Aussies give EA the 2013 Shonky Awards for unfair play - Polidicks

[QUOTE]With the launch of SimCity earlier this year, gaming business EA charged Australian consumers $2.48 a minute on the phone to seek help about the game after a number of server connection issues were found. Consumers should not have to pay to exercise their basic warranty rights. With US consumers given access to the complaint line for free, CHOICE believes this is another example of the “Australia tax” that forces us to pay more. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.choice.com.au/media-and-news/consumer-news/news/2013-shonky-awards.aspx[/url] I guess EA's trying to go global now. First America, and then the rest of the world.

That's some shonky business m8

[URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/f/f7/Sniper_jeers02.wav"]That's some shonky business right there.[/URL] Also why the hell does Australia get shafted so much? What possible reason could make the so-called Australia Tax even remotely a thing that has any right to exist?

[QUOTE=ironman17;42689837][URL="http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/f/f7/Sniper_jeers02.wav"]That's some shonky business right there.[/URL] Also why the hell does Australia get shafted so much? What possible reason could make the so-called Australia Tax even remotely a thing that has any right to exist?[/QUOTE] The justification is, is that we live too far away and the shipping cost is sooooo expensive which is utter bullshit, online products should not be that high in price and we seriously only live next to Hong Kong where most of these online companies are. There's been dozens of Parliamentary Inquiries into this, recently the Australian Government told Microsoft, Adobe and Apple to stop being cunts and lower the damn price [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] In their reports though the Government recommended that Australians use proxies and VPNs from the US to get around geo-blocking

I actually forgot SimCity existed :v:

[quote]gaming business EA charged Australian consumers $2.48 a minute on the phone[/quote] I know someone has to be paid but what?

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;42689934]The justification is, is that we live too far away and the shipping cost is sooooo expensive which is utter bullshit, online products should not be that high in price[/QUOTE] From what I can understand is that retailers don't want people to be buying games for way less online than getting a physical copy from them.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;42689934]The justification is, is that we live too far away and the shipping cost is sooooo expensive which is utter bullshit, online products should not be that high in price and we seriously only live next to Hong Kong where most of these online companies are. There's been dozens of Parliamentary Inquiries into this, recently the Australian Government told Microsoft, Adobe and Apple to stop being cunts and lower the damn price[/QUOTE] The online part's completely justified; there are no oceans on the internet, as has been stated ad-nauseum. Hopefully all these justified complaints won't cause the big companies to just forget about Australia even more just so the country serves some twisted form of "penance" for daring to defy the laws of the universe as laid down by the Master God. And hopefully Australia will one day say "FUCK IT" to physical copies and the ransom that physical retailers are holding the Aussie gaming scene for, once digital download gets strong enough in the country. But seriously fuck the shit that's happening to Australia; it's already Planet Hell/Pandyssia, it doesn't need all this other shit piled on by the rest of humanity.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;42689934]The justification is, is that we live too far away and the shipping cost is sooooo expensive which is utter bullshit, online products should not be that high in price and we seriously only live next to Hong Kong where most of these online companies are. There's been dozens of Parliamentary Inquiries into this, recently the Australian Government told Microsoft, Adobe and Apple to stop being cunts and lower the damn price [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] In their reports though the Government recommended that Australians use proxies and VPNs from the US to get around geo-blocking[/QUOTE] iirc the biggest reason behind the high prices of australian games is the higher standard of living. isn't minimum wage like 15 bucks in australia? [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] wait, what the fuck? did people [I]seriously[/I] give more votes to a videogame companythan businesses that actually screw people over... again? [quote]EnergyAustralia For failing to disclose how much energy bills would increase by before billing consumers. Not only did EnergyAustralia use the back of a marketing flyer for solar panels to tell consumers that prices were going up – they did it after the event and still failed to say how much the increase was. With energy bills the number one cost-of-living concern for Australian consumers, this is downright shonky.[/quote] [quote]Credit Repair Australia For charging a non-refundable upfront fee of $990 to consumers for a service that fails to live up to its name. In most cases, default listings and other information about your credit history can’t be removed from a report unless it is proven to be wrong. This company boasts of having dealt with over 150,000 consumers in the last 10 years – and we reckon that most of them would have been better off not paying for this shonky service.[/quote] like, for real. how is "boo hoo my videogame kinda sucked" as bad as or worse than a non-refundable $990 fee at a bogus credit repair place, or an energy company that doesn't disclose how much bills are going up before they were billed? this further proves my belief that the only people who partcipate in these votes are 11-17 year olds with no real world responsibilities. [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] edit b/c facepunch won't let me edit: granted, there was a 2.48 fee but that's nowhere near as bad as those two companies i quoted. also i spelled "participate" wrong.

Cost of living is a tired excuse, yes we get higher wages but that doesn't mean everything has to be expensive

EA, could you stop trying to rape peoples wallets please?

I can see it having a big negative impact on our economy over time tbh, as gaming becomes more popular I think the government should put a lot behind its video game companies, because eventually that will be one of the most lucrative industries. We could raise gaming's Hollywood.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;42690492]wait, what the fuck? did people [I]seriously[/I] give more votes to a videogame companythan businesses that actually screw people over... again?[/QUOTE] It's pretty clear from the article that they [i]all[/i] recieved the same award as EA, so no. EA wasn't voted worse than any of those companies.

Jesus fucking christ. Two and a half dollars every minute. And people wonder why I hate EA so much.

[QUOTE=megafat;42693816][B]steam[/B], could you stop trying to rape peoples wallets please?[/QUOTE] ftfy

Steam doesn't really rape your wallet, it charms you into consenting. EA is full on forced penetration.

I think most Australians won't bother with EA again after this ........ I hope

The "Australia" tax is why I hate America. This is just what I'd expect from the con artists who invented "Origin" after all.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;42690492]-the minimum wage bullshit-[/QUOTE] No. I'm really tired of amateur economists saying this. The abest part is when people who live in the damn country come out and tell you that that's bullshit, and then you just go "no, this is how your economy works i know because your minimum wage is higher".

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;42690492]iirc the biggest reason behind the high prices of australian games is the higher standard of living. isn't minimum wage like 15 bucks in australia? [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] wait, what the fuck? did people [I]seriously[/I] give more votes to a videogame companythan businesses that actually screw people over... again? like, for real. how is "boo hoo my videogame kinda sucked" as bad as or worse than a non-refundable $990 fee at a bogus credit repair place, or an energy company that doesn't disclose how much bills are going up before they were billed? this further proves my belief that the only people who partcipate in these votes are 11-17 year olds with no real world responsibilities. [editline]29th October 2013[/editline] edit b/c facepunch won't let me edit: granted, there was a 2.48 fee but that's nowhere near as bad as those two companies i quoted. also i spelled "participate" wrong.[/QUOTE] ok

This doesn't really make a difference, people are still going to buy their games. I've stopped buying games published by EA and other companies I don't like but 1 customer isn't going to make a difference to a company that big.

I don't even hate EA I just think they're stupid but they publish good games so I'll continue buying, I pre-ordered BF4 because I loved BF3 and ever since they got a new CEO its been getting better

This EA hate wagon is pretty retarded when as milkandcooki said, there are much worse business practices displayed in the article.

[QUOTE=fruxodaily;42696706]I don't even hate EA I just think they're stupid but they publish good games so I'll continue buying, I pre-ordered BF4 because I loved BF3 and ever since they got a new CEO its been getting better[/QUOTE]They're greedy and Dice makes the game they just put an EA logo on it and push it through "Origin".

EA wants people to use their service what a shocker!!

[QUOTE=Novangel;42696793]EA wants people to use their service what a shocker!![/QUOTE]10 year olds want people to view their crappy youtube game play videos, but it's not going to happen

VALVe made pretty much all their source engine games STEAM exclusive on PC, EA are just doing the same with Origin. While it is fucking annoying to have to use two programs, VALVe are just as bad as EA in this situation.

[QUOTE=Mr. Tripp;42696806]VALVe made pretty much all their source engine games STEAM exclusive on PC, EA are just doing the same with Origin. While it is fucking annoying to have to use two programs, VALVe are just as bad as EA in this situation.[/QUOTE]Yes, but Value started by actually making games and steam doesn't have the issues of "Origin". Origin is just a really bad steam clone. Valve is a company of gamers who want make interesting games, EA are just old business men who are only really focused on protecting their million dollar a year salaries.

Origin is a better program than Steam by far on a technical level what are you even on about? And EA totally didn't start out by making games no sirree

I'm more glad than ever that Origin is on the scene. They need to give Valve what they've been needing for the longest time now: a nice square punch to the face. I can't stand monopolies, and Valve has let Steam become so riddled with bugs and other fuckery. Valve is NOT the company they once were.