Blizzard Issues Diablo 3 Refunds to South Korean Players

Written by: Mike Schaffnit (Twitter @MikeSchaffnit - Google+) | June 21, 2012 7:30 pm

74 Comments

Is Blizzard on its way to handing out refunds worldwide for one of the largest selling games of the year?

As most will recall Diablo 3 got off to a rocky launch with Error 37 plaguing 99% of the community for hours after the servers were turned on.

This launch glitch, though, ran head-on into a South Korean law that states: “Consumers are due a refund if they purchase a product that doesn’t work through no fault of their own.” It was because of this law that South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission launched an investigation and subsequently raided Blizzard headquarters in order to investigate the availability of Diablo 3 during its launch night.

Now it looks like Blizzard is offering a refund to comply with the law for that particular part of the world.

The company is allowing players to apply for a refund if they are below level 40, or simply return the game if they are below level 20. This kind of refund is interesting to see, as it could potentially spider out to additional countries and change the way online games handle their official release date.

Would you ask for your money back after the game’s rough launch?

Blizzard Issues Diablo 3 Refunds to South Korean Players

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1 comment

fallos24

i would love to have my money back!
http://profile.yahoo.com/THJWE4XEXAMAPW3CUGPFYCUDHE Prime

Then maybe they should have made a WORKING game? Stop DRM. Stop putting outnon working software period.
RJTravis

It would be great to go worldwide it would start making theses company care about the game more & that will only help the consumer
- Old Ben
  
  It was incredibly stupid of Blizzard not to offer refunds (or other forms of compensation) straight away. They could have avoided tons of bad PR and the financial impact would have been negligible to them.
  
  Even dodgy Chinese eBay sellers know that, in the long run, their reputation is worth a lot more than a few refunds.
http://twitter.com/AlanHoover Alan Hoover

Wtg South Korea, grats on not getting games at launch any more
- Brosaxon
  
  Except in Korea games generally release earlier than anywhere else so now instead of getting them BEFORE the release date they get them ON the release date and if the company doesn’t delivered what they promised they can tell them to F**K themselves and give them their money back.
  
  So yes, way to go South Korea for putting shady developers in their place!
- Brosaxon
  
  Except in Korea games generally release earlier than anywhere else so now instead of getting them BEFORE the release date they get them ON the release date and if the company doesn’t delivered what they promised they can tell them to F**K themselves and give them their money back.
  
  So yes, way to go South Korea for putting shady developers in their place!
http://twitter.com/zerconi Samuli Rauatmaa

I don’t think this will spiral out all over the world, but people will definitely be angry and whine even more than usual.
Jim Bob

There are a few Laws in the UK that could be used like the “sales of goods act”, just depends on the time frame I think.
- Old Ben
  
  I think the period to return goods in the EU is two weeks. It generally doesn’t apply to games, music and movies because those could have been copied, but since D3 accounts can be canceled, Blizzard would have a very hard time denying people a refund (as long as they ask for it within 2 weeks of installation).
  - Jim Bob
    
    Well I managed to get refunds on steam using that law along with “The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) regulations”.
    
    Also Blizzard had a EU store.
    
    I am not 100% sure tbh
    - Old Ben
      
      Pretty much every product comes in a box, no?
      
      The issue isn’t the packaging, the issue is whether or not you might still be “using” the product _after_ you return it (ex., buy a CD, make a copy, then return it). With that kind of product, unless the box is sealed, you’re generally not allowed to return it for a refund (unlike, say, with a camera or phone, which you obviously must unbox before determining if it works properly or not).
      
      However, since D3 requires online authentication to play (in other words, Blizzard can make sure that you are _not_ using the game after you’ve returned it, by canceling that product key), I don’t think they can refuse to give you a refund, as long as you ask within the legal period.
      
      DRM can be a double-edged sword, sometimes.
      - Jim Bob
        
        Also I think you thinking more along the lines as of the “return goods in the EU is two weeks.” Is more with “This is the wrong colour top” or “This is the wrong size shoe”. What we are talking about here with Blizzard and D3 is a product/services that you have paid for and that product and service is ”is not of satisfactory quality” or “fit for purpose” you have the right to ask for a refund. That part of the law apples for 6 years.
        
        There is more to the law and lots of buts, if and maybe. So I could be wrong. —-I am just going by me getting refunds off Steam. I sent a mail to Steam about a game that I pre-ordered , which was released in state no where need ready to play. In my mail I pointed that out.I got a mail back from Steam saying how they dont do refunds and its in the T&C, I shot one right back pointing them towards the “sales of goods act” and ”The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) regulations”, informed that I live in the UK and told them “My statutory rights as a UK consumer are not affected in anyway[by the T&C]“Then got my refund. True I did that within a week of the game coming out.Also remember Blizzard have admitted or agreed something is at fault and refunded the South Korean players
      - Old Ben
        
        > “is not of satisfactory quality” or
        > “fit for purpose” you have the right
        > to ask for a refund. That part of
        > the law apples for 6 years.
        
        So you can use anything for 6 years and then return it for a refund if it no longer fits your needs? I don’t think so. Most products aren’t even required to have warranties over 2 years. Here’s what the UK distance selling regulation says:
        
        “(reg. 11 & 12) the cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of seven working days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods” (this can be extended to three months if the supplier does not include instructions on how to cancel the contract).”
        
        It also mentions this exception (as I had mentioned above):
        
        “(reg. 13) the consumer will not have the right to cancel the contract [...] for the supply of audio or video recordings or computer software if they are unsealed by the consumer”
        
        In other words, you’d only be able to return those in exchange for a new copy (if the one you bought was defective), not for a refund.
        
        However, access to an on-line game (restricted by a personal account) is a service, not just “computer software”, so this exception would not apply to D3.
      - Jim Bob
        
        >So you can use anything for 6 years and then return it for a refund if it no longer fits your needs?I don’t think so. Most products aren’t even required to have warranties over 2 years.
        
        Right off the government site just for you.
        
        Customers’ rights last for six years The law says that a customer can approach you with a claim about an item they purchased from you for up to six years from the date of sale (five years after discovery of the problem in Scotland).This does not mean that everything you sell has to last six years from the date of purchase! It is the time limit for the customer to make a claim about an item. During this period, you are legally required to deal with a customer who claims that their item does not conform to contract (is faulty ) and you must decide what would be the reasonable amount of time to expect the goods to last. A customer cannot hold you responsible for fair wear and tear .The six-year period is not the same as a guarantee, but it does mean that even where the guarantee or warranty supplied with the product has ended, your customer may still have legal rights.
      - Old Ben
        
        Not sure which “government site” you’re quoting, and that definitely doesn’t look like a legal document (nor does it say anything about refunds – it just says that “you have to deal with the client”).
        
        My quotes are from the specific legislation you mentioned (“The UK Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations of 2000″), specifically sections 11, 12 and 13.
        
        If you search for “UK Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations” it’s the first hit on Google.
      - Jim Bob
        
        http://oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained
        That is “The office of Fair Trading”. Just got to the link and click “4. Your responsibilities as a retailer”
        
        The 6 year thing is for “Sales of Goods Act”.
      - Jim Bob
        
        As I put a link in my reply to asking which site. I have to wait for mod to approve it, so while waiting for that I will reply here.
        I got it from “The office of Fair Trading” website. If you go there and click on “Business advice” and pick “Sales of goods act hub”, Then on the page it brings your to click “Explained”. Then once on that page click “4. Your responsibilities as a retailer”.
        
        In that part you will find what I quoted. Like I said I am not 100% sure if it applies or not tbh.
- http://www.facebook.com/lord.ashar Lord Steve ‘Ashar’ Spain
  
  This is also the case for Australia, and I think New Zealand. Interestingly, a number of GBTV viewers seem more interested in providing corporations with responsability-free environment, than actually showing any interest supporting consumers protection laws. Strange – it may be a junkie thing
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1260066056 Steven Diaz

I wish with every cell in my heart that I could get a refund here in the US for both ME3 AND D3. ME3 was NOT what they advertised. D3 was a fkn disaster. At least I got to play multiplayer in ME3 for a few weeks and a campaign regardless of what a fail I felt it was. D3 on the other hand, I had to stop playing because of all the issues it was having. Considering that D3 is just a coop game, there should have been no reason for this. Treating it like an MMO was annoying enough. Now I can’t even stay logged on to the game without general chat and the in-game auction house is now ruined due to the real money auction house. Not to mention there isn’t much worth buying as most of the legendary drops are worse than the blue open slot equipment I get. D3 was the most disappointing game I’ve played in the past three years with the exception of SWTOR.
http://www.facebook.com/jason.jenkins.73 Jason Jenkins

sigh, just sigh. a waste of korean tax payers money prosecuting this and a waste of blizzard development money paying it all back, lose lose all around
- Old Ben
  
  By “development money” you mean the money they got in exchange for a product that didn’t work as advertised (basically crippled by its own DRM due to Blizzard’s inability to keep the servers working and unwillingness to release a patch to let people play offline) ?
Navitron

“I couldn’t play for the first 12 hours after launch! GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!”
Really? Really…? *sigh* I thought Wow players complained a lot. D3 players take the cake for whining and QQ.
Damir Miric

Thats just crazy talk. People have no understanding how hard it is to make such a huge launch day.
- Old Ben
  
  Apparently starting with the people @ Blizzard.
- http://www.facebook.com/lord.ashar Lord Steve ‘Ashar’ Spain
  
  Actually, after living and befriending with a number of high level programmers, it’s about time and money, with a little voodoo – this does not give reason for a corporation to have liscence to ignore the laws of a country.
- http://profile.yahoo.com/SMGRLFM4UASOO7QO26HTHBLIOI Shawn
  
  The game isn’t even an MMO there shouldn’t be this many problems regarding the game.
http://twitter.com/Zedris Zedris

congratz to south korea for never getting a launch date ever again…amazing. and really ur point was the hardcore more people loosing their chars due to the bad connection? did u even read the hardcore tooltip? did u never think of maybe if i get dc and die ur char will get erased? fail points
- http://www.facebook.com/lord.ashar Lord Steve ‘Ashar’ Spain
  
  So screw Sth Korean law, Blizzard doesn’t have to abide by it? How very gracious of you to be the judge, jury, and executioner of an entire nations legal framework in this regards.
- Old Ben
  
  > congratz to south korea for never getting a launch date ever again…
  
  I think you have the balance of power (and the view of how the economy works) kind of backwards there. The people buying the game are the ones paying the developers’ and publishers’ salaries. If Blizzard can’t convince them to buy its games, that money will end up in the pockets of Blizzard’s competitors.
  
  Or did you think Blizzard was a charity, distributing their heavenly games to the unwashed masses out of pure kindness?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Bergevin-Jr/1393526370 Jim Bergevin Jr

And hence why I won’t buy any single-player game that requires a ‘Net connection to play. I haven’t had any problems playing any of the single-player games I have bought in the past – even ones from companies that have been defunct for years.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kyle-Bohannon/1429322817 Kyle Bohannon

ill take my money back if they offer it!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Feyd-Darkholme/100000194391744 Feyd Darkholme

Here’s the problem with the whole, “Well they had the game for a month already, etc” argument. Blizzard refused to offer ANYONE refunds for the game. So customers in South Korea had to go to their GOVERNMENT to have them step in and enforce their law and force Blizzard to give refunds. This takes time. So yeah now people have had the game for a month, but I’ll bet if given the option 90% of those people would have opted to get their money back on day one instead of day 30, but Blizzard wouldn’t do it and forced them to seek outside help…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Feyd-Darkholme/100000194391744 Feyd Darkholme

Yes it is Blizzards responsibility to set up a system that doesn’t screw the customer, and their fault when they don’t do that and things get effed up… As I’ve said for YEARS now, MMOGs and video games in general are one of the few products and services where you can get away with having a shitty service and putting out a shitty product without getting in trouble with any consumer watchdog organizations and/or the government and law enforcement… I sincerely hope that this is going to change very soon as more and more consumers stand up and say, “No more!”
http://www.facebook.com/lord.ashar Lord Steve ‘Ashar’ Spain

Maybe finally something that might lift game developers game! Does the US not have consumer protection laws? This is a fairly standard ruling given the circumstances elsewhere in the Western world.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Feyd-Darkholme/100000194391744 Feyd Darkholme

MikeS there is an almost identical law in the UK that would allow for the same type of refund to happen. In fact nearly every major country, including the US has similar consumer protection laws that cover things like products being “fit for purpose” and such. We just need someone to step up and ENFORCE these laws.
Ricky.Doan

You could get a refund in Australia too, just call up Australia’s Blizzard office and they will refund the game for you since they are the one’s who deal with Australia’s commerce laws and such. Refunds were amended on 1st of January 2011 which allows the refund or any good or service if they are unsatisfactory or not fit for purpose within reasonable time. In relation to Diablo 3 Australian’s are entitled to a refund if they:

•return the goods to the seller, or notify the seller of the problem, within a reasonable time after the consumer has had a reasonable opportunity to inspect the goods (generally, this means before the consumer has used the good a lot)
• not disposing of, losing or destroying the goods.

You can cancel the contract of sale you need to have:

• have taken reasonable care of the goods
• not have damaged the goods by using them in
a way they were not meant to be used
• be able to prove they bought the goods from
the seller.

That’s it, I doubt you will get a refund now but it was possible in the first 2 weeks of release, alot of my friends refunded the game with no problems. It’s not only South Korea who have consumer rights, alot of countries do too, you just need to know how to excercise them.

Source: http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/322947
BigH001

Really MikeB? Even without this, I would think D3 had already secured a spot on your Most Controversial Games of 2012 list :p
http://www.facebook.com/people/Melissa-Cartun/662259376 Melissa Cartun

I think people will find anything to complain about. Maybe I have just lowered my launch day standards. I guess what I’m wondering is could the problems at launch have been prevented?
- http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
  
  Oh, yes. Easiest fix would be to make it so you can play the game offline. =/
- Kagitaar
  
  It’s possible, but not probable. Launching D3 was like launching an MMO and there is no MMO out there that has needed withstand that much of a pounding. The largest launch in recent history was SWTOR at 2 million; Diablo 3 was at least twice to, arguably, thrice as big. Servers have limits, but people like to ignore that fact.
  - InvaderMig
    
    It’s not that fact that people like to ignore it, it’s simply that people don’t give a flying fuck. If you pay 60 bucks for something that Blizzard decided will only be available online, a game that isn’t an MMO, then it is expected to work when I get it. Simple as that. If I can’t use what I bought because you somehow couldn’t foresee the popularity of your game (give me a break) then it’s their fault. If someone wanted a refund back because of that experience then they should get one. If they kept playing for weeks on end, then no they shouldn’t get anything. I personally don’t even like diablo 3, but I kept playing it in hopes it would get better. It’s a $60 lesson that I have learned, and I don’t deserve a refund, though I’d love one. At the very least I’d like a way to transfer the game over to someone else, even if it was for half the price.
    - Kagitaar
      
      A game does not need to be an MMO to have saves on a game server, it merely needs to be an online multiplayer game
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Dejagg-Katana/100000896860860 Dejagg Katana
  
  That’s the real question right there.
Elusive Fox

personally while I don’t want my money back simply because $60 isn’t that big of a deal to me… what i do want is the developers working on D3 to be very publicly fired in such a way that they will never find jobs in the industry again. There is no excuse for them to have released the game in the shape it was in at release and even today. I think that would really be sure the next title we look forward to isnt botched as badly as this.
- Old Ben
  
  The decision to launch is rarely taken by the developers.
Kagitaar

I’ve been thinking, and I think DRM is being used erroneously in regard to D3. Yes, you can play it SP, but where are your characters saved? How can you call needing an internet connection DRM when your characters aren’t saved locally? Now the fact that there is no local save SP mode may be an oversight in your opinion, but they obviously did not feel that that mode would be worth their time AND all the hassles it would cause when people inevitably wanted to play with a friend and could not.
- Warfox Mihomiti
  
  More interesting is that all of these things were known WELL before the game was released. If people couldn’t accept these things, they could have done a few minutes of research to find out.
  - Kagitaar
    
    Of course, but it’s so much more fun to bitch and moan, right?
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Dejagg-Katana/100000896860860 Dejagg Katana
      
      I KNOW RIGHT!
      
      But seriously, If you didn’t like the fact that Diablo 3 has to have an always-on internet connection to play it, why did you purchase it? Just don’t buy it in the first place.
Hicks64

If reddit is correct, 1% of Asia launch purchasers couldn’t access the game unless they called customer service and jumped through hoops to verify the purchase. Reaching customer service the first few days of the launch must’ve been horrendous. Don’t have a link handy, but it was in r/diablo.
http://twitter.com/Failattu Kalle Sirkesalo

So if this happens a lot we THE CONSUMERS are gonna suffer think about it if we sue blizzard a lot cause boohoo we did not get in to the game first day damn we got awesome game with fuckton of players no network in the world can withstand that amount of stress at the same time it would be different if everyone would not have logged in same time but cause everyone waited and tried at same time it hitted hard. If we sue companys too much they stop giving us CLOBAL launches which I love I hate regional launches cause then you have to wait and wait and wait for it to come online. (which sucks) So please people dont be stupid you can play the game be happy. It would be different story if it would have taken a month to get into the game and then disconnect again.
- pc11
  
  The game is an interface for a money making machine aka real money auction house and is average quality.
  You dont own the game you pay for the right to play it.
  The game in normal mode is lackluster. A loot hoarding game that keeps the “good” loot out of normal mode and does not allow higher modes before you finish normal?!
  
  On top of that it was launched with features that do not work.
  
  Only stupid people play this game…
  - http://www.facebook.com/Zinaroth Mads-Peter Mosberg Jensen
    
    Your first assumption, is, well an assumption.
    Average quality, your judgement.
    You DO own the game, and you paid a one time fee to play it, Bizzard has the rights to make it unavailable in short periods of time, it’s in the EULA.
    It’s pretty standard in games that you got to work your way up and not just be able to get the best gear right off the bat.
    Does not allow higher modes before you finish normal… Yes? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s how Diablo has ALWAYS worked! Maybe you should’ve read up on the game before buying it, that’s your own mistake.
    Which features did not work at launch? Apart from having trouble logging in? I know parts of the AH went down, but that was because they didn’t like the way it worked so they changed it, for the better, it’s called an iteration process and improving your product.
    Only stupid people like you make comments like this. All your arguments are invalid. Now go crawl under a rock and die, your existence is useless.
    
    On topic: I don’t think this is a goode idea. Soon every game company in the world will be sued to hell for paybacks, it will ruin the economy and noone will dare make games because the risk versus the reward will be too high. The consumers are undermining the market themselves and then complaining about it. Diablo III is furthermore getting way too much hate, just because it didn’t live up to personal expactation doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Diablo II = nostalgia, nothing can compete with nostalgia.
    - http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
      
      Just to point out, it doesn’t matter how shiny and awesome features are if you can’t log in. =/
    - jonathan hildebrandt-svith
      
      Well, you actually could chose any difficulty from the beginning in D1
- http://www.facebook.com/kaj.udanga Kaj Udanga
  
  I think you got this backward mate. Blizzard exists because consumers say they do. Blizzard is in the entertainment industry and exists to entertain consumers. Our money allows them to work. We are their bosses not their cash cows. The whole reason they exist is because we provide a demand that they as a company have a chance to fill. If they can’t do well, then there’s always someone else willing to try better.
  
  In the end, Blizzard can only reap what they’ve sown.
Tig Bitties

I am in the process with the European commission (ECC) to get a refund from Blizzard aswell. Blizzard sais they only refund complaints raised within three days from purchase, which could be kind of difficult when their servers were unavailable including the battle.net (which requires login to submit a petition)
http://www.facebook.com/people/Willi-Enderle/1668850948 Willi Enderle

i wish i could :-/
http://twitter.com/Deadalon Deadalon

OFC unstabel launch should lead to refunds!

If games companies want to be taken serious… and not just raking in money… they need to act by the SAME laws as others that are selling a product.
http://www.facebook.com/chrisofskye Chris Taylor

So I bought the game, I played the campaign and I was needless to say very disappointed. With this in my mind, I opened a ticket on my B-Net account and said pretty much said I can never get on-line due to error:37, this game is a huge disappointment but which much more anger because I wasted my money.

I got a reply 3 days later saying that my accounts will be refunded and that they are sorry to hear I am unhappy with my gaming experience. I got my funds refunded in 5 days, so it goes to show you don’t have to be in Korea to get a refund. I did this about 2 weeks after the release, all you have to do is open a ticket.
- Warfox Mihomiti
  
  Blizzard has pretty reasonable customer service.
- Kagitaar
  
  Wait, so you lied to Blizzard about connection issues because you finished normal and got bored?
InvaderMig

Man if they’d give me 20 bucks right now I’d be happy to erase this game from my account. I wasn’t a big fan of D3 and for some reason I got this one. Well a $60 lesson learned I suppose.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dejagg-Katana/100000896860860 Dejagg Katana

Nah Korea’s just a crazy country when it comes to gaming this won’t happen anywhere else.
http://www.facebook.com/carlos12345 Carlos Rivera

im sorry for the outburst but thats just fucking stupid.. diablo 3 was def working launch night i was on at 12 sharp. it sucks that they could not play there game when they wanted to but its just silly to ask for your money back at this point.thats how online games work everyone logs on at once sever go’s crazy then something brakes. also if they have this problem they should just change the term of service so it says bliz will not put up with the bs from sk for mop and they should learn to deal with it
http://twitter.com/Nerdoku Nerdoku

Wish I could get a refund… the game sucks.
http://www.facebook.com/Tubezipper Zac Crowle

Yeah, I’d take a refund, if I bought it.. Still bummed it was the kicker that got me into the 12-month wow sub deal – can I get my money back for everything..?
xbe513

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) in the UK is a pretty toothless body. They can give companies a telling off and maybe a (small) fine…but nothing like what happened in S. Korea. For that you need to go to the Courts…and in the UK you need deep pockets to access the Law, especially against a company as big as Activision-Blizzard.

Having said that, it’d be cool if they learn’t lessons for future launches…but a few days of instability I just expect. Hell WoW in its first year was always going down…got plenty of free days added to my account.
worldbro

I got a refund. North America, within the 30 day window.
http://twitter.com/nemesisnick33 nick

i’d like a refund but not because of error 37
http://twitter.com/Nathiest Nathiest

Lag.. give my money back! So’s you can no longer afford the people you’ll need to fix the lag issues. Win?
loki4687

Got to inferno and thought I think im never gonna play this again.

I thought d3 would be a safe buy because i play d2 periodically through out my gaming career. It turns out this might be the biggest waste of money ever.
Noctover

If it was an MMO, no, these things are bound to happen with an MMO.

However the fact people bought a potentially SINGLE PLAYER GAME and COULD NOT PLAY IT is entirely Blizzard’s fault for the lame DRM system that requires you always be online and connected, in which case if people want refunds they should be given. (Probably not now, people will exploit it now, but if they applied back when it was broken then yes.)

Blizzard Issues Diablo 3 Refunds to South Korean Players

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