Life of Black Tiger [PS4] and other shit games that show a lack of QA on PSN

I think if anything that attitude towards consumers is patronizing as hell. It's think of the children all over again. Amazon doesn't go under because half the stuff they're selling is garbage either. And who's to say what's good and what isn't anyway. I'd rather play 20 minutes of Black Tiger than something like Dear Esther for example. At least Black Tiger would have given me the occasional chuckle. If PSN goes under it'll be due to pricing that's still ludicrous compared to retail. That and PS+ becoming more and more of a sad joke as the years go by.
Besides, if there's someone who did some serious PR (albeit unintentional) for Black Tiger as of late it was Digital Foundry. Not Sony. I certainly never heard of it before.
 
Caveat emptor.
Malo said:
Really enjoy Jim Sterling's work, he's very entertaining. Seriously though, wtf is up with Sony.
Click to expand...

Sony (and Microsoft) have a Technical Requirement Checklist (TRC) setting out technical criteria that could disqualify games from publication but Sony (certainly) seemingly do not have a subjective quality assessment. I'd argue they should not, it's a tricky thing to apply consistently which is why Valve operate the same. As far as I know, so do Microsoft.

I firmly believe people have to take responsibility for their purchasing decisions. Caveat emptor. :yep2:
 
DSoup said:
I firmly believe people have to take responsibility for their purchasing decisions. Caveat emptor.
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Sony has always been considered to be strict with quality, but as you said there doesn't seem to be any kind of subjective quality standard anymore, merely does it pass technical checklist.

Steam contains a ton of shovelware that are half broken crap, asset flips, direct copies of games. Valve doesn't care as long as they're getting their cut. However, the unaware consumer could be fooled by screenshots (because that never happens) or inaccurate description, purchase and download the game, realize their mistake then get an instant full refund.

Purchase one of these ridiculous titles from PS Store and realize what a horrid mistake you've made? (Keep in mind the above title I linked is $20!!) I'm sorry, no refund. Even initiating a download means you're no longer eligible for refund.
 
Malo said:
Sony has always been considered to be strict with quality, but as you said there doesn't seem to be any kind of subjective quality standard anymore, merely does it pass technical checklist.
Click to expand...

I don't know if Sony ever had any particular subjective quality standards, there was plenty of shit shovelware on PlayStation and PS2 - although it never felt as bad as Nintendo's mobile platforms. Subjective barriers to market are generally bad even in the intentions for them are noble. That's why TRCs, technical requirement checklists, are clearer, concise and more difficult to contest.

That said, some titles released on consoles have had ropey technical issues. It makes my question when Sony (or Microsoft or Nintendo) would really say no. Early PS3 era springs to mind and some of the stuff covered in this thread.
 
I'll have to remember that bad movies get sold on Amazon/Vudu and they should warn me since they are responsible for said bad movies. Better yet remove all bad movies so I can't accidentally watch them.

Unless otherwise specified, games, software downloads, and purchases from the Amazon Appstore for Android, the Amazon Digital Music store or the Amazon Video store are not returnable after purchase
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=15015721

Buyer be ware with digital sales.
 
Malo said:
Steam contains a ton of shovelware that are half broken crap, asset flips, direct copies of games. Valve doesn't care as long as they're getting their cut. However, the unaware consumer could be fooled by screenshots (because that never happens) or inaccurate description, purchase and download the game, realize their mistake then get an instant full refund.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's the main quality that separates Steam from PSN. The ability for a user to get their money back if they've been misled by false advertising (including developer paid for "reviews" in user reviews) by the developer.

Sony doesn't care as long as they get their money. Bought a pile of crap due to misleading screenshots, paid reviews, etc.? Too bad, Sony's got your money and you can go suck it.

Having less restrictions on Software released on Steam was something users demanded of Steam, and thus they reduced the restrictions.

In an attempt to control bad practices without actually screening software subjectively, they've been working on improving how user reviews are displayed (for example, a toggle to only see reviews from verified purchases and not from free software given to the user by the developer).

Regards,
SB
 
DSoup said:
I don't know if Sony ever had any particular subjective quality standards, there was plenty of shit shovelware on PlayStation and PS2 - although it never felt as bad as Nintendo's mobile platforms. Subjective barriers to market are generally bad even in the intentions for them are noble. That's why TRCs, technical requirement checklists, are clearer, concise and more difficult to contest.

That said, some titles released on consoles have had ropey technical issues. It makes my question when Sony (or Microsoft or Nintendo) would really say no. Early PS3 era springs to mind and some of the stuff covered in this thread.
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I know of games refused publishing on PSN based on bugs (allowed on some regions of PSN but not others even). It seems to be a crapshoot.

As for caveat emptor, we have 7 days no-quibble return of goods for distance selling because it's a lousy, anti-consumer concept. You can't expect people to buy products with no guarantees of what they're getting or suitability for purpose. Other sellers are realising their valued customers need the safety to make purchases without risk, to ensure they are willing to spend and explore. Apple, Google, and Valve are open markets with refund policies so you can get a refund for trash.

If Sony don't want to provide a minimum quality filter, they need to provide a refund policy. Simples.
 
Silent_Buddha's comment has nothing to do with the other's policies - it's a statement on Sony. And even if the other's policies are the same, doesn't make it the 'right' way to do things.

As it is, MS were looking to introduce refunds back last April. Dunno what happened. They also differentiate quality levels through the different types of game offering. Something like LOBT would be expected in Xbox Live Creator's Program.

The noise surrounded LOBT et al shows consumers are wanting at least a segregation of high and low quality titles. We also see the same on Steam - despite the free, open nature, many users protest the glut of crap, and Valve struggle to find ways to give users a way to find and select content they'll value without running content through a corporate quality filter.

The important thing is to recognise the 'problem' and work towards solutions. The most basic and effective is a short-term refund window.
 
It's good practice that MS offer refunds. I don't know their policy, but something like: full refund available if requested within the first 30 minutes of booting it up for the first time.

That said, in the day and age of YouTube proliferation, I have limited sympathy for people who make uninformed game purchases. The console has YouTube; if you're buying via your PC or smartphone, they both have YouTube too. 5 minutes of footage, maybe with a spoken review, should be enough to tell you whether or not it's for you. At least to the extent that it warrants purchase - I've bought quite a few games that I've disliked after a few hours with them.

Especially that fucking spike pillar of supreme twattery in the first God of War.
 
BRiT said:
Yes MS does. It's a self-initiated process too. You dont even have to deal with any customer service reps to do so.
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I heard they wanted to do it, but all I got from searching MS support policies is this:

https://support.xbox.com/en-CA/games/purchasing/buying-digital-game-faq
Can I get a refund for a digital game?
No. You can’t return a digital game and receive a refund or credit.
Click to expand...

If there was a way to get reimbursed microtransactions, that would be great. "I didn't want the pink hat! I was drunk!“
 
Tkumpathenurpahl said:
It's good practice that MS offer refunds. I don't know their policy, but something like: full refund available if requested within the first 30 minutes of booting it up for the first time.
Click to expand...

This is really good. Sony used too offer refunds and I did get GTA V (digital on PS3) refunded because having pre-ordered it way in advance on PSN, had forgotten, then bought it on disc, and despite the fact my PS3 had downloaded the digital version, Sony made it easy to refund to my PS Wallet. Technically not a refund as that money is still in Sony's ecosystem.

I was disappointed that Sony had ceased refunds in the UK until somebody pointed out a recent(ish) change in consumer rights legislation for digital purchases. It's not cool that Sony has picked the low bar position, i.e. the law required this, this is all we're doing, fuck you PlayStation owners.

This doesn't change my caveat emptor position and I've never had a technical issue with a PlayStation game that warranted a refund - unlike Steam. Steam's system is great.
 
I'm even able to do it from the online MS Account Website. Not sure if its insider status or if its live for everyone. I cant imagine its still in beta and not released after 9 months.
 
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