Didn’t think this was real at first read. But holy fudge it it is… Game is now being review bombed on steam. Here’s an additional article from Gaming on Linux:
thanks for sharing the chart! I doubt they Sony takes a hint from this too, but it certainly shows other developers and publishers something about signing contracts with Sony…
Sony should take the hint. Many of these reviews are from people who can’t even get a PSN account in their country. So Steam is about to be flooded with requests for refunds due to the game not being available to some users. I already asked for a refund because of this.
It’s unlikely steam will be able to tell people to just pound sand, so Valve will likely step in at some point and then Sony will be in trouble with the platform itself.
Although the Steam page for HELLDIVERS 2 has clearly stated since release that a PlayStation Network account is required, you actually haven’t had to link them. That will change really soon.
So if it were clearly written on the Steam page, I don’t really get the complains.
Who the fuck reads the entire steam page? My friend says buy the game, the reviews say it’s great with friends, you go and buy the game not scan the steam page for predatory data hoarding policies.
On top of the fact it was (more or less) turnkey. It worked. For months. Why would you look at the page when it works? If it was like that from the start, it would be different.
Not surprisingly that PSN page was edited earlier today, but there’s a million screenshots floating around already, plus you can check the previous version in the Wayback Machine.
And even if it was clearly written on all places, it’s still a “too bad you didn’t read the fine print, now you’re past the limit time for a refund, so either let Sony track you or lose access to the game” situation which is very shitty. There’s also the fact that they sold the game to people in countries where is PSN is not available, which should not have happened if that requirement was going to be enforced in the future.
Not hard to see why people would get pissed and lose trust in the developer. I also think that players have been annoyed for a while with this type of requirement (not specifically in this game), and they are now getting a good outlet with a lot of publicity around to vent about it.
That makes much more sense now. I was also wondering why people didn‘t pick up on it earlier given the incredible popularity of this game. So of course people noticed it, but it just didn‘t make much sense. I can see why someone would shrug it off a messy bit of text that probably wasn‘t supposed to be there and will be removed or edited or something. Well edited it was… just not as expected I guess.
There’s also the problem that they’re clearly rushing this without much thought, they don’t even have an answer to the obvious question of “what happens to people in regions not supported by PSN”.
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.
— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
So, at first install, I actually linked my account to a PSN account that I knew was banned due to a charge back on an unwanted purchase. At the time, I figured if I discovered that I can’t play because my account is banned from PSN, I’d just refund on Steam. I feel I’ll be very justifiably pissed if my account is now banned from playing retroactively, long after the refund window.
This is the point of contention I am curious about. If Sony can be the one to kick you off the game that you bought on Steam and you don’t get refunded for it, I will review it negatively. Let me know what happens after the update forcing PSN.
Yeah but it seems like they were not expecting this change just based on their responses on social media, and it looks like Sony didn’t even “require it” until just recently. So I just wanted to know.
The developer is involved to the extent that they have to do what Sony says. The CEO of Arrowhead even tweeted that people should email Sony, referring to a Playstations own website where it stated that PSN is optional. Sony then quickly changed their web page to say it’s sometimes required.
That’s true. Personally though, it not being optional for any amount of time just shows that there’s no good argument to have it be mandatory in the first place.
A change like this may warrant special exceptions to the refund rules. Steam has made exceptions for similar changes to games made after launch in the past.
They sold this game in dozens of countries where you can’t make a PSN account. That right there is what pisses me the fuck off. Complete horseshit to do that to people.
Their terms of service specifically say if you spoof your location or do not sign up in your country you will subject to review and punishment. Aka permabanned
It might not affect most people as they won’t get caught, but Sony absolutely cares when you’ve given them false information. I’d much rather get my refund than be at the mercy of Sony who can be pretty liberal with the suspensions.
One of my friends made the mistake of linking his PSN account right when he started playing Helldivers 2 then shortly found he was banned from the game. After he did some digging, he found his PSN account was banned for “suspicious activities” despite having not used it in over a year. After even more digging he eventually finds out it was because when they kept charging him for their premium service and he was trying to cancel it, they wouldn’t remove his payment information. He checked multiple times with them and they said they did.
Next payment period rolls around and they charge him for another year of service all the same. He tries to get it refunded, he talks to them about how they said they removed the payment info and it’s nothing but “well there’s nothing we can do about it now” type bullshit. So he goes to his bank and did a charge back on the annual fee, since they keep insisting it’s impossible. Wouldn’t ya know it suddenly it’s very easy to remove his payment info, cancel that premium service, and take care of everything.
All of this was done about a year prior, and he left his account untouched since fuck Sony and PlayStation at that point. I guess they waited until his account was active again being used for a game for them to suddenly realize they really don’t like his charge back and deactivate his account entirely, blocking access to everything linked to it, including Helldivers 2.
Oh man I hope they do it as a gritty live action grim dark retcon origin story that entirely explains Herobrine’s past starring Jared Leto as Herobrine and shows his face and eye color. /s
Why would people not trust putting any info and linking their Steam account to a company with a history of at least 8 hacks + 5 massive data breaches? I wonder. 🤔
Please, anyone who reads this, stop posting links to the mobile version of Wikipedia. It doesn’t switch automatically on PC, and I see it happen all the time. Just take the half a second to remove the “.m” from the beginning of the link, save everyone else from the pain of having to be surprised by it and taking the time to do it themselves.
Yeah I’m not making a 49th account to play a game I bought with my steam account. That’s just another attack vector for me to deal with. Especially when I’ve been playing on my steam account just fine. Not to mention, my PSN credentials have already been hacked from PlayStation once before after the account was banned. Someone was trying to login to it. So why the fuck would I trust them a second time? Its just more data to leak that’s mine.
FWIW, no need for it to be an attack vector if you just use one of those throwaway email services to sign up for a PSN account you’ll never use anywhere else.
And sony could mandate that the email be a real email, and if you get caught the account gets banned. Congrats, now you invented a game of whack a mole!
Could just make a throwaway account with Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, what have you, then. No real/personally identifiable information attached.
Not saying I agree at all with what Sony is doing, but anyone who is concerned about their email/personal information getting leaked by something they didn’t want to sign up for, there are options to protect yourself.
@Stovetop@bitfucker why should people accept it though? They could play just fine without, why should they accept having to create an additional account and having to log into it every time they play the game? Of theres no shitstorm, this wont stop and might be done by other studios/publishers too
I am just saying, if the concern is about putting your email on another service, then don’t put your email. You can use a throwaway one if you just want to get through it and play, or if it’s a matter of principle and you don’t want to, that’s cool too.
Just offering my 2 cents on keeping personal information safe on the web. It’s often unsafe to put all your eggs in one basket and email is no exception, so having some “burner accounts” on hand can help.
No thats good for current business. They are forgoing long turn prospects and instead settling for milking an already drying cow. At least rock star make consistently enjoyable products, but even then without the promise of gta 6, gta5 would eventually dry up
The average consumer of games is a 12 year old with Mommy’s credit card
Though I seriously doubt you are correct in this assertion, I’m not sure how this attitude is helpful?
It’s like if someone said that the average person complaining about games online was just a loser living in their mom’s basement with too much time on their hands.
I would love to see Valve allow refunds. This was not an agreed upon stipulation at the time of purchase. If they pull the game from you now so soon after purchase, is it not grounds for a refund? Give Sony the choice to backtrack or lose money.
It’s the video game equivalent of Legos. I think it has staying power in a way few other games have, precisely in the same way that Legos have remained popular toys for generations.
More stuff is coming / is already out. It’s actually a really well done implementation of a live service game which I never thought I’d say about anything. That does mean it has a shelf life though and the live service won’t last forever, which is a bummer. I’m curious what they’ll do with it once they’re finished actively managing the war story. Maybe hand it over to an AI in 2-3 years.
Hmm well I played on and off for about a month and didn’t notice anything new.
Do you know if they plan on adding some new game modes? I’m already sick and tired of the whole “shoot bugs, rescue hostages/blow up objective, shoot more bugs then extract” thing. I get that a lot of shooters have a tendency to only have 2-3 game modes max, but those games at least have PvP to keep things interesting.
Not sure. I do know new creatures are planned and coming, and player vehicles are planned. I haven’t played in a couple weeks though so I’m not sure what all is out and what’s still cooking.
Every game is repetitive, it comes down to whether the repetition is entertaining. It wasn’t for you but for a lot of people it is. It is trending downward according to Steam stats but it still has around 60-70k concurrent players during the low points and in terms of hours played it’s be in the top 10 games.
Personally while the overall mission structure is “repetitive” I think the randomization of mission parameters, how the mission play out and the spectacle make it very fun. I would still be playing if not for the Sony shit. It’s a great game to peace out with friends.
Someone working minimum wage wants to get the most of their refurbished PS4. They might try spending $60 on an unforgettable 12-hour singleplayer adventure, but then they’d run it a second time for achievements and have nothing else to play the rest of the year, having an old hospital and car bill to pay off. Instead, they either play F2P to stretch their dollar, or buy a 100-hour Ubisoft game padded with content. When they do get a bonus from work, they feel invested in that F2P and buy the skin they always envied.
I’m of course not suggesting these games are masterpieces, but it’s not so hard to imagine the appeals they cater to.
Thank the gods for games like Warframe. F2P, fun, lots of content, reasonable grind, the devs are actually trying to make a fun game and not just milk you for money. It’s the only F2P game I’ve put money into and I would do it again
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