ACCC chairman Rod Sims said: “The Australian Consumer Law applies to any business providing goods or services within Australia. Valve may be an American-based company with no physical presence in Australia, but it is carrying on business in Australia by selling to Australian consumers, who are protected by Australian Consumer Law.
“It is a breach of the Australian Consumer Law for businesses to state that they do not give refunds under any circumstances, including for gifts and during sales. Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers can insist on a refund or replacement at their option if a product has a major fault.
“The consumer guarantees provided under the Australian Consumer Law cannot be excluded, restricted or modified.”
Valve chief executive Doug Lombardi told news.com.au in an email: “We are making every effort to cooperate with the Australian officials on this matter, while continuing to provide Steam services to our customers across the world, including Australian gamers.
He did not respond to more detailed questions put forward by news.com.au.
NKD wrote on Aug 30, 2014, 06:28:GameAnger wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 19:25:
You quantify it with Australian Law. If a product isnt fit for purpose, or if it doesn't do what it says it does on the box. We're entitled to a refund.
What's the purpose of a game? It's not like a toaster that doesn't toast bread. That's indisputably useless. A game that you simply didn't enjoy as much as you thought, or had some bugs, shouldn't entitle you to a refund.
If you get the game and you outright cannot play it to any reasonable level, or it does not contain the content or features depicted in the store page, that's a different story.
GameAnger wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 19:25:
You quantify it with Australian Law. If a product isnt fit for purpose, or if it doesn't do what it says it does on the box. We're entitled to a refund.
NKD wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 16:48:
So what's the level of bugginess or "lousiness" which qualifies a game for a refund? How do you quantify it? Everyone has different standards. Do you really think anyone should be entitled to unlimited refunds for any stated reason? Because a lot of people would just be like "Heh heh heh, I can get this game for free by beating it really quickly and saying I had a lot of bugs and the game crashed a lot!"
You mention "other industries" but fail to acknowledge that other industries ALSO have restrictions on refunds and returns to help prevent abuse.
Before you can offer refunds, you need measures in place to prevent abuse by self-absorbed nitwits who think they deserve all their games for free.
At GOG.com, we're confident in the quality of the games we sell and the work that we put into getting them ready for you to play them. If a game that you've bought on GOG.com doesn't work and our team of expert Support staff can't solve the problem for you, we will give you back your money.
If, within 30 days after the purchase of your game, you experience technical problems or game-breaking bugs that prevent you from finishing your game, contact our customer support. They will do their best to help you fix the problem and if, at the end of their attempts to solve the problem your game is still not working, we'll give you back your money.
Julio wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 14:36:NKD wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 14:01:
People would abuse the shit out of refund options if given half a chance.
If the gaming industry provided less half baked buggy and lousy games then the refund rates would be tolerable. If other industries did such a poor job on quality, then they'd be refunding plenty too.
Qbex . wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 10:27:That'll be the publishers doing it to appease physical retailers.
I'd like them to answer to consumer watchdog why the fuck they charge 89.99$ USD for Civ Beyond Earth among many other titles sold on Steam Au. I largely forgo pirating games but thing like that wants me to do it just in spite![]()
NKD wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 14:01:
People would abuse the shit out of refund options if given half a chance.
jacobvandy wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 13:40:Bard wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 12:51:
I wish I could have gotten a refund on at least half the games I have bought, that are DRM crippled or just plain broken.
How many games do you own? That number will determine whether you're part of the problem (claiming a game is "broken" because it's plain bad or you don't like it) or just the worst consumer ever who has managed to buy proportionately more actual shovelware than everyone else here. ;-)
Seriously, though, unless the description of the game was misleading or incomplete (it happens sometimes), any DRM is not a good reason for a refund. You're told about it upfront and you bought it anyway.
Bard wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 12:51:
I wish I could have gotten a refund on at least half the games I have bought, that are DRM crippled or just plain broken.
Frijoles wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 10:35:Qbex . wrote on Aug 29, 2014, 10:27:
I'd like them to answer to consumer watchdog why the fuck they charge 89.99$ USD for Civ Beyond Earth among many other titles sold on Steam Au.
Thought the price was set by the publisher?