New Refund Policy, for EA Games.

[Jamie]

Steam was the first gaming platform I ever used, I was introduced to it 15 years ago.

Over 15 years the content provided has become vast, new sections such as green light and early access started to appear, these games usually came at a hefty price with almost no guarantee that you will be able to play it the moment you buy it, but they have flooded the market almost every game people are playing on my lists is in alpha, beta or early access. with no real promise dates in sight.

But as gamers we shop with our eyes and generally on impulse since we can link credit cards..

my discussion i would like to have is if I'm alone in the thought there should be certain stipulations of early access games, such as if the dev's abandon it and steam stops supporting the game or selling it completely. a Refund should extend past the period they have in the ToS.

I feel the trust i had in the games steam is supporting and advertising to me to purchase is failing, I bought counter strike 1.6 and warcraft 3 the frozen throne 15 years ago and i can still log in and play those games today.

When did steam stop caring about the quality of the games it was selling to us?

When did we become the one to carry the financial burden of failed games and bad marketing decisions?

[Chompman]

The issue is who would pay the money back?

Steam should not have to repay it as they don't have all the money nor will they be able to get the money back from the devs as the money would had been transferred to their accounts and you cannot really go after that legally without a huge legal team.

As for the quality of the games these days many games failed back in the early days of steam and before and we had no way to get our money back then usually but it's just more options these days and EA is always a risk these days.

If steam no longer allowed EA games then you would have to remove a ton of games on steam and they would be killed off even faster without any kind of support system they have relied on as many successful ones have launched because of it.

Either accept this is the new "meta" of gaming or only go for fully released games.

[LowJack_VA1]

Originally posted by Chompman:

The issue is who would pay the money back?

Steam should not have to repay it as they don't have all the money nor will they be able to get the money back from the devs as the money would had been transferred to their accounts and you cannot really go after that legally without a huge legal team.

As for the quality of the games these days many games failed back in the early days of steam and before and we had no way to get our money back then usually but it's just more options these days and EA is always a risk these days.

If steam no longer allowed EA games then you would have to remove a ton of games on steam and they would be killed off even faster without any kind of support system they have relied on as many successful ones have launched because of it.

Either accept this is the new "meta" of gaming or only go for fully released games.

The honest truth.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Bones:

I feel the trust i had in the games steam is supporting and advertising to me to purchase is failing, I bought counter strike 1.6 and warcraft 3 the frozen throne 15 years ago and i can still log in and play those games today.

The issue you're mentioning here isn't specific to games in EA. Have a google for Darkspore. A fully released game that isn't playable anymore because the online servers were shut down.
It has nothing to do with Early Access, it has all to do with the change in gaming that everything needs to be connected online.

Originally posted by Bones:

When did we become the one to carry the financial burden of failed games and bad marketing decisions?

That never changed. When a bad game came out 15-25 years ago, you couldn't refund it either when you went longer than the store policy. You could sell it with luck, but that's about it.

With EA games it's the same. They are labelled as unfinished and that you should only purchase it if you're happy with the state it is on that moment. The thing most people somehow don't realize is that they should not expect any further updates as part of the sale.
In that regard they're nothing different than fully released games, as they also can be a crapshoot where you can be lucky to get the updates it needs.

[LowJack_VA1]

Same old EA arguments, as I recall, the blue & white box sets the expectations, they just need to read.

[Crazy Tiger]

People need to manage their expectations. That's not different with EA games as with fully released games. Only difference is that EA games are actually labelled as unfinished, where fully released games are not and certainly can feel unfinished.

But I actually forgot to quote one of the more important parts of the OP.

Originally posted by Bones:

But as gamers we shop with our eyes and generally on impulse since we can link credit cards..

Yeah, don't buy on impulse. Certainly not EA games.

[XistenZ]

EA games are sold at like 50% of what the releaseprice would be, you acknowldege that you might loose this money, at the gamble that you might actually gain about the same amount should the game get finished.

It's up to each and every one to evaluate if the risk is worth it depending on current state of game, devlogs and whatnot.

[wuddih]

in case you missed that on every early access store page in a very noticable blue box.

Early Access Game
Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

if you do not understand this, there is a very simple solution for you:
do not buy any early access games.

Originally posted by Bones:

When did steam stop caring about the quality of the games it was selling to us?

they never stopped caring because they never started to begin with. there was never a quality control on Steam and there never will be.

[AmsterdamHeavy]

Absolutely not. Why?

Because of the below. If people cant read that text and comprehend the implications, then they dont deserve anything.

Early Access Game
Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

[Brian9824]

No change needed, just do your research and wait if you can't take a risk.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Bones:

my discussion i would like to have is if I'm alone in the thought there should be certain stipulations of early access games, such as if the dev's abandon it and steam stops supporting the game or selling it completely. a Refund should extend past the period they have in the ToS

So who's gonna front the refund money? If the dev has abandoned the game and Steam has stopped selling, there is gonna be no funds to compensate the players with.

Just like investments, you assume the risk with your money on something that may not come to fruition. If it fails, you take it on the chin.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Bones:

But as gamers we shop with our eyes and generally on impulse since we can link credit cards..

No that's something you and a few other silly people do.

my discussion i would like to have is if I'm alone in the thought there should be certain stipulations of early access games, such as if the dev's abandon it and steam stops supporting the game or selling it completely. a Refund should extend past the period they have in the ToS.

Why?
None of those factors were guaranteed in the ToS.

I feel the trust i had in the games steam is supporting and advertising to me to purchase is failing, I bought counter strike 1.6 and warcraft 3 the frozen throne 15 years ago and i can still log in and play those games today.

yeah but try to get a game of Warcraft 2 going :p.

When did steam stop caring about the quality of the games it was selling to us?

Quality is a highly etherial thing when it comes to entertainment products. It's possible to have fun playing a flawed game, and its equally possible to be bored playing a polished game.

When did we become the one to carry the financial burden of failed games and bad marketing decisions?

Okay firstly. When you buy an Early Access game you are told quite explicitly that you are buying an unfinished game. Not a game that will be finished, you are simply buying an unfinished game. ANything beyond that unfinished state is bonus content. You did not understand this...that is your fault.

You are explcitly told not to buy unless the current state of the game as it is appeals to you. You not following that guideline is your fault.

Thusly your decision to purchase is your decision. It's not the deve or steam's fault that you regret your decisions later. That's yours.

[The Rock God]

In the >5 years EA has been a thing, I have yet to see a convincing post on why EA games should have special refund rules.
One day, perhaps; but today is not that day.

[Ganger]

Originally posted by XistenZ:

EA games are sold at like 50% of what the releaseprice would be, you acknowldege that you might loose this money, at the gamble that you might actually gain about the same amount should the game get finished.

It's up to each and every one to evaluate if the risk is worth it depending on current state of game, devlogs and whatnot.

Im with you on this one. It does state clearly that the game may or may not be finished and people should be aware of this before buying.

I mostly won't touch early access games seen being burned on buying 'The forest' and 'neither'. I know now both games finished now but back then I didn't have a clue if development would continue or not. To be honest, people should really stay away from early access titles unless they know what EA is.

[Jamie]

So I let people go off hoping at least one person would come with a feasible rational argument that isn't obvious.

the same old reply that they use "Do you not read"
"It's early access" etc

Im not here asking for a refund for the 10-15 EA games i've purchased so you can put that to rest there kiddos.

im speaking in terms of What steam itself is supporting, they are supporting a newer system of games being sold to us that have a shelf life of 6-12 months, i never used to use Origin or battle.net really but i find myself trusting what they are selling me way more than what steam offers...

Half the replies here are useleless and dont offer an sort of feasible argument other than "you know what you're buying"

yes, your damn right i know what im buying and it's the quality of whats been offering is the issue, if your going to sell cheap garbage ♥♥♥♥, sell it with a warranty. or at least offer me one for an extra 5$.

[XistenZ]

Origin and B.net sell their own games, Steam sell anyones games even the "bad" ones.
I think you need to get a basic understanding about what's actually being offered.

Steams refundpolicy of 2 weeks, 2 hrs is generous, an added warranty that you could invoke anytime is just... loss of words.

Sorry our answers isn't up to your expectations, reality can be tough. Kiddo.