPS even with the lowest resolution + all low details. Or at least, that's how it's been for me. For instance, when Battlefield 2 came out, I bought it because I figured my computer met the min. requirements. Sure it ran, but even at 800x600 with all low details and view distance at minimum, I would struggle to get even 20-25 FPS.

Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, for the most part, I've liked all of these "rights/commandments."

 

So, what's the incentive for developers to stick with the PC platform and not jump over to consoles?

 

It's not like they're going to enforce this, it's nothing official. It's not a big deal if they do, anyway, it won't really change anything...


1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.

Or upgrade their computers. You get 14-31 days to return games from most stores anyway.

2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.

Read reviews and teh interwebz to find that out, then wait for patches to be released. Most games are released finished these days, except for MMORPGs.

3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.

Not a big deal, the developers will probably just work on a sequel that's a lot bigger than anything a patch can add.

4. 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.

It can help stop piracy (to some extent) and helps get more players playing together since they'll all be running the same version. There's no problem with that.

5. 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.

Developers can scale the game to look as ****ty as they want, this hasn't really been a problem. People just need to expect less out of four or five year-old systems.

6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent.

This is a good one, but this will never be a problem from games with big developers.

7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.

Or don't lose the game disk. It costs the developers a lot of money to host 10GB+ games.

8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.

If they buy the game, they have nothing to worry about.

9. 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.

I'll agree with that one, though I don't think that most games do that.

10. 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.

I completely support this one.

 

I don't think EA will ever follow the PC Gamer's Bill of Rights.

1. Definitely not
2. They mass produce games leaving them unfinished and bugged.
3. Once a game is released, it is forgotten.
4.
5.
6. Securom
7.
8. Looks like they already have with #6
9. They already have
10.

I don't know about 4,5,7, and 10 since I don't own many EA games. If anyone can fill that in that would be appreciated.

 

Fine idea in theory, but if this isn't official government legislature enforcement is purely voluntary so not much progress is likely.