Stardock announces "Gamer's Bill of Rights"

Braidedheadman · 08-30-2008, 11:52 PM

As per the topic, Stardock Corporation, makers of such games as Galactic Civilizations II, Sins of a Solar Empire, and soon Demigod, announced the "Gamer's Bill of Rights" yesterday on their website. This comes at a time when there is much heated debate about SecuROM's latest DRM features, especially with respect to limited lifetime installation activations, as they are included in such popular titles as Mass Effect and up-coming Spore.

Quote:

The Gamer’s Bill of Rights:

Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
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.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
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.
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 view this as incredibly good news and a victory for gamers' and consumers' rights to fair use of the products we purchase. It may be a PR stunt to take PC market share away from EA, but at least Stardock has the balls to man up and own up to their customers in this manner.

Discuss.

Greenen72 · 08-31-2008, 01:34 AM

Very nice.
I think they hit it mostly on the spot.

Random · 08-31-2008, 01:59 AM

Is it just me that thinks that most of that is aimed at the new security features on Spore and Mass Effect?

Apart from that they are all great ideas that should go without saying.

**Ikonic** · 08-31-2008, 07:16 AM

unfortunately, this is all rhetoric and won't change a thing.

Braidedheadman · 08-31-2008, 07:40 AM

Perhaps. But Stardock already publishes there games under similar guidelines:

SoaSE was published sans DRM, disc checks, or the need for the disc to be in the tray. I haven't had a single problem with the game; it runs perfectly and is extremely well balanced from all that I can tell. It does not load any 3rd part applications or run programs in the background that impact the performance of my PC and I'm under no obligation to connect to the Internet when I want to play the game at all. I haven't had a chance to test out the first item, returning the discs for a full refund, because I don't want to put that to the test; the game is that good.

But what's most important to me, more than anything else, is that I don't feel like I'm automatically Stardock's criminal in their view; I'm their customer. And what's more, I'm more than happy to make it a repeat experience.

Companies like EA (and, indeed, specifically EA) have none of these things going for them, which is why the document I linked to in the OP sounds kind of like a PR stunt to take market shares away from EA. And power to them for trying! I can only hope that they either clean EA's clocks in this PR battle, or EA drops the gloves and comes out fighting and does right by their customers for a change. Either way, it's win-win for me. Indeed, for all of us.

**jaymind** · 08-31-2008, 10:58 PM

Stardock is one of my favorite developers and I always go out of my way to buy games they publish (Gal Civ, Gal Civ II, SoaSE). It's funny how they manage to make a ton of money without treating their customers like criminals or idiots.

**Santa** · 08-31-2008, 11:17 PM

Agree with all of them except a few.

Quote:

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

Unless you bought it for a computer that doesnt meet the minimum requirements. The company shouldn't be screwed because you were too stupid to look at what the minimum requirements were. However, if you do meet the minimum requirements and it doesnt work, you should get your money back. For instance, I should have gotten my money back for FFOW because they did not mention that you had to have a dual core to be able to run it.

Quote:

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.

Steam is a great thing. Granted, most (all?) others suck balls, but I like steam for the fact that I never have to buy a physical CD/DVD. This is probably the direction most companies will go to in the future, even if they just end up making a deal with Steam to have their games distributed through it which many companies have already done.

Quote:

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

Im a bit on the fence with this one. Although I dont necessarily appreciate being considered a potential criminal, its naive to think that most gamers are honest. The company just needs to realize where the line is drawn between making sure they keep losses at a minimum and being too invasive.