The myths and reality of Steam generally not refunding games - also belongs to Rome 2

[cormogram]

Hello guys,
I wish you all a happy new year!

This posting may get a little bit longer, sorry for that, still it could be I am missing some certain situations possible.
[...]

bla bla bla

[cormogram]

Hello guys,
I wish you all a happy new year!

This posting may get a little bit longer, sorry for that, still it could be I am missing some certain situations possible.
[...]

What you get was not a refund. A cancellation of service at most.
To get a refund you need your original payment instrument (credit card, Paypal, whatever you have used to buy Steam Wallet Funds) credited.
You just got EUR 9.99 to spend on Steam.
Steam/Valve is a criminal organization operating worldwide.
Please don't buy from Steam or any Valve products/services.
Steam Subscriber Agreement is unlawful in all jurisdictions consumer protection laws exist.
The only reason they are still in business is because the payment amounts are too low to justify a regular lawsuit for most people.
What we need is a class action against Steam/Valve.

[Goth]

Have to agree with the above comment on steam. My own bad experience with steam involves shogun 2 total war. I uninstalled it from my system and after the disappointment of rome 2 I decided to reinstall it only for steam to refuse to recognise the code. They flatly refuse to acknowledge that I bought the game. I never liked steam and never will and after this debacle I doubt I will buy another game through them.

[cormogram]

Have to agree with the above comment on steam. My own bad experience with steam involves shogun 2 total war. I uninstalled it from my system and after the disappointment of rome 2 I decided to reinstall it only for steam to refuse to recognise the code. They flatly refuse to acknowledge that I bought the game. I never liked steam and never will and after this debacle I doubt I will buy another game through them.

I am not endorsing any of the following companies[1][2], but they surely have better refund policies.

Valve/Steam have a despicable antipathy for the customer.
I would cease to be a gamer if they were the only one in business.
@Game developers:
Please always have a different channel to market your products. Steam may create traction for your titles but it will surely prevent access to millions of unsatisfied customers with Steam.
Never trust a single distributor to market your title.
If you don't want to get the bad taste of partnering with a criminal organization then never chose Valve/Steam.


[1] http://www.gog.com/support/website_h...back_guarantee

[2] https://www.origin.com/en-ie/great-game-guarantee-terms

[Humble Warrior]

What you get was not a refund. A cancellation of service at most.
To get a refund you need your original payment instrument (credit card, Paypal, whatever you have used to buy Steam Wallet Funds) credited.
You just got EUR 9.99 to spend on Steam.
Steam/Valve is a criminal organization operating worldwide.
Please don't buy from Steam or any Valve products/services.
Steam Subscriber Agreement is unlawful in all jurisdictions consumer protection laws exist.
The only reason they are still in business is because the payment amounts are too low to justify a regular lawsuit for most people.
What we need is a class action against Steam/Valve.

Where have you been all my life!

Sometimes I despair but every now and then someone pops up that gives me renewed hope.

[Achilleslastand]

I am not endorsing any of the following companies[1][2], but they surely have better refund policies.

Valve/Steam have a despicable antipathy for the customer.
I would cease to be a gamer if they were the only one in business.
@Game developers:
Please always have a different channel to market your products. Steam may create traction for your titles but it will surely prevent access to millions of unsatisfied customers with Steam.
Never trust a single distributor to market your title.
If you don't want to get the bad taste of partnering with a criminal organization then never chose Valve/Steam.


[1] http://www.gog.com/support/website_h...back_guarantee

[2] https://www.origin.com/en-ie/great-game-guarantee-terms

Agreed with everything you've said 100%.

Game developers can clear a much bigger profit margin when going with steam. None of the costs involved with producing a physical copy{production of CDs/DVDs, Any documents within, shipping costs of getting product into storefronts, etc}are involved. The game is uploaded to steam one time and serial keys are generated and sold at 60$ a pop. Uncle Gabe gets his cut and the developer/publisher gets a bigger slice of the pie. Are any of the aforementioned savings passed on to the consumer? No.
Its no wonder they love Steam.

[cormogram]

Agreed with everything you've said 100%.

Game developers can clear a much bigger profit margin when going with steam. None of the costs involved with producing a physical copy{production of CDs/DVDs, Any documents within, shipping costs of getting product into storefronts, etc}are involved. The game is uploaded to steam one time and serial keys are generated and sold at 60$ a pop. Uncle Gabe gets his cut and the developer/publisher gets a bigger slice of the pie. Are any of the aforementioned savings passed on to the consumer? No.
Its no wonder they love Steam.

Not to mention the DRM. If you buy using Steam you can't trade it. The game will be locked to the Steam account who activated it. You can't even transfer it to another account.

[alQamar]

Not to mention the DRM. If you buy using Steam you can't trade it. The game will be locked to the Steam account who activated it. You can't even transfer it to another account.

Due to the public pressure and the running sue from a german customer organisation Steam in fact opened his services a lot. What changed:

- we can trade stuff (not games yet), even sell and buy them for real money
- we can stream games to other accounts
- they changed their ToS for EU customers in terms of liability and refunds

Imho those changes are steps towards a more open and customer friendly Steam, worldwide. The marketplace for used games is just a glimpse away. It think the outcome of the mentioned ongoing sue will decide a lot in this terms.

[cormogram]

Due to the public pressure and the running sue from a german customer organisation Steam in fact opened his services a lot. What changed:

- we can trade stuff (not games yet), even sell and buy them for real money
- we can stream games to other accounts
- they changed their ToS for EU customers in terms of liability and refunds

Imho those changes are steps towards a more open and customer friendly Steam, worldwide. The marketplace for used games is just a glimpse away. It think the outcome of the mentioned ongoing sue will decide a lot in this terms.

I've read the ECJ ruled that trade of used software license is legal. I think the original lawsuit was from Oracle against a German company called usedSoft[1].
Off course it is! If you own it you can trade it. It doesn't matter what corporations think about it.
Owners of an en-user software license must trade it like any other personal belonging.
Valve/Steam though DO NOT honor that right.
It's written in the section 10 of the Steam Subscriber Agreement[1]:

"10. TERM AND TERMINATION
A. Term

The term of this Agreement (the "Term") commences on the date you first indicate your acceptance of these terms, and will continue in effect until otherwise terminated in accordance with this Agreement.

B. Termination by You

You may cancel your Account at any time. You may cease use of a Subscription at any time or, if you choose, you may request that we terminate your access to a Subscription. However, Subscriptions are not transferable, and even if your access to a Subscription for a particular game or application is terminated, the original activation key will not be able to be registered to any other account, even if the Subscription was obtained in a retail store. Access to Subscriptions purchased as a part of a pack or bundle cannot be terminated individually, termination of access to one game within the bundle will result in termination of access to all games purchased in the pack. Your cancellation of an Account, or your cessation of use of any Subscription or request that access to a Subscription be terminated, will not entitle you to any refund, including of any Subscription fees. Valve reserves the right to collect fees, surcharges or costs incurred prior to the cancellation of your Account or termination of your access to a particular Subscription. In addition, you are responsible for any charges incurred to third-party vendors or content providers before your cancellation. "

So the part "Subscriptions are not transferable, and even if your access to a Subscription for a particular game or application is terminated, the original activation key will not be able to be registered to any other account, even if the Subscription was obtained in a retail store." is actually illegal.

Again, if you not getting real money out of your Steam account you are not getting any money. Steam Wallet Funds are not money. It's written in section 3, article C:
"You may use Steam Wallet funds to purchase Subscriptions, including by making in-game purchases where Steam Wallet transactions are enabled. Funds added to the Steam Wallet are non-refundable and non-transferable. Steam Wallet funds do not constitute a personal property right, have no value outside Steam and can only be used to purchase Subscriptions and related content via Steam (including but not limited to games and other applications offered through the Steam Store, or in a Steam Subscription Marketplace). Steam Wallet funds have no cash value and are not exchangeable for cash. Steam Wallet funds that are deemed unclaimed property may be turned over to the applicable authority."

The part that says "Steam Wallet funds have no cash value and are not exchangeable for cash" prevents you from earning real money. All you can do is pay to work for Valve/Steam. That's the same as slavery.


[1] http://www.usedsoft.com/
[2] http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/