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ffgothic

Friday, Aug 29, 2008
A PC Gamer's Bill of Rights: Fantastic in Theory
I found this in a Kotaku post in which they posted via indie dev Stardock. A Bill of Rights for PC gamers, but some of these could appeal to gamers of other platforms as well. All ten are significant and while a few have been met, they all should be presented to other indie and major developers and practiced.

The Gamer's Bill of Rights:

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.

2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.

3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.

4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.

5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.

6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.

7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.

8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.

9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.

10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

And hey, its my 400th blog! Sweet! Here's to 400 more, times ten, added by another one-hundred.

Category: Games
Posted by ffgothic, 9:35pm
13 Comments | Post a Comment

Comments

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NeoJedi
NeoJedi
That's a pretty damn good Bill of Rights that every gamer should be entitled to. Good find right there. Congrats on the big 400!
Posted Aug 29, 2008 9:57 pm PT
MrCHUP0N
MrCHUP0N
While it's something that sadly won't likely be reached, it's definitely something I agree that the industry needs to strive for. I will say that 9 and 10 conflict with each other. No, we shouldn't be treated like criminals, but there's got to be some sort of minute, un-intrusive way to make sure that someone isn't duping their copies. I think you should be able to at least get away with only one of the two. I.e. either I have my disc, or I check-in online. I don't have to do both. (The retail copy of the original Half Life 2 forces us to do both. I believe the PC version of Bioshock does too, but I can't remember.) It's a nice to have, but some part of me does support the game creators not letting some scrub install one game on three PCs and have all his friends get in on the action for free. Unless the publisher/developer doesn't care either way.
Posted Aug 29, 2008 11:07 pm PT
NeonNinja
NeonNinja
I think like eight or nine of those can be applied to console gaming as well. But I do like this bill of rights. LET'S USE IT!
Posted Aug 29, 2008 11:20 pm PT
DrCLos
DrCLos
Of course we are entitle to all those things. But the game companies and hardware developers don't have to listen to us. You forgot to include that part in your bill of rights!
Good list though and would be well applied to console gamers too. At least some on the list.
Posted Aug 30, 2008 12:46 am PT
GearHead3000
GearHead3000
Good luck on your way to your 8100 blog
Posted Aug 30, 2008 3:15 am PT
Rocker500
Rocker500
That's pretty interesting, lol. I agree with most of those.
Posted Aug 30, 2008 6:57 am PT
DryvBy4Ever
DryvBy4Ever
I'll say it again: piracy does not hurt this industry. The people who pirate wouldn't buy the game regardless. I remember a time when we used to "share" games, PC games, with friends. I've loaned my copy of Grim Fandango to friends when I was a kid. And I'll do it even today. Pirates will always win this battle, and they showed they have.

Also, MrCHUP0N, I think having to use a serial number before install is hassle enough. I usually crack my single player games on the PC after I'm done so I don't have to pop in my stupid disc. I also refuse to purchase games that treat me like a criminal, that's why I haven't even touched Mass Effect on PC.
Posted Aug 30, 2008 8:44 am PT
maj911
maj911
thats cool!
Posted Aug 30, 2008 12:10 pm PT
sergio_afonso
sergio_afonso
Keep dreaming...
Posted Aug 30, 2008 1:45 pm PT
UpInFlames
UpInFlames
Stardock rules.
Posted Aug 31, 2008 5:18 am PT
lightwarrior179
lightwarrior179
I as a former PC gamer completely agree with Right No.3,No.9 and No.10.
Congrats on 400th post.
Posted Aug 31, 2008 12:02 pm PT
-thr33
-thr33
Yeah, I read it right from the stardock website, it's a great list, though some are not going to happen. 3, is already being broken by developers and some with others like 9, yes I know it's a want list for the future, but developers aren't going to go back and patch games for certain things on the list, unfortunately.
Posted Sep 2, 2008 12:50 pm PT
-thr33
-thr33
[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
Posted Sep 2, 2008 12:50 pm PT
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