Should gamers be able to get a refund if a game is broken at launch such as Unity and Halo: MCC?

[VanceIX]

UltimateUnknown said:

VanceIX said:

That is the reason that you can't have a solid refund policy with media forms like games, movies, and music. Do I symapthise? Yes. I bought both MCC and Unity for Pete's sake, and Unity was a pre-order. I waited to buy MCC because I knew it might have online issues, but I screwed up big time with Unity. I'm not going to ask for a refund policy, though, because it was my decision to buy it. I should have known better, and now I do.

So you're saying it was your fault for buying Unity and trusting that the game would function. The devs shouldn't have to take any responsibility for the mess it was on launch. I think you and I already know that answer. 

While I could blame you for buying Unity at launch or pre-ordering it, not looking at the reviews, not reading user feedback, I won't. Because I know why you bought the game. Because you probably liked the concept of it and had the simple expectation for it to run without game breaking bugs. It never had anything to do with bad game design.

Look I don't want a refund because I want to give back my game. I want to keep my games, and I keep almost every game I purchase, whether I like the game design or not. But the concept of a refund is only there to encourage developers to fix their broken game prior to launch (not after launch). I want to enjoy the game on day one, not wait a month after launch. A whole bunch of us should not be beta (or even alpha) testers for their games because of our loyalty/trust.

But the problem with the refund is that it will cost the industry millions over the years, since people will doubtlessly abuse it. That's what I'm trying to say. I completely understand your frustrations, but a refund is not the answer, not with this kind of media. The only way to hold devs accountable is to do research before and after the game comes out, and not to pre-order things. That's the only feasible way to stop publishers from being scumbags. 

I think we both agree that publishers need to be held accountable. I just think we disagree on the method.