EU vs EA on Refunds...word?

[Uratoh]

I heard the EU was going to court with EA over denying refunds on Sim City (EU consumers being entitled to a refund during a 14 day cooling period, as it were) because EA calls Sim City a 'service' and not a 'product' and therefore, once the consumers begin to recieve the service, IE, they begin to download/install Sim City, they have voided their option for a refund...

Any word on this beyond 'probably going to court'?

 

[Pinkamena]

That's a shitty justification. It's like saying that a car is a "service" instead of a product. How do they even justify it?

 

[Nurb]

So those boxes with a disc in it were just a service?

Also, this is the beginning of the end for gaming as we know it; Product means you own something and service means they want you paying a monthly fee to access a digital library you lose access to if you stop paying or are banned for whatever reason

And they still have people defending them... "Oh people will hate EA for any stupid reason FNEH FNEH FNEEEH"

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Here's hoping the EU ends up rattling EA's shit something fierce for this.

EA's handling of this whole thing has been incredibly poor and I want to see those so presumptuous as to think they are above common decency get their asses kicked in some fashion, might as well be the legal ass-kicking.

 

[lRookiel]

Bullshit, video games like Simcity are products, not services. Services en tale doing something for someone, as well as the customer being charged each time they use said "Service". Sim city is paid for once then not again, exceptions being DLC which is just additional product content or subscription based games like WoW which are fast becoming a dying breed. Just because something is always online does not make it a service.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Sources?


I said earlier that I thought the Simcity fiasco was beginning to wind down now with there not being anything else that could conceivably go wrong, but being sued by the EU for what I would imagine would be breaching consumer rights, well that'll give us fuel to ride the crazy-train for another month or two!

I googled this and didn't find a single thing about it, but I did find this:


Apparently the zoning is just messed up to a broken level, here's a guy making a 100% residential city: no commercial or industrial bits, just sewage, power, parks and houses, and his population not only explodes, but the happiness and wealth factor of these unemployed service deprived sims is through the roof!

Here's the Explanation:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a7iqq/apparently_commercial_and_industrial_zones_are/

The more people play, the more inconstancies and loopholes they uncover: There is not, as was claimed, a single rendered Sim for every person in the city, pollution seems to increase without any source (including occasionally nuclear fallout) parks are counted as commercial areas but sims don't lose money, if you demolish a residential building it will immediately rebuild with maximum happiness and money for the occupants, apparently status reports from buildings/Sims are just plain wrong, and the correct data has to be taken from the map overlays, pathfinding is done by shortest route which creates all sorts of issues, you can fully educate your entire population through amphitheatres alone (so no education budget necessary) And I learned all that just from reading half of the above linked Reddit thread (didn't even make it the full way, because that thread's huge... unlike SimCities' maps BAZINGA!)

Captcha: smashed potatoe.

Indeed Captcha. Indeed.

 

[Uratoh]

Sources?

Don't have much, I'd just had hearsay etc. it's why I made this thread.

I do have this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/13/does-new-simcity-game-push-environmentalism/

it's a small section that I mostly just repeated.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Sources?

Don't have much, I'd just had hearsay etc. it's why I made this thread.

I do have this:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/13/does-new-simcity-game-push-environmentalism/

it's a small section that I mostly just repeated.

Ah, ok, That's actually not about the EU possibly suing EA, it's just reporting that last year the EU passed a Bill guaranteeing protection for downloaded goods (games, music etc.) which allowed users who buy the item the power to resell it. more info: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregvoakes/2012/07/03/european-courts-rule-in-favor-of-consumers-reselling-downloaded-games/

In the bill it was clearly stated that the purchasing of an online item means the customer is gets full ownership of the product: "Such a transaction involves a transfer of the right of ownership of the copy." This means that members of the EU are guaranteed a refund within 14 days as would be their right with any other regular product, Americans unfortunately don't have this protection, so EA can still refuse to refund them by slabbering on about how it's a 'service not a product'. It is true that a refusal to obey this EU law could lead to being sued by the EU, but until we hear of anyone from the EU that was refused a refund within 14 days it probably won't happen.

I was however incredibly interested in this:

But the Consumerist reported some people did in fact get refunds using a tactic called the ?executive email carpet bomb,? which is a technique where you issue your complaint directly to the company?s top executives. Can?t find their email addresses? Consumerist talks you through an executive email carpet bomb here.

Does that mean I can Goatse Riccitiello's personal work email? SWEET!

 

[Lilani]

I don't see how calling it a "service" can effectively cover their asses. Even if they convince the EU it's a service, it's a shitty service that does not do what they said it would, and refunds are still in order.

 

[Weaver]

I don't see how calling it a "service" can effectively cover their asses. Even if they convince the EU it's a service, it's a shitty service that does not do what they said it would, and refunds are still in order.

This is basically my thoughts on the matter. Insurance is a service, for instance. It's like paying them for a service but they just don't send you a pink slip for your car.