Activision and - possibly - Ion Storm are not to be trusted!

[Danger_Dude]

Watch your wallet! Here's the story....

I just picked up Deus Ex for $10.00 at the local Best Buy. The game I bought was labeled Deus Ex and came in just a shrinkwrapped jewel box. Best Buy has lots of games that are sold this way, typically older ones.

There was also a boxed Deus Ex on the shelf, labeled "Game of the Year edition" for $19.99

I asked the salesperson if there was any difference between the two and was told that the GOTY edition came with a full manual, etc. Nothing I needed, so I bought the $10.00 version, took it home, and installed it (meaning that I can no longer return it).

I heard a rumor here (see thread: http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=106503) that the jewel case version might not be the entire game. In other words, that it was a large demo for which you have the privilege of buying.

I sent an e-mail to Bill Money at Ion Storm, asking if I got the real deal or not. His reply:

Activision published the "special limited edition" version of Deus Ex.
Apparently they had a different idea from the rest of us what "limited"
meant. We (Ion Storm and Eidos) have since worked with them to get the title
changed to "Special Preview Edition", but you must have gotten one of the
older ones. The limited edition version has the first 5 missions of the
game, roughly 40% of the content.

Sorry for the confusion.

Note that there was NO indication on the jewel case, the .txt documentation, or the installation process that this was in fact crippleware. The only *slight* indication that all was not kosher was in the start menu, it was labeled "Deus Ex Preview Edition". You will also note that you don't find this out until after it is installed, when it is too late to return the damn thing and you're essentially screwed.

So, I guess it's "sorry for the confusion" but we've already got your money.

I've sent a second e-mail to Mr. Money asking for a contact at Activision, since he puts the blame for the blatantly misleading labelling on them. As of now, he has not replied.

This just rubs my ass raw - it's not like 10 bucks is a lot of money - but the principle is the issue. I do plan to file a complaint with the BBB and with my state's attorney general's office, depending on Activision's and/or Ion Storm's response.

I will of course let my gaming brethen know what is going on. How many times have you been screwed out of your $$$ by buggy, unfinished games? And now they are releasing what are essentially demos, packaged and labeled exactly like the full game, and saying "too bad" after the fact. That's bull****.

 

[Syri]

write off to activision, and tell them if they don't refund you the $10, you'll report them to the Trading Standards council. write, rather than e-mail, as they have a hard copy then, and keep a copy yourself, to prove when you sent it. it's totally wrong for companies to do this sort of thing, and just complaining but still accepting it isn't going to stop them. You're right to complain, but take action, demand you're money back, don't just think "ah, it's only ten bucks"

 

[Blorgg]

Bah, game companies complain all the time about warez giving them a hard time. And when you decide to go about it the way you should they screw you :/

 

[Danger_Dude]

Originally posted by [RSU]D-Stroya
write off to activision, and tell them if they don't refund you the $10, you'll report them to the Trading Standards council. write, rather than e-mail, as they have a hard copy then, and keep a copy yourself, to prove when you sent it. it's totally wrong for companies to do this sort of thing, and just complaining but still accepting it isn't going to stop them. You're right to complain, but take action, demand you're money back, don't just think "ah, it's only ten bucks"

Oh, I am definitely not "just complaining" compadre. I'll take this as far as I can go; I have simply had it with this kind of bull****. Bad enough nearly every game needs a patch before you get the bloody thing back from the store (but don't get me started on that issue!)

 

[Danger_Dude]

I just got off the phone with Bill Anchor (sp?) at Activision. He states that - contrary to the information I got from Ion Storm - they never published any versions of Deus Ex.

The plot thickens....

** Edit ** Eidos website does indeed list Deus Ex as a published product. Looks like Mr. Money (Bill Money, is that a real name?) at Ion Storm may have mistakenly given me incorrect information. Now lets see if I can speak with some at Eidos...

 

[SludgeX]

I would take all your nasty complaints to Activision, and not Ion Storm Austin.

The original Deus Ex (along with the GOTY edition), were published by Eidos Interactive, NOT Activision. So my guess would be that Activision in their no-so-infinite wisdom, bought the rights to the "Limited Edition" ( and I do mean Limited ) of Deus Ex, and released it for no other reason than to make a quick buck off of a great game...

*EDIT*

Danger_Dude, does the jewel case have the actual Activision label on it?

 

[Danger_Dude]

Just spoke with someone in Eidos "production" department. No help. They sent me to a Mike Kelly in Eidos Technical Support; left a message.

I'm really interested in getting to the bottom of this particular pit... I just wonder how many other schmucks bought the thing thinking they were getting the full piece of software...

 

[Thrakhath]

This is why I buy all my games from Software Etc. (GameStop, Babbages, Etc.), seven day return on any game as long as you have reciept and the game is still resellable.

Sorry for the bum deal man, that is just dumb that they would do somthing like that. Have you played the game and confirmed that it is indeed not the full thing?

 

[Exar Kun [Sith]]

Activision had nothing to do with Deus Ex but rather Eidos (publisher) and Ion Storm Austin(developer).

[edit] you all ready found out about them[/edit]

Yeah that's a regular con job they're doing with these 'crippleware' games. I have a feeling it was Eidos doing rather than Ion Storm Austin. [edit] it was actually Activision not Eidos or Ion Storm [/edit] Publishers are the marketing and distrubuting side of things while the developer just makes the game. Usually the publishers are the ones to screw consumers more because they rush the developer sometimes into unfinished games or markets these 'crippleware' copies.

However, I hope this doesn't discourage you Danger_Dude from getting (a full version of) Deus Ex, this game is a really good game not to pass up.

 

[Twisted Metal]

That's too bad. Deus Ex is one of the greatest games ever. You want me to send you a copy in the mail?

 

[Nemephosis]

I would do that. You paid for the game, didn't get it, so hey, if it happened to me I'd be more than willing to take it out of their ass.

It's amazing. Game companies complain about getting screwed by warez, so to make a buck they screw the honest customers.

One big fat f***in :tdown: to Eidos and Ion Storm.

 

[Danger_Dude]

OK here's the deal, according to Bill Money at Ion Storm. At some point in the Deus Ex life cycle (probably after the game had been out awhile, though that is my guess), Activision acquired the rights to publish the first 5 missions under their "Value" label.

Activision called this a "Special Limited Edition" of Deus Ex, and indeed, there is a 5mm x 15mm label in the upper left hand corner of the jewel box proclaiming this to be a "Special Limited Edition". Nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE does it detail just how "limited" this version is... and the Activison logo only appears on the back of the jewel case. The big "Eidos" and "Ion Storm" labels are right up front next to the title.

According to Mr. Money, once Eidos and Ion Storm found out that Activision were marketing this as a "Special Limited Edition", there was a "discussion" and it was renamed a "Special Preview Edition". Which is what appears on the menu after you install it, but the box is still "Special Limited Edition" giving you no clue that you're only getting 5 missions.

So, boys and girls, the moral of the story is:

Don't trust those miserable unethical f*ucks at Activision.

 

[PainAmplifier]

Actually, Danger_Dude..


Your mistake was trusting the word of a Best Buy employee. The only thing you can trust with these people, (and retail employees at mega-chains in general) is that they don't know crap. Well that and not reading the entire blurb on the back. (I don't blame you though about the blurb thing though since I've read it and it took me a couple of reads to figure out what they were saying...but trusting the word of a clueless BB employee is a WTF?! situation.)

If you read the back of the case, (yes I've seen this at best buy && checked it out) it says something about being "X (number of) missions from the full game." Poorly worded yes, blatant intent to deceive no.

FYI - They did the exact same thing with all the tomb raider games also. Publish a "demo/episode" at ~$10 so people could play the game without paying for the full game at the ~$50 price.

Now with alot of (GOOD!) games hitting the bargain bins at ~$10-$20 this becomes a problem due to the poor labeling, but when they first came out it wasn't that hard to tell them apart.

You could try to get BB to exchange for credit against the full version, since they don't do cash back in a situation like this, if you mention that you were going by *their* employees word. Or just exchange it for credit on another game. (I've done this before, with copy protected CD's (That didn't work in my CD player...like Alice/DiabloII, although my newest drive now reads these no problem) or bad/missing disks.

And yeah, let Activision know that the labeling IS confusing, so they can avoid this crap in the future. But screaming/threatening them probably isn't the thing to do in this situation.

 

[Danger_Dude]

PainAmplifier,

Sorry hoss, but the disk I have says nothing, nada, zilch, zip, no one-bloody-sylable about it being X number of missions. Nowhere in any of the labeling or in the readme docs does it suggest, imply, or otherwise state that the disk is anything other than the full game.

In fact, the only difference btw the GOTY edition (which I bought today) and the Activision one is the shading on the background graphics and the "Special Limited Edition" text.

So I don't think I'm in the wrong on this one, despite what you might believe.

But just in case you don't believe me, here is the complete text on the "Special Limited Edition" jewel case:

Question Everything

Civilization is near collapse, the world economy is in chaos, and terrorism runs rampant. A deadly virus known as "Gray Death" ravages the Earth's population. An ancient conspiracy bent on world domination emerges from the shadows of legend. The conspirators' greatest strength? No one believes they exist. No one but you.

Character interaction that matters. How you choose to deal with scores of NPC's affects the outcome of the game, minute-to-minute, start to finish (emphasis added - DD)

Create a compelling alter ego. Select and develop your own unique set of skills and nanotech augementations; determine which objects you need to survive adn solve problems. Will you be the charasmatic master manipulator, the shrewd and stealthy tactician, or the deadly avenging angel?

A chaotic blend of real world conspiracies, cliffhangers, and plot twists. The game that incorporates the best elements of role playing, action, adventure, and first person shooter genres.

And it lists the required and recommended hardware requirements.

So tell me how I'm supposed to know that the game I just bought is really only about 40% of the content in the full version? Cause I just don't see it.... unless maybe the "Question Everything" part meant to question whether you're going to get the whole product. Of course, the "start to finish" part had me a little fooled as well.

 

[Law]

What makes this situation even worse is that Ion Storm has the first two missions for free in the Deus Ex demo. So basically, you're paying for two or three levels.

Really classy on their part.

Hope you don't let this experience sour your appreciated for the game DD. And now that you have the GOTY version you can listen to the game soundtrack while you write hate mail to Activision. I guess that would be a plus...

 

[PainAmplifier]

Hmmm... I could have swore it had something about not being the full version *somewhere* on the damn thing. BUT the one I looked at could have had a revised package, so I'll take your word for it.

I *know* that both the Tomb Raider && the Serious Sam ones had "X missions out of Y total", and I thought this one was the same. Still as they say: "Chryst happens."

Eitherway, you probably could still exchange for credit on another game. It's worth a try at least.


RE: The Serious Sam "preview" game. Like WTF?! The full game was ~$20 and now with SS:TSE out @$20 what is the point of half the first game at $10?! Not only that but SS:TFE is like ~$10 for the FULL version now with places discounting it already, so this makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Exar Kun [Sith]]

So it was Activision that released it. I stand corrected on Eidos being the one that would do this. It figures cause Activision has been one of the greedist out of the pc publishers cause just about everygame with their logo is like $5 to $10 more than the starting price of pc games. Like a game is released by a different publisher it would be for $50 (normally) and if it came out published by Activision it would be like $55 to $60.

[edit] typos [/edit]

 

[Danger_Dude]

Bottom line: Cavet Emptor (sp?)

Let the buyer beware. You can bet I'll think long and hard before I buy anything Activison publishes!

Now to boot up the REAL Deus Ex....

 

[Techno JF]

I agree wholeheartedly with what you're doing. They should have recalled the crippled versions instead of putting both versions together on the same shelf. It's been done before with other games.

For example, Electronic Arts avoided this mistake with Undying just recently. For a few months, I wasn't able to find a copy of it on the shelves at Hastings, so I asked an employee about it. She said that all unsold copies of it had been recalled, and that a newer version of it would be released on February 21. Well, I called Hastings on that date, and they said that Undying made it onto the shelves ahead of schedule, and that it was $15.99. I'm planning on buying a copy (using money in the form of Hastings giftcards) as soon as I can get transportation to get there.