Opened games = FINAL SALE

[cindybubbles]

I went to my local game store at my local mall to buy the latest Sims 3 Stuff Pack, when I heard this gem from the sales clerk:

"The game requirements are on the back, and if you open it, it's final sale."

Whoa. I've never heard this before; methinks that either corporate told store employees to say this, or this store has had more than its fair share of SC's. Or both.

[Hanzoku]

That... has been that way forever? It's been years and people can easily (with a little software), grab the CD/DVD, rip it and return the original. Now, granted, most people will instead torrent for the game, but...

[fireheart]

I'd probably say that it's a compliment, rather than a gripe. It's been around for a while, but that's the first time I've heard anyone actually say it. My local gamestore will make sure that people have the originals if they buy an expansion pack but still...

[Amanita]

I had somebody say something like this to me when I bought my copy of SW:TOR. "This is an online game, there's a monthly subscription fee".
I told the clerk I was cool with that, as I already played one other MMO online. He said "We've already had several customers who didn't get that."

[fma_fanatic]

That... has been that way forever? It's been years and people can easily (with a little software), grab the CD/DVD, rip it and return the original. Now, granted, most people will instead torrent for the game, but...

There are some people - like me - who are too afraid to torrent things because of all the threats from the RIAA and other agencies. This is not to say that I have ever ripped a CD/DVD. I am however rather irritated at one of DaDairyDruid's co-workers who admitted to ripping a DVD set we loaned out. I told him no more loaning to this co-worker.

I also know people who admit to ripping DVDs from Netflix.

[fireheart]

There are some people - like me - who are too afraid to torrent things because of all the threats from the RIAA and other agencies. This is not to say that I have ever ripped a CD/DVD. I am however rather irritated at one of DaDairyDruid's co-workers who admitted to ripping a DVD set we loaned out. I told him no more loaning to this co-worker.

I also know people who admit to ripping DVDs from Netflix.

The only time I've ever wanted to copy ANYTHING from the library was a bunch of DVDs that taught Auslan, since said DVDs were $90 each! Turns out they were actually VHS

[Dreamstalker]

To be fair, generally shifty DRM is not disclosed until installation (even then you need to know what to look for). If I don't agree to have it dumped on my system, then according to the EULA the game can be returned to the store for a refund (in order to access the EULA you need to break the seal...how does that make sense?).

I confess to ripping a cartoon DVD boxset (which I own) to put some episodes on my laptop.

But yeah, general system requirements are (or should be) obvious...I've seen people try to return brand new games that they tried to install on a 5-year-old laptop. The word 'minimum' is there for a reason.

[fireheart]

But yeah, general system requirements are (or should be) obvious...I've seen people try to return brand new games that they tried to install on a 5-year-old laptop. The word 'minimum' is there for a reason.

it also depends on the game.

My mum and I are both HUGE fans of the Nancy Drew games that Her Interactive makes.

Neither of us have had a problem installing the latest ones onto our laptops or PCs. My PC still runs Windows XP and hasn't had an upgrade in yonks apart from its cooling fan (it's also not connected to the Internet) while my laptop is a few years old but can play a few games without too much hassle.

[Dreamstalker]

It never ceases to amuse me when people go "wtf" at my shiny laptop running Commander Keen (I did have to throttle the processor back quite a bit just for the games, but they run like a charm).

[Mr Hero]

I had somebody say something like this to me when I bought my copy of SW:TOR. "This is an online game, there's a monthly subscription fee".
I told the clerk I was cool with that, as I already played one other MMO online. He said "We've already had several customers who didn't get that."

Similar thing once happened to me at Wal Mart. This was just a few months after the launch of the DS. I was at the store to get a game for said system. The clerk informed me that the game I wanted to get was for the new system and not for the GBA. I told her I completely understood. I'm guessing she said this because too many people were returning DS games.

[emax4]

I had an issue years ago at GC where a guy bought music software but needed it returned. The CD/DVD had been opened (usually some are sealed with a barcode and serial #). My department mgr suggested I call the company to see if it was registered, which it wasn't, so I was able to accept it back. That's a rarity though. At least the salesman mentioned the system requirements first.

[MadMike]

The word 'minimum' is there for a reason.

I overheard a lady who was returning a game because she misunderstood what the "minimum requirements" meant. It said something like "4X CD-ROM drive" and "x amount of RAM." She took that to mean "OR", rather than "and." She had enough memory, but not a fast enough CD-ROM drive.

Luckily for her, this was back before CD burners were affordable, so the store did take it back for her. And she was at least smart enough to realize she had made a mistake, and was decent about it.

[Dips]

We'll let out dealers take back software within 90 days of the sale IF they call us and verify that is hasn't been activated. If it hasn't been, no problem. We can make it so the license can't be activated. Then we either replace it with another one or refund the dealer.

Of course not all of our dealers are SMART. But that's a whole bunch of other threads.

[PepperElf]

saw a customer trying to argue this with the return specialist a few days ago. i think he was disappointed when he found out he could only exchange opened media for the exact same item.


and had a customer ask if her copy of windows upgrade would be good to reformat the hdd. i saw it was opened so I felt bad for her cos... not only was it the wrong kind (she needed the full copy) but... yeah it's opened so you're pretty much out of luck