460°

Law firm planning Class Action Lawsuit against Bethesda for not fulfilling Fallout 76 refunds

A law firm is planning a Class Action Lawsuit against Bethesda for Deceptive Trade Practices as they failed to fulfill refunds for Fallout 76.

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gearnuke.com
ArchangelMike2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Good. No company should be given a free pass when it comes to anti-consumerist practices; and especially Bethesda who send their lawyers after people who try to trade games that they have rightfully bought. I hope hope Bethesda get a strong dose of their own medicine.

Edit: No one can convince me that "digital" is the way we should go. It only enables anti-consumer practices like these even more. "You can't get a refund because you bought it digitally" - my a$$. Companies like Stream, etc have been offering refunds on digital games for ages now.

chris2352013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

sorry, going digital is the future if not already reality. you clingers to physical data carriers are a dying breed. this is a hard fact. personally, i am so glad that those dustcatchers are on their way out. there are methods to tell shady devs to back off: do not buy bad products. easy.

xenz2013d ago

I believe that both digital and physical can co-exist, forever. Some People simply just prefer to buy physical, and its a stupid business idea to exclude such a huge portion of gamers.

I personally prefer digital. But that doens't mean there can't be both.

CorndogBurglar2013d ago

As if anyone is going to listen to what you have to say. You never have anything even remotely positive to say. It just figures that you would back up Bethesda by saying "do not buy bad products", as if there was any indication that Fallout 76 would be the disaster it is. Sure people were upset about the MP only part. But clearly others didn't mind it. But there wasn't anything suggesting the game would be the giant mess it is. Even though Bethesda is known for releasing games with bugs, they were never this bad. And this game is just boring mess even without the bugs.

Shiken2013d ago

You buy digital then and I will buy physical. Your way of thinking is narrow minded and selfish. But then, nothing you say gets taken seriously anyway, soooo....

elazz2013d ago

No no nope. You know that many people don't spend hours on the internet searching for mistakes in games. If you buy a product and tis faulty you should be able to return it. Regardless whether it was known by some in advance or not

DJStotty2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

I completely disagree, music still isnt digital only, and how many years has it been since music was digitalised?

Even vinyl is still pressed and sold. Physical will never be obsolete with anything, give me 1 example of something that is digital only please?

WANNAGETHIGH2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Christ not 1 agree and 39 disagrees. I guess is safe to say that physical CD copies are not going anywhere. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Newmanator2013d ago

"Dying breed" *has 42 Dislikes 0 Likes*

JesusBuiltmyHotrod2013d ago

An idiot is born every minute...

Kados2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

If you are fine with not actually owning the games you buy, only having a licence to play the game, which can be revoked at any time for any reason, not being able to resell, and not being able to go back and play it 20 years from now, so be it. You are in the minority though. 90% of gamers still prefer physical media, for good reason.

With physical, you can also back up all your games once CFW comes out. You will then have digital copies for convenience, while still retaining all the benefits of physical media.

4Sh0w2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

I love digital BUT Iam so glad Bethesda will be held accountable for not fullfilling their end of the bargain & yes digital can be REFUNDED, game data/license removed/deleted & even traded just like physical, personally I don't miss going to Gamestop or ever touching a disc= Im almost 44yrs old, between family & work I value my time few hrs per week, CONVENIENCE IS ABSOLUTELTY PARAMOUNT, gaming trade ins of a few dollars for a $60 game I bought a few months ago means absolutely nothing to me, thus I haven't bought a physical game in like 4yrs, not 1, Im.so spoiled I secretly hate when 1 of my family members gifts me a physical game, haha but thats just me.

bigmalky2013d ago

Did using capitals die off too?

ajax172013d ago

Digital is only great for deep sales like PSN flash sales. And of course indie games.

But until they stop making improvements to disc space and read speeds, I don't see physical going away. Plus not everyone has gigabit internet. I hate spending literally days downloading a 50-60 gb game

Artemidorus2012d ago

It's examples like this failure of a company that gives us physical enjoyers ammunition to say we are not going digital until new laws and rules are put in place.

You new generation lot are a throw away society with anything, never look and appreciate the nostalgic value in something in your hand and fire up after a very long time.

rainslacker2012d ago (Edited 2012d ago )

Thank you for letting us know. Nothing like a conformist to tell us what the future holds. Always enjoy seeing someone who is willing to accept whatever is put in front of them with open arm with complete disregard for what would be good for them as a consumer.

Why do you care if physical sticks around? Physical existing has no effect on digital. Physical disappearing won't in any way make digital better. The crappy industry practices exist between both formats. Consumers have more rights with those dust catcher, but you seem to have a personal vendetta with them...and that's just not healthy.

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 2012d ago
Seraphim2013d ago

I certainly don't commend Bethesda for releasing a hot buggy mess but when it comes to software sales once the game is open retailers don't accept returns or offer refunds. Why should this be an different. Granted in some rare cases one might be able to get a manager or employee who doesn't know better to approve a refund but every single stores policy on software is no returns once opened. If defective you can exchange it for a shiny new copy.

While they certainly screwed the pooch and had to have known just how bad it was and instead of doing the right thing and just delaying it till Q1-Q4 '19... Considering how buggy all their games are at release perhaps they just figured this would fly among their players. After all I can't think of a single Bethesada game that wasn't a buggy mess. I have to side with Bethesda here. Why should digital sales be different from physical. Once the sale is made and the game opened refunds are not an option. Ultimately consumers need to make better decisions. Perhaps this will teach millions of gamers to do their due diligence before jumping head first into any game regardless of it's title or what IP it comes from. I've always had a great track record but a few games during the PS2 era made me realize I needed to be cautious about exactly what I'm buying. Since then haven't bought a single turd.

Andy_Dee2013d ago

Retailers do refund. WB gave refunds for Batman and it didn't matter physical or digital so why not?

A good company should recognize when mistakes have been made or having released a bad product and accept refunds. Simply put. Be service minded towards your customers!!

DJStotty2013d ago

Even i know Bethesda games especially fallout and elder scrolls, always have lots of bugs at launch.

If you bought the game expecting it to be bug free then i feel sorry for you. No game is without a day one patch or bugs.

JackBNimble2013d ago

I can't take any opened physical game and return it to any retail store anywhere and get a refund. All I can do is exchange it for another copy of the same game.

WANNAGETHIGH2013d ago

Good , we as consumers need to start calling out crap game when we see it. It’s not like they give us the game for free, we pay 60$ for a game at least let us have our money’s worth. I will never shit on a game developer because it’s not my field and I know how hard it is to develope a game, I will always give credit where credit is due. But in this case Bethesda deserves all the backlash they are getting.

JackBNimble2013d ago

Sure, you have a point, but at the same time people were questioning the quality of the game and calling it out long before release.
Even here on N4g and Reddit there was so much negativity about 76 and that should have been a huge warning sign.

I get it, we are a small minority on these sites but it's not like the info wasn't right there. I mean who the hell goes out and buys games and does absolutely no research?

milohighclub2012d ago (Edited 2012d ago )

I buy digital n wouldn't have it another way. When I lost my job I had to sell my pro to male rent, when I had the cash to get another I still had my library. If I bought physical i'd have to rebuy an entire gens worth of games.

I fully support digital but agree things need to change when it comes to refunds. Or there should be laws against review embargo.

The lesson is, if a dev is known for buggy games or has a poor release history. Don't buy day one.

rainslacker2012d ago

You'd only have to rebuy it if you sold your physical games too. In your situation, you could have sold those games as well, and gotten more money when you needed it. Digital made that impossible, unless you happen to find someone to buy your account, which is hard to do. In which case, you'd be in the same position.

You're making a positive for digital over two non-equal parts.

I agree about the consumer rights surrounding digital should be worked more into the customers interests though, and I have no problem if you prefer digital.

milohighclub2012d ago

Yeah that's true but I didn't want to sell my games as well, I knew I would be getting another PlayStation in the future.
If I had of bought physical, I would have sold them as well meaning i'd of made a massive loss on the games and had to spend a whole lot more to get them back.

Because there are positives to buying digital, just as there are to buying physical.
Both have pros and cons and a place in gaming.

For me digital is the way forward, its not for everybody, but it's not a bad way to go.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2012d ago
ufo8mycat2013d ago

I HOPE this succeeds. The gaming industry is like the Wild West where publishers can DELIBERATELY release either broken or garbage games with no consequences. There needs to be laws in place to prevent this kind of practice.

Gwiz2013d ago

I'm not surprised,it's better this happens before gaming as a whole shifts towards streaming.
This should've happened earlier IMO.

KillZallthebeast2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Getting tired of these articles 76 is a fun game even if it isn't fallout

Edit: pre reply to all the disagrees have you even played it yourself

CorndogBurglar2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Yes I played it and it sucks. You know how you can tell a game actually sucks or not? Look at all the negative feedback it was getting pre-launch, then compare it to feedback post launch. If it is similar feedback, then the game really does suck.

Look at Pokemon Let's Go. People were tearing that game apart as soon as the reveal trailer came out. But a day or two after launch you see all these reviews giving it great scores, players saying they love it live streamers making videos about how great it is, and journalists writing articles about how good it is and how wrong they were.

That's how you know a good game was pre-judged. But when a game releases and it gets abysmal reviews, articles complaining about its bugs, and players demanding refunds then you know you have a bad game on your hands.

Sorry, but this isn't a matter of a game being average. It's just a bad game. Period. But hey, its okay to like bad games.

DJStotty2013d ago

the only problem i have with it so far is not enough inventory storage space for all my junk.

Other than that me and my friends are hooked

chippychan2013d ago (Edited 2013d ago )

Good comparison with the whole Pokemon Let's Go games... that got so much hate when it was announced but now people are loving it after it actually released. Fallout 76 got so much hate when it was announced and now people are still giving it so much hate after it actually released.

It really does tell you something about how a GOOD game can turn people's opinions around and it really seems like Fallout 76 just isn't really a good game.

KillZallthebeast2012d ago

I don't disagree entirely but fallout fans are far more militant than pokemon fans could dream of being

DJStotty2013d ago

Its just from salty fanboys who wanted a single player fallout. nothing more nothing less

isa_scout2013d ago

The game is more fun with friends, but isn't every game? I am only a level 14 so only a few hours in and its absolute garbage. When a game has 80Gbs worth of post launch updates within two weeks you know something is seriously wrong.

CorndogBurglar2013d ago

Really? Everyone that bought this game were well aware that it was not a single player Fallout. All the reviewers were also well aware of that. All the very valid complaints have nothing to do with it not being single player.

Again, it's okay to like bad games. I've liked my share in the past. But you can't try to justify all the negative reviews and people's dislike of the game by saying they are just mad it's not single player lol. The negative points are valid and exist, whether you want to acknowledge them or not.

Hungryalpaca2013d ago

I’m not a salty fanboy. I’m not even a huge fallout fan. The game sucks. The quests are boring, repetitive fetch quests or go here kill this. The graphics are horrendous, the physics are broken, the game runs like my ass after a Taco Bell buffet, it’s glicthed beyond belief, there is NO security meaning anyone can mess up your game, there is no endgame, the story is robots and audio logs (yawn), the controls are TERRIBLE and unresponsive, my 1080 barely gets above 25 fps. I get 90 in fallout 4.

No. It’s not the fanboys. It’s bethesda releasing a garbage game. YOURE the fanboy blindly defending shit.

WillyC0092013d ago

I've played it. Its trash, period. Your opinion may differ but you are by far in the minority. Dont try and paint everyone with the same brush. Not even making this game single player would have saved it.

Cobra9512013d ago

I *am* a "salty" fanboy of Bethesda's traditional SP games. I wanted this lazy cash grab to crash and burn. But I didn't make it happen. Bethesda did that all on their own. And I am so very happy that 76 is circling the drain.

4Sh0w2013d ago

lol, Cobra, personallyI never WANT to see a game fail even if its not my cup of tea....but I do think devs & pubs deserve what they get when it seems they release cash grab games instead of a sincere attempt to make a great gaming experience.....but lol at least you're being honest.

DJStotty2012d ago

If you dont like the game, trade it in, its simple.

My personal opinion of the game is its good, granted its not perfect but what game is. How can other players wreck your game? They cant kill you unless you return fire.

Some people will like it others wont, its personal preference

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2012d ago
Hungryalpaca2013d ago

I have played it. It’s awful. It’s stupid easy when it’s not glitching out. It’s a giant fetch quest for robots. There is literally nothing interesting in it.

KillZallthebeast2012d ago (Edited 2012d ago )

4 was stupid easily regardless of the difficulty and was mostly fetch quests

Edit: you think preston asking for your help was unique?

Show all comments (70)
80°

Every PlayStation Studios game available now on Windows PC

Windows Central writes: "Many PlayStation Studios games that are ported to PC get dedicated PS5 DualSense support, which allows users to experience haptic feedback and adaptive trigger support without actually having to own a PS5.

According to Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, it's still the company's intent to launch the bigger single-player games on PS5 first, before later bringing the games to PC. This might not be the case for multiplayer games however, which are considered okay to launch simultaneously on console and PC."

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windowscentral.com
ocelot0712h ago

My guess is after god of war. Probably last of us 2 that's a almost 4 year old game now and by the time it's released on pc it will be more than 4 years old or close to 5.

Elda6h ago

Every old Playstation game that is now on PC.

XiNatsuDragnel5h ago

Good at least they can sell hardware

210°

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie

Former Activision studio Toys for Bob partners with Xbox to publish its first game as an indie. This is something of a homecoming, as Microsoft owns Activision.

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engadget.com
Obscure_Observer22h ago

Very very early in development. Still, fantastic news!

Let´s GO!!!

Lightning7720h ago

I guess.

How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )

At least it wouldn't be MS of all ppl destroying them.

MS really should let go Tango go like they did TFB here.

darthv7220h ago(Edited 20h ago)

one was under Bethesda (Tango) the other under Activision (TFB). Clearly each one handled the separations of their subordinates differently.

Obscure_Observer19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

"How come they didnt either let them go or sell Tango and others to another publisher? Not saying Ubisoft, EA would be any better. (Capcome would of treated them right )"

Perhaps because Zenimax and ABK handles such matters differently based on their own internal policies as "independent" publishers.

Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future. Which could also be the reason why they ensured an exclusive partnership with TFB and its new game, before anyone else.

Sad and disgusting. But it is what it is.

Lightning7716h ago(Edited 16h ago)

"Whoever, chances are it´s simply because MS didn´t wanted Tango or Austin to be acquired by competitors and develop new bangers for them, giving MS a bad rep in a possible future."

MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB.

It's inexcusable, they have options on how to handle studios they don't want anymore with killing jobs. Not just MS but the rest of the industry also.

Sad and disgusting sure how many will get shut down next year or this year even?

I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another.

Obscure_Observer8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

"MS has a bad rep now because those studios are no more. I rather them sell the studio continue to make multiplatform releases, while MS continues to focus on whatever they're doing. If they didn't want Tango around they should separated from them or sell them to, like they did TFB."

Imo, MS separated from TFB because they didn´t had a game associated with Xbox yet, unlike Tango.

"I don't trust MS decisions and motivations at this point. You have to admit they make one dumb move after another."

Fair enough. It was indeed an epic dumb move from them to close Tango.

Still, all to be forgotten, like always have. This is not the first time a big publisher shuts down a beloved and/or successful studio out of nowhere and certainly won´t be the last. Do you remember Lionhead? Do you remember Evolution Studios? Yeah... both were beloved studios and yet, those companies kill those studios in q blink of an eye and got away with it.

anast6h ago(Edited 6h ago)

The studio boss made some money from this transaction. Once the game releases, the studio will get chopped up.

-Foxtrot22h ago

Manages to buy their freedom especially after all the shit Microsoft has been doing with its studios lately

...

Goes right back to them as partners.

Okaaaaaay...

darthv7220h ago

Id venture a guess that TFB working directly with MS was a better outcome than working through Activision to get to MS.

VersusDMC18h ago

From the article...

"Toys for Bob spun out as an indie back in February after Microsoft instituted sweeping layoffs that impacted 86 employees, which was more than half of the staff"

I doubt those 86 employees enjoyed the Microsoft experience over Activisions.

Inverno18h ago

MS shuts down studios because of lack of resources and then helps these guys by giving em resources. Also MS is what forced them to buy their freedom in the first place? What kind of logic 😂

Chevalier15h ago

The best thing is that the company that is worth $3 trillion and owns the company instead of Xbox lacks resources. How the hell does a company worth $3 trillion making a measly $70 billion purchase they 'can't' support. Lol

Sciurus_vulgaris20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Xbox’s gaming division seems to still function as 3 semi-autonomous sub-divisions, Xbox Studios, Bethesda and ABK. The three main sub-divisions can seemingly shut down or build studios and set up partnerships independently. This would explain why Bethesda can recently shutdown studios, while ABK spins off one studio, while building a new one. Plus, Toys for Bob could be spun off by ABK, only to immediately re-partner with Microsoft.

Chevalier15h ago

That's absolutely 💯 BS. Any sane 'autonomous' company would NOT put their games on Gamepass day 1 like COD will lose probably billions.

Also they're all under Xbox game studios so any autonomy is an illusion.

PhillyDonJawn2h ago

No, I'm sure MS can and does step in when they want something done specifically but I'm also sure they let them also work independently

Elda15h ago

Either a kiddie game or something uninteresting.

Obscure_Observer8h ago

Don´t worry. You won´t be playing it anyway since their next game will possible be a next gen Xbox console game.

PhillyDonJawn2h ago

Right probably something like astrobot

romulus232h ago

Nah he said "uninteresting", lots of people are interested in Astro Bot.

Elda14m ago

Never Astro Bot. Astro Bot looks better than any exclusive released on XB this entire generation & believe there hasn't been much.

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130°

What Happens to Your Steam Account When You Die?

The Outerhaven writes: While Steam has come out recently, stating that Steam accounts can't be transferred, we need to think about it since we all will eventually kick the bucket. But if Valve is denying transferring accounts, what can be done? Plenty, actually.

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theouterhaven.net
thorstein1d 23h ago

It goes to my kids because I gave them the passwords.

To Steam: Missio has a song that conveys my feelings about you stealing my purchase after I die. It's called "Middle Fingers"

shinoff21831d 4h ago

Pretty much. My son knows my info.

Abear211d 4h ago

Yeah worrying about digital ownership when you’re on the other side of the grass seems a little strange, but also on brand for these millennial journalists to worry about.

qalpha13h ago

I'm sure Keith will be happy to hear he's a millennial journalist.

Goodguy011d 8h ago

I suppose if I have kids, I'd just give em my account details by retirement age. If I die young then...idk lol.

CrimsonWing691d 6h ago

Yea, I mean just give someone the password to your account. Is that difficult to do or something? Like, I’m legit asking because I don’t know.

anast1d 4h ago (Edited 1d 4h ago )

It's not difficult but It's against the policy. If they find out, they will lock the account permanently.

CrimsonWing691d 3h ago

Ah ok, I had a feeling there was something like that. It seems kind of weird that you can’t just hand your account over to a family member or friend and let them take over the account.

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