Directed to the sales folks at Stardock Games, makers of Impulse the gaming platform.
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I'm a bit miffed here. This weekend you announced "the Witcher,
special edition" which was one of those games that I still haven't
gotten around to playing.
As I had just finished enjoying the other other games I have at home
( Well, got annoyed with some of them, frankly fed up with Dragon Age
and its annoying sidequest that cannot be completed due to game
mechanics. Silly things that put me off a game completely) I wanted to
give it a try, and lets face it, 9.99$ was a steal for that game,
according to what I hear from friends at least.
Now, you already know when I sign up for mailings and such where I'm
based. Since I've done a purchase and have an impulse account ( Mostly
to buy Sins of a Solar empire, great fun that game.) So I go dig up my
account information, click the link for the sale on the lovely game.
Only to see:
Not available in your area.
So, it sells in North America, Russia and Eastern Europe, but not in
Western Europe?
Right, What the feck is this? Why do you even _BOTHER_ sending me the
announcement about games on sale which I then Cannot even Purchase?
Are you really hoping that I'll get stuck on your site and buy more
things cause of that? Perhaps Mass Effect2, the lovely smash hit from
Bioware? Or Dragon Age Origins ( which I seem to already have acquired)
or Divinity II, which also seemed interesting?
Right, I forget, There's not really a big chance I'd ever get around to
staying on Impulse _or_ purchasing more when you can't even offer me the
number one reason that I come there to me.
Frankly, if you can't even get around to actually selling me the things
you send me advertising about, do you really expect me to either
recommend you to others, or that I'd come back again?
I'm sad, disappointed, and annoyed, and obviously have to find another
digital download of the game if I want to play it. Perhaps the pirate
bay won't prevent me from getting it?
For a long time I've been trying to avoid pirating games, but since you
_actively_ taunt me with them and then won't even sell it, what am I to
do?
No, don't read this wrong, I do _not_ want you to stop mailing me
offers, notifications and sales.
I want you to STOP offering me games that you WILL NOT even sell to me.
"Oh, but that might require extra work? Like sorting the subscriber
databases between zones, and preparing different mailings?"
Well, rather that than disgusting your customers enough that they write
toxic rants back to you, perhaps?
It seems that the pirate bay aren't making a huge distinction whether
you are in Europe, Angola or Elsewhere if you wish to get the game.
Right, that might be.. unethical, of me. However, you can't really
complain that piracy hurts game distributors or creators, when the
distributors _WON'T SELL_ the game to people?
I'm a bit torn here, should I find a bittorrent client and see if I find
the game there, or will you fix it so I can actually get the game
officially?
Regards,
Well, About time someone spoke up to it. My big thanks to Stardock games for speaking up for the gamers here.   Just now I'm trying to get Heroes V (non-expansion) to work on my computer.
Insert DVD. Install.
Play?
Nope, "Must insert DVD to play" ... but it is in there? Sorry, Starforce says your butt hasn't paid the paintoll yet.
So, go to ubisoft homepage. The Swedish one, just to make sure that I get the European patches. Guess what? No download link for patches.
Official English one? Oh yeah, it only links the US patches.
So, where do you go to get a working link for patches for your european store-bought game of Heroes of Might and Magic V?
oh yes, Game Copy World.  They have the link to the official patches, including the European ones, that removed the Starforce Copy annoyance system.
Piracy my ass, I need them to run the game. and UBI can't even provide me with that information on their own behalf.
I think I'll stop buying games UBI sell. They just annoy me and make me spend an hour trying to fix their fucking mess.
*sigh* It's interesting really, how much emotional value we put in things that don't exist.
I recently felt the blow full on, the (single one only) character i had in World of Warcraft. I never really had the focus on other chars, so I spent all my time on a single one, Nursuring aquaintances, relations and reputation, building and maintaining a story and life.
Got into raiding, it was a distraction, which was what the game provided for me, something to do with my time. I played because I didn't know what else to do with the time. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not at all.
Yesterday, I left the guild I've been with for almost two years. Left the "progress" behind, all the efforts and the friends made on my characters. Everything, and quit the realm. I did this because of some of the people I had been with.
Why don't I quit the game? Because right now, I need a distraction, and I don't have anything else. The games I've been wanting to play don't really function (UFO Afterlight and NWN2) on Wine/Cedega, so... there isn't much there, so I'll keep playing.
Still, looking for something....