Integrity
These are games that we feel were made with integrity. The developers approached these games with honesty in their vision and a holistic sense of design.
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Last Beat: 19th May 2012 / Total Beats: 827 / Total Time: 8569:12 hours
Refund!?
Recently, all kinds of sad folks got up in arms against Microsoft.
These folks were sad for two reasons.
1. They don’t own HDTVs; but you can hardly blame Microsoft for that.
2. When they bought Minecraft XBLA Edition, it completely didn’t work as advertised.
You see, if you want to play Minecraft in 2-player split screen, you MUST own an HDTV.
But nowhere in any of the game’s official descriptions, press releases, or documentation did it ever say this.
So when these poor fools spent $15 on Minecraft expecting to be able to enjoy the full feature set, as advertised, their bubble was burst from Press Start.
OK, so this is lame, yes. But like any product, when it doesn’t do what it says it will, you can just return it for a refund, right?
No. No you can’t.
You see, Microsoft has a remarkable “no returns” policy.
And the thing that’s so remarkable about their no returns policy is that they have figured out a way to get away with lying to their customers--or at least withholding important information--and KEEPING THE MONEY!
This is, of course, technically illegal.
Check out what Wikipedia has to say about false advertising (I understand that using Wikipedia as a source is dubious, but for the handful of you who read our site, please allow me this indulgence).
“As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or misleading advertising. "Truth" refers to essentially the same concept, that customers have the right to know what they are buying, and that all necessary information should be on the label.
False advertising, in the most blatant of contexts, is illegal in most countries. However, advertisers still find ways to deceive consumers in ways that are legal, or technically illegal but unenforceable.”
In case you were curious, the FTC here in the US has decided that false advertising is a big no-no. But of course, Microsoft is way better funded than the FTC, so they fall into the “unenforceable” category.
The bummer is just that. As always, he or she with the bigger pocketbook wins. So, sorry all of you who can’t afford HDTVs. Microsoft (who doesn’t actually NEED your money) has stolen from you and there’s not a goddam thing you can do about it.
I know this from personal experience when I bought Assault Heroes and it didn’t work as advertised. I argued with Microsoft’s “Customer Care” center over the phone for literally 9 months before they finally won and I gave up in trying to get my 800 Microsoft Money Units back from them because they lied to me to get my money. By the time I gave up, the game was still not patched, and I couldn’t play it as advertised. I don’t know if the issue has been fixed yet or not, and I don’t care. In my eyes, I bought a lemon and the seller laughed all the way to the bank.
And that’s just the point; Microsoft can get away with it, and they will steal your money because they’re covered by a no returns policy that they tell you about when you buy something, so I guess “buyer beware”?
Pretty weak for a multi-billion dollar corporation.
Seems to me that if their shit doesn’t work, they should give refunds. But I’m poorer than they are--just like the FTC is--so my opinion clearly doesn’t matter.
But this does give me an idea...
I wonder if my small company of 8 people could make a game, lie to a million consumers, and get away without having to answer for our crimes... Maybe we’ll try this with our next game.
Time to get to work, I guess.
Several overdue beats were added to the site last night! Enjoy!
// 19 May 2012 08:54am
@beatenvideogame
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