Helldivers 2 will require Steam players to sign in with PSN account, led to review bombing games & refunds. |UP| Gamers organizing to revert reviews.

[Yurinka]

So its seemingly had no impact on sales?

We don't have data to know how it did impact on sales other than see that both before and after the game is between the Steam top paid games.

What this clearly had an impact is in reviews: first negative with the review bombingh and later positive with users organizing to revert it.

In the recent days it had:

• May 3rd: 252 positive, 62477 negative
• May 4th: 114303 negative
• May 5th: 154651 negative
• May 6th: 207675 positive, 25265 negative
• May 7th (until now): 5914 positive
• TOTAL: 213841 positive, 356696 negative
• A net of 142855 negative, if continues at the current speed today will have a net positive in reviews

That's just a terrible idea all around and you would lose much more customers than you would have gained. If people knew all it took for a ridiculous license ban is asking for a refund (in the region that got scammed) then that's crazy.

One thing is to ask for something. They can do it in social media, customer support, etc.

A different thing is to ask for a refund. In that case if they are elegible for a refund (to play less than 2 hours, or having bought the game maximum 2 weeks ago) then they should be refunded. If they don't meet this criteria and the game works well and does what it was advertised and mentioned in the store -like to require a PSN accound-, shouldn't be refunded.

And if for any reason they got refunded anywaays, reason being because they don't like whatever decision made by a company ok, take the refund and permaban them and don't allow them to buy the game again. If wanted the refund, then deal with it. It shouldn't be an issue at all.

Regarding regions, nobody get scammed. During decades people bout PS consoles and created accounts in PSN stores of other countries where there isn't one available for their own countrie. Or created accounts for other regions to get Japan only demos, activate the games before with a Newzealand account, or to buy cheaper in other countries etc.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Lots of people in the subreddit said they decided to buy the game after Sony decided to walk back the changes.

That's why Sony did it. And why PC players more often than not get what they want.

I hope this makes Sony reconsider how they engage with the fanbase.

Oh it'll make them reconsider all right. As in, even more PC ports and even shorter windows to PC if not Day 1. For reasons where the actual money doesn't support the fantasy, they are infatuated with chasing PC even if it comes at the expense of some ingrained console owners...

...which, over time, it WILL end up causing. Even if that's only 5-7% of the total install purchasing base, you are still looking at potentially 5+ million people who normally do the most spending on console (the highest of ARPU spenders) leaving it to go towards other platforms like PC. What I don't think has hit SIE yet, is that the revenue and profit margins are disproportionately higher in favor of those exact types of customers.

AKA revenue & profits will fall steeper than the absolute number of players who decide not to get their console hardware going forward. And the PC revenue (let alone profits) aren't going to be enough to offset that drop. Also wanna know something funny? Even Phil Spencer, botcher of a CEO he turned out to be for Xbox, knows exactly what I'm talking about because he's said effectively the same thing well in the past, when their console prospects still had some life to them. One of the few things WRT the gaming market he was actually right about.

But, let them learn through experiencing it. They just said today they still "have a lot to learn". The surprise will likely be in ways they didn't intend with that tweet. Their turn now, like with Microsoft prior to them.

 

[Petekilla]

Dragon PC fanboy.

 

[Petekilla]

 

[Petekilla]

"We also need to REALLY have a talk about the influencer side of this. We need to stop propping up folks on that side whose misinformed ideas about the space drive so much of the moments we see happen."

This guy literally regularly interacts with ColtEastwood, Destin Legarie, Parris Lily, Jeff Grubb, Ryan McCaffrey, etc. Some of the most toxic clowns that spread a ton of misinformation....

I remember when he was on Unlocked. Destin Legarie said that “Sony is playing catch up to MS” and he was nodding like an idiot. Lol

 

[Petekilla]

Sony have the dumbest PR team in human history
Sony is lucky the Playstation brand is very strong worldwide with all the fuck up they do daily

Not over Xbox. No way. Lol

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Dragon PC fanboy.

He was an Xbox fanboy a couple years ago before switching to PlayStation. Just putting that out there.

That said, he's not completely wrong in his take here. Sony not having PSN in 170+ countries where they were going to make account linking mandatory, then leaving the only option a loophole to make a PSN for a country outside your residence which violated TOS and could've came with other risks, was not a smart thing to try and do. They got greedy and tried rushing to implement the feature, without having any contingencies.

So them walking back the decision was the right thing to do. What wasn't good was how Sony walked this back. It makes them look weak, indecisive, meek, clueless, reactionary and lacking in confidence. Them wanting the account linking as a mandatory thing going forward also suggests they will continue with the PC strategy if not push it more aggressively (including Day 1 for non-GAAS titles), which IMO acts as a vote of nonconfidence in their console. And if they do that, kiss the 3P exclusives goodbye, too.

PlayStation as a console will just be another generic box in that scenario, but with lesser options and more restrictions than a PC, and more hidden costs. Well, it already is kinda like that, but it could easily become much worst. In that scenario, it's simply not worth investing in.

My only hope is SIE are in fact not following down that path. But they haven't shown a lot of anything in a long while to convince me they are.

 

[Petekilla]

No, this is only the beginning. Some are saying they'll only remove their bad review if there's no more PSN requirement for future games. They don't want PSN on Steam at all, that's what it's always been about, not the virtue signaling of non supported countries, or breaking TOS, they just hate Sony. That's why it's so pathetic that Sony bent the knee, no foresight with them as always this generation.

Yup. They’re using the PSN hack excuse from 13 years ago. Lol

 

[quest4441]

At the end of the day these idiots will just keep contributing to nvidia/amd share price and declare themselves to be winning. Sony so desperately wants a gaas game that they cucked themselves, Helldivers 2 is no fortnite or GTA these idiots gave in for a 100k concurrent run of the mill multiplayer game.

 

[Exicide]

We don't have data to know how it did impact on sales other than see that both before and after the game is between the Steam top paid games.

What this clearly had an impact is in reviews: first negative with the review bombingh and later positive with users organizing to revert it.

In the recent days it had:

• May 3rd: 252 positive, 62477 negative
• May 4th: 114303 negative
• May 5th: 154651 negative
• May 6th: 207675 positive, 25265 negative
• May 7th (until now): 5914 positive
• TOTAL: 213841 positive, 356696 negative
• A net of 142855 negative, if continues at the current speed today will have a net positive in reviews

One thing is to ask for something. They can do it in social media, customer support, etc.

A different thing is to ask for a refund. In that case if they are elegible for a refund (to play less than 2 hours, or having bought the game maximum 2 weeks ago) then they should be refunded. If they don't meet this criteria and the game works well and does what it was advertised and mentioned in the store -like to require a PSN accound-, shouldn't be refunded.

And if for any reason they got refunded anywaays, reason being because they don't like whatever decision made by a company ok, take the refund and permaban them and don't allow them to buy the game again. If wanted the refund, then deal with it. It shouldn't be an issue at all.

Regarding regions, nobody get scammed. During decades people bout PS consoles and created accounts in PSN stores of other countries where there isn't one available for their own countrie. Or created accounts for other regions to get Japan only demos, activate the games before with a Newzealand account, or to buy cheaper in other countries etc.

As @Johnic has said before, the whole "picking a country that is closest" is not a wise choice because it waives your consumer laws, Sony will have no obligation to help you.

It's weird to me their ToS states all info must be accurate, but then they tell you to practically void all your consumer laws if you happen to be in a country they don't support.

 

[xollowsob]

Anyone who wants to force the PSN linking on steam isn't right.

 

[arvfab]

Anyone who wants to force the PSN linking on steam is a bitter racist.

What's up, white supremacists, don't like Africans and Asians playing in your game? Do you know that it's 2024?!

Wow, that's some of the dumbest takes I've read regarding this situation.

 

[xollowsob]

Wow, that's some of the dumbest takes I've read regarding this situation.

It was tongue in cheek. I saw the seething takes like forced PSN and thought I'd throw out a counter argument.

 

[Plextorage]

Anyone who wants to force the PSN linking on steam is a bitter racist.

What's up, white supremacists, don't like Africans and Asians playing in your game? Do you know that it's 2024?!

GTFO with that post

 

[xollowsob]

GTFO with that post

Mods Halp!!!

Am I doing it right?

 

[Plextorage]

Anyone who wants to force the PSN linking on steam is a bitter racist.

What's up, white supremacists, don't like Africans and Asians playing in your game? Do you know that it's 2024?!

So, explain this.

Rocket League came out in 2015. In 2019. Epic bought Psyonix and Rocket League. In 2020. those who had a Steam copy needed subsequently sign up to Epic account in order to continue to play Rocket League.

So, was there any backslash? Nope. Where those so called PC gamers, fighters for rights, have been then? Damn hypocrites.

 

[Cool hand luke]

Wow, that's some of the dumbest takes I've read regarding this situation.

I took a look under the hood (have him ignored) and yep, that's definitely the worst take. Won't make that mistake again.

 

[Gediminas]

It was tongue in cheek. I saw the seething takes like forced PSN and thought I'd throw out a counter argument.

Still though, if you want none white countries banned, you're a little racist.

Anyone who wants to force the PSN linking on steam is a bitter racist.

What's up, white supremacists, don't like Africans and Asians playing in your game? Do you know that it's 2024?!

WTF?

 

[Exicide]

WTF?

yeah i'm not gonna cap, that was a hell of a thing to hyperbolize, I know what they're trying to say but what the absolute hell is that comparison, how does that make the person racist? It just makes them unempathetic, it has nothing to do with race.

 

[Yuniac]

Wow, that's some of the dumbest takes I've read regarding this situation.

With all the things PS fans have said since Friday? most definitely not.