Poll: Should pre-ordering automatically make you eligible for a refund?

[unindexedsearchengine]

With this whole Aliens:Colonial Marines fiasco, and everybody going apeshit on the concept of pre-ordering, this popped into mind.
Provided there is no hands-on, playable demo for a game that is consistent with the final product's quality, should people who pre-order a game be eligible for a refund just by pre-ordering? There is no way to asses the product prior to launch besides biased marketing and unreliable trailers. Occasionally we get a game or two which lived up to the marketing, but that's about as rare as a ginger asian.
There is the issue of someone thoroughly enjoying the game, however using their refund-voucher after finishing it, but certain measures could be taken, along with developers trusting us. People are more likely to buy your stuff if you go that extra centimeter, instead of taking ten steps back into DRMville.

With developers throwing minuscule "pre-order bonuses" around, how about the right to a refund be a mandatory bonus for pre-ordering?

EDIT: A lot of people are assuming two things here: 1. that I personally have indeed been screwed by aliens:colonial marines. I have not, and I do not own the game, I merely used it as an example. And 2. that I endorse this idea and think it's a good one. I merely asked the forum's opinion about it, I didn't say it actually should be implemented.

And when it comes to risk-assessment then pre-release info is the only thing we can go on, so false marketing is the developer's fault, not the customers.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well it should be a simple matter of confirming the purchase on launch instead of them forcing you to have it no questions asked.

You could also try being sensible and not pay for shit you don't know, then they would haveto abandon this bullshit all together.

 

[Epic Bear Man]

Honestly it should just be up to the publisher to do that. If the publisher doesn't, rethink your decision to get the game you're thinking of getting. If they do, even more reason to purchase the game and trust the publisher for the moment.

 

[hazabaza1]

You should be given the chance to back out until it gets dispatched or enabled online or whatever.
If you get it, play it and think it's bad, well... tough shit, basically. You knew you were taking a gamble, and if you're being smart you really shouldn't order something unless you know you're near certain to like it.

 

[Little Gray]

You should try shopping at gamestop more often. They have a seven day no questions asked return policy on brand new games. You can return a crappy game within the week for full money back or if you want to can beat the game and return it within the time period.


As for your point no. What you are talking about is some seriously entitled bullshit right there. Its not like they are forcing you to buy the dam game or anything. Your an adult and you made a decision so you should have to live with it. Sometimes games dont turn out the way you like it but thinking you deserve a refund because you preordered is just plain ridiculous.

 

[krazykidd]

Nope . If you want to pre-order you should live with the consequences if the game turns out bad . That doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to cancel your pre-order before they ship the game / pre-order items to you . But once you have those things ( or they are sent to you ) you should no longer be entitled to a refund.

As if people were forced to pre-order . Yes Gearbox screwed people over , but pre-ordering with no information is the dumbest thing anyone could do , and quite frankly you reap what you sow . What should happen is people should learn from this experience and not pre-order ever again . But people in general are stupid and never learn.

 

[FinalDream]

The website I pre-order at has a general policy for returns, for unopened games, seven days after launch. As far as I can remember. So no danger for me!

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Absolutely not. Be very careful. You're veering right into entitled-gamer territory here.

The publisher is not held responsible for if you didn't like the game or not. If it's flawed physically or electronically then yes, you should get a refund. If you just didn't like the game then tough. That was the risk you took when you bought it.

That's like trying a new food in the supermarket and asking for a refund because you didn't like the taste. The risk is yours.

 

[ClockworkUniverse]

"Should" doesn't enter into it. It does not. Therefore, be very careful when preordering.

 

[Doom972]

There isn't a certain way that it should or shouldn't be. The whole point of getting you to pre-order is to get you to buy it on faith. To avoid such things from happening again, don't rush to throw your money on a game that hasn't come out yet.

I pre-ordered 2 physical copies of games in he past, and I wasn't asked to pay up front. I payed when the game arrived, and I could've backed out at any point. I understand that it doesn't work like that in all countries/stores.

As for digital pre-orders, Steam allows you to make the pre-order until the last minute, so what's the rush? Wait for reviews and pre-order at the last moment.

 

[DoPo]

I don't see a reason. If you're worried about your money possibly going for something you don't like...well, just don't preorder, then. It's that simple, I think. You don't have to do it in the first place. I'll be in favour of a system where you can hold a copy, possibly putting some money down from the start, and pay for it after the game comes out, say a week. So this way you have a copy waiting for you and you decide you don't want it, you don't get it.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

You should try shopping at gamestop more often. They have a seven day no questions asked return policy on brand new games. You can return a crappy game within the week for full money back or if you want to can beat the game and return it within the time period.

Your GameStop must follow different rules than mine. At my GameStop, once you open the game you can't return it, you can only trade it. You can only exchange it if the product is physically defective, but once you tear open that cellophane that's all you can do, short of trading it in for in-store credit. At mine, the 7 day return policy applies to pre-owned games. :/

 

[shadyh8er]

Well if it did entitle me to a refund I might actually pre-order something. I literally never pre-order, it just feels like jumping the gun. Not to mention the last two games I thought about pre-ordering disappointed (Resident Evil 6 and Tekken Tag 2 for those wondering).

But to answer your question, I think it should. People shouldn't be punished for jumping the gun like that.

 

[theultimateend]

Absolutely not. Be very careful. You're veering right into entitled-gamer territory here.

The publisher is not held responsible for if you didn't like the game or not. If it's flawed physically or electronically then yes, you should get a refund. If you just didn't like the game then tough. That was the risk you took when you bought it.

That's like trying a new food in the supermarket and asking for a refund because you didn't like the taste. The risk is yours.

Your example is poor because you CAN do that.

If you get food that is disgusting (even subjectively) you can return it at any major supermarket in the entire US.

 

[lacktheknack]

Absolutely not. Be very careful. You're veering right into entitled-gamer territory here.

The publisher is not held responsible for if you didn't like the game or not. If it's flawed physically or electronically then yes, you should get a refund. If you just didn't like the game then tough. That was the risk you took when you bought it.

That's like trying a new food in the supermarket and asking for a refund because you didn't like the taste. The risk is yours.

Around here, you can do that.

I think it's ridiculous, but there you go.

 

[Omniponent]

It would be nice, but from a business standpoint it doesn't make sense. You can cancel pre-orders at will up until the game comes out and if you don;t like it, then its the same as buying a game on the day of release and saying you don't like it. It doesn't matter. Plus, most often I only ever pre-order games I have some faith in the fact that its going to be good, for one reason or another. Halo games and Call of Duty are good examples because love em or hate em you know what they're going to be like when you turn on your system and start playing.

 

[The_Great_Galendo]

Well, I suppose in part it depends on the pre-order system used (do you need to pay upfront or not), but in general, no, it shouldn't automatically entitle you to a refund, unless the product is defective.

That being said, I'm about halfway convinced that most people pre-ordering games or buying day one are 1) suckers who more or less deserve to be screwed ("A fool and his money..."), and 2) actively hurting the game industry by encouraging publishers' shady behavior (no demos, misleading demos, no early reviews, etc). This doesn't apply in all cases, but it seems to fit an awful lot of them.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I had a post ready where I lamented the lack of a refund option in all instances regarding video games, but I realized the can of worms it would open on the publisher's end. I don't even want to call it devil's advocate to give them the benefit of the doubt, but that could turn into a glorified rental system very fast. Not to mention "the game was shit" as it relates to something like A:CM is entirely subjective. Would refunds be allowed based on the Metacritic score? I don't think there's anything wrong with the current system (at least in the US right now), where you're covered on the physical disc itself. If it doesn't literally work, you can get the same game back with a disc that presumably should work.

We have reviews, each other, let's plays and common sense to decide if we're gonna get shafted on a purchase. If you decide to put the money down before the ability to take advantage of those things...well then that's your prerogative I guess. I don't really see the benefit there (especially on Steam where the number of copies is limitless), and I certainly don't think that would afford you any special protections.