Origin 'Great Game Guarantee' allows for returns of digital game purchases
EA's Great Game Guarantee lets you return digital purchases on Origin.
EA's Origin service doesn't have the best reputation amongst PC gamers. But EA is trying to change its image. And its new "Great Game Guarantee" sounds like a terrific way to start. Effective immediately, you'll be able to return any full game downloads published by EA via Origin for a full return. It's a feature we'd love to see implemented in other digital storefronts.
According to the announcement, the guarantee gives you up to seven days after a purchase or pre-order to return an unplayed digital game. However, if you do play the game, you'll have up to 24 hours to return the game. A "request a refund" link will appear in your Order History for eligible games.
The full terms of the offer state that refunds may not be supported during promotions--likely deep discount sales. In addition, refunds "may not be supported where Electronic Arts detects fraud or abuse of the refund process." Refunds won't apply to any third-party games on Origin, and won't be available on EA games on non-Origin retailers, as well.
EA's new policy on digital games is refreshing, especially after their bundled launch of SimCity. EA wouldn't offer refunds of the Origin-exclusive, but eventually gave a free game to all players.
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replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Origin 'Great Game Guarantee' allows for returns of digital game purchases.
EA's Great Game Guarantee lets you return digital purchases on Origin.-
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SimCity 5 is probably what cause them to make this change. Also they gave free games. Good recent games too. They made up for it.
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No, because i didnt want any of the free games. I wanted sim city, and they didnt give that to me.
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They gave you sim city. You were just hoping it would be a better game.
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It was a shitty shell of a sim city game.
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It definitely is a gesture of good will to keep themselves honest. After Sim City, something like this is a must. However I am skeptical in a moderately far future that EA will take advantage of the fact that they hold all of the cards on this deal.
It's easy right now to offer this olive branch but let's see how well they hold up when an expensive triple A title goes belly up. If they remain humbly amicable about this and maintain this policy, THEN and only then will I be impressed by this.-
It is nice that a someone is challenging the "caveat emptor" standard, but it's disheartening that it's EA.
Also, games are a unique thing (product or service) where the consumer is expected to eat the costs of defective product, with little recourse. Between SimCity this year and Steel Battalion last year, it's now not uncommon to hear about a game that is egregiously bad, or even nigh unplayable. Most developers and publishers are too busy working on the next game most of the time.
EA's hand got forced this year by the reorg precipitated by John Riccitiello missing the numbers in FY2013. It wasn't because of bad games; it was because they missed the numbers. That's the main catalyst of change in most publicly traded companies.
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Damn EA, that's a big asterisk for refunds. Not cool.
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Referring to sale purchases made being non refundable. A shitty game is a shitty game regardless if on sale.
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but that will certainly increase the attempt at loader/trainer programs to suppress those achievements, which then will fuel the game not running correctly, which will also fuel the demands for refunds.
simcity 5, now that is an instant refund game. similar to brink, both completely were unusable from the get go. however, when something like mass effect 4 comes out, people will try to hide the fact they completed the game and demand refunds.
I still vividly remember the mass effect 1 idiots completely admitting they had a pirated version of the game via complaining on the bioware forums. I wonder how that is going to play out with respect to refunds. -
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That wouldn't be a bad idea imo. Normally by 3 hours you have a good idea if you're going to like the game or not.
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Someone will abuse this, beating a game in 24 hours then returning it (god help their love life though, or lack of) but overall this should prove to be a great idea. Unfortunately I don't see steam doing this anytime soon.
Green Man Gaming tried letting people trade in digital games for some credit, but since everything requires steam now, that kind of went by the wayside it seems.
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