Originally Posted by Motoki And if so, wow someone is really giving Sunghost a run for his money.

PenguinJim is the Randy to sunghost's Mr. Lahey.

Fact.

I can't decide if I should get Angry Birds when it's on sale at 75% off, or just assume that all of them are going to make it to Steam and a bundle will be even cheaper. They're also something that could show up in a bundle sooner or later, especially with the android bundles happening.

Bundle, besides aren't they free on phones?

Originally Posted by asheskitty EA disables Cheetah speed, other features to relieve SimCity servers (updated) Leaderboards, achievements, region filters all temporarily shut down.

I only played for a couple of hours (that's all you were allowed for the private beta) but most of that time I did spend in the Cheetah mode. It just makes the most sense with games like Sim City and The Sims to speed up time really fast until you get to the point where you can do something, otherwise it's really like watching paint dry just looking at people walk around and do mundane tasks while you can't act yet.

They really should have done a much, much wider beta test. I'm not sure how I got in, I have vague recollections of signing up for it early on, but I know there were a lot of people who wanted in the beta but were not able to get in.

It boogles my mind that with a game with this sort of infrastructure that they wouldn't do a proper stress test prior to release. They should have made a free weekend for everyone and maybe even bribed people to play with a discount or exclusive in game item or something. Really the more people they could have gotten at once to play the better. You don't just test with a small number of people and then open the floodgates to millions and expect everything will work just the same.

The other thing is it's not like EA doesn't have MMOs. They could have consulted with other divisions. Also I'm sure they were familiar with the D3 launch and what happened there. Really, I don't see how they didn't see this coming a mile away.

Originally Posted by momouchi Bundle, besides aren't they (angry birds) free on phones?

Not only that they are free on the PC too via Chrome apps.

Originally Posted by momouchi Bundle, besides aren't they free on phones?

Free with ads. They cost $1 without on phones and $3 for the HD (tablet) versions.

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I'd probably pick up an Angry Birds bundle. They have what, 5 of them now? So they'll probably put all 5 PC version in a bundle for around $20. If it goes on sale for 75% off I'd buy it at $5 ($1 each). I'm not a huge fan, but they're pretty fun.

This Sim City debacle is getting more and more preposterous by the day. They have a petition on Change.org to remove the DRM, with almost 35,000 "votes". EA is not providing refunds (if purchased there directly) so some users are having to resort to filing charge backs with their bank. EA has said anyone doing this will have their Origin account suspended. Terrible way to handle things, really. And as far as I know, the game is still unplayable even with the patch they put out.

They're also up to over 1,000 1-star reviews on Amazon, although Amazon has started selling the game again. The star rating for that game doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever recovering.

The sad part is, they could have avoided this whole fiasco.

Originally Posted by jshackles I'd probably pick up an Angry Birds bundle. They have what, 5 of them now? So they'll probably put all 5 PC version in a bundle for around $20. If it goes on sale for 75% off I'd buy it at $5 ($1 each). I'm not a huge fan, but they're pretty fun. This Sim City debacle is getting more and more preposterous by the day. They have a petition on Change.org to remove the DRM, with almost 35,000 "votes". EA is not providing refunds (if purchased there directly) so some users are having to resort to filing charge backs with their bank. EA has said anyone doing this will have their Origin account suspended. Terrible way to handle things, really. And as far as I know, the game is still unplayable even with the patch they put out. The sad part is, they could have avoided this whole fiasco.

If they issued refunds with 10% off SimCity coupons I bet a lot of people would come back when everything is working. People want to play the game but are angry and frustrated right now and EA is doing nothing but making it worse. They'd probably even pick up some new customers if the headlines were, "EA issues refunds, offers discount to come back when the servers are working."

Originally Posted by louiedog If they issued refunds with 10% off SimCity coupons I bet a lot of people would come back when everything is working. People want to play the game but are angry and frustrated right now and EA is doing nothing but making it worse. They'd probably even pick up some new customers if the headlines were, "EA issues refunds, offers discount to come back when the servers are working."

Yeah, that sounds good until you realize they'd probably have just enough angry customers leaving the game that when the game stabilizes in a few weeks or months and those people come streaming back in, the servers will crash again.

Originally Posted by jshackles The sad part is, they could have avoided this whole fiasco.

The question is: do they care? I don't think so. This is one of the worst fiasco in years. I can't remember something THAT big. Maybe atari's E. T.? At least it was playable. Anyone remember a FAIL this big?

Originally Posted by juanjava The question is: do they care? I don't think so. This is one of the worst fiasco in years. I can't remember something THAT big. Maybe atari's E. T.? At least it was playable. Anyone remember a FAIL this big?

Well we're on day 3 of neigh unplayability. So it's already a worse FAIL than Diablo III.

World of Warcraft and Diablo 3.

Originally Posted by jshackles I'd probably pick up an Angry Birds bundle. They have what, 5 of them now? So they'll probably put all 5 PC version in a bundle for around $20. If it goes on sale for 75% off I'd buy it at $5 ($1 each). I'm not a huge fan, but they're pretty fun. This Sim City debacle is getting more and more preposterous by the day. They have a petition on Change.org to remove the DRM, with almost 35,000 "votes". EA is not providing refunds (if purchased there directly) so some users are having to resort to filing charge backs with their bank. EA has said anyone doing this will have their Origin account suspended. Terrible way to handle things, really. And as far as I know, the game is still unplayable even with the patch they put out. They're also up to over 1,000 1-star reviews on Amazon, although Amazon has started selling the game again. The star rating for that game doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever recovering. The sad part is, they could have avoided this whole fiasco.

Wait, what?? They are threatening to remove people's access to ALL their games on Origin because they want to file a chargeback on one game that isn't working as promised?

Christ, that's low even for EA. And that kind of shenanigans of threatening to yank someone's entire account access makes people understandbly skittish about using client based stores. If they want to grow Origin that is NOT the way to do it.

I mean if they sold you an XBox game and then it didn't work and you did a chargeback it's not like they can come to your house and take back ALL your XBox games, even ones that EA didn't publish (remember, Origin sells non-EA stuff too).

That's really bullshit. EA needs to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

Originally Posted by Motoki Wait, what?? They are threatening to remove people's access to ALL their games on Origin because they want to file a chargeback on one game that isn't working as promised? Christ, that's low even for EA. And that kind of shenanigans of threatening to yank someone's entire account access makes people understandbly skittish about using client based stores. If they want to grow Origin that is NOT the way to do it. I mean if they sold you an XBox game and then it didn't work and you did a chargeback it's not like they can come to your house and take back ALL your XBox games, even ones that EA didn't publish (remember, Origin sells non-EA stuff too). That's really bullshit. EA needs to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

Yep, that's exactly right. See here:



TL;DR version - person contacts EA support for a refund for SimCity, is denied, he says he'll work it out with the bank, and EA support say if he does his account will be banned.

See, I've always scoffed at the people who were suspicious of digital downloads and thought they were paranoid, but that sort of thing pretty much vindicates all their fears.

Okay, this is overblown again.

This is not EA saying this to the entire user base. This is one CSR quoting company policy about the purchase of digital games.

We've seen EA allow people to keep accounts consisting entirely of free games so I don't really think anyone has a risk of losing their origin account.

To be fair, Valve will also ban you for chargebacks, unless their policy changed (and I don't see why it would). That said, Valve also offered refunds on the only game I can remember launching on Steam that didn't work or was not as promised (WarZ).

Originally Posted by Genocidal To be fair, Valve will also ban you for chargebacks, unless their policy changed (and I don't see why it would). That said, Valve also offered refunds on the only game I can remember launching on Steam that didn't work or was not as promised (WarZ).

This. The issue really is that users have ZERO recourse against EA for these shenanigans. When someone finally steps up and threatens to do something, they are informed that their account will be banned.

Originally Posted by Genocidal To be fair, Valve will also ban you for chargebacks, unless their policy changed (and I don't see why it would). That said, Valve also offered refunds on the only game I can remember launching on Steam that didn't work or was not as promised (WarZ).

Exactly, that's pretty much standard if you're going to proceed with a chargeback. You risk getting your account banned, nearly anywhere.. I can understand the guy's frustration, but that's not something only EA would do.

Ars:
EA not altering return policy for furious SimCity buyers
Publisher continues to scramble to increase server capacity, restore features.

"In general we do not offer refunds on digital download games," EA tweeted through its official Origin account yesterday, directing people to the company's online policy on returns and cancellations. While downloadable games purchased in North America are not be refunded "as a general policy," EA does offer a "14-day unconditional guarantee" on any physical product sold through the Origin store. European customers, however, may be able to withdraw their downloadable purchase during a 14-day "Cooling Off period" as outlined on EA's European return policy page. The recent tweet comes after a message posted to EA's forums by Community Manager Raven on Tuesday, stating that "[i]f you regrettably feel that we let you down, you can of course request a refund for your order... though we're currently still in the process of resolving this issue." That message has now been revised to simply say "please review our refund policy here." A minor furor developed over the last few days when one irate customer claimed EA support had threatened to ban his Origin account merely for requesting a refund. However, the banning "threat" only came when the customer himself threatened to have his bank stop payment on the still-pending transaction. "We will not ban players for requesting refunds," EA clarified through its Origin Twitter account.

Originally Posted by Motoki Wait, what?? They are threatening to remove people's access to ALL their games on Origin because they want to file a chargeback on one game that isn't working as promised? Christ, that's low even for EA. And that kind of shenanigans of threatening to yank someone's entire account access makes people understandbly skittish about using client based stores. If they want to grow Origin that is NOT the way to do it. I mean if they sold you an XBox game and then it didn't work and you did a chargeback it's not like they can come to your house and take back ALL your XBox games, even ones that EA didn't publish (remember, Origin sells non-EA stuff too). That's really bullshit. EA needs to check themselves before they wreck themselves.

Didn't Valve do the same thing if after you activated a game on Steam you file a charge back with your bank?