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SOE Offers SWG Players Refunds For Obi-Wan

Posted by Zonk on from the they-keep-up-with-the-unexpected dept.

In yet another completely unexpected move, Sony Online Entertainment is offering players who purchased the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion for SWG before Nov. 3rd a refund. The recently announced massive overhaul has upset a lot of people. From the Gamespot article: "To appease some of those angered by the reworking of Star Wars Galaxies, Sony Online and LucasArts are offering refunds to anyone with a Galaxies account in good standing who purchased the Trials of Obi-Wan before November 3. Players seeking refunds should send their name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and Station Name to refunds@soe.sony.com ... All requests must be made by December 1, 2005."

1 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. Re:They should give refunds in this case by Sugar+Moose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think it's important to understand just what SOE is doing with SWG. Basically, they are releasing SWG 2, only they are overwriting the original SWG to force all users to change. SOE learned their lesson about sequels with EQ2, which has never had as many subscribers as the original EQ. They expected everyone from EQ to move to EQ2, but most people didn't. Now, they are stuck supporting two games instead of one just to keep the same number of subscribers. Exactly the same thing happened to Asheron's Call 2, which is shutting down soon while the original Asheron's Call continues. So from SOE's point of view, they get to keep every last subscriber, only support one game, and as you can see here, they're getting every bit of the press of a new game release.

    The reason they can allow for the refunds is the same reason companies offer rebates instead of just lowering the price. Odds are good that even if you want a refund, they will not have to give you your money. Either you will fill something out wrong, you will not include all of the stuff required, or you won't get it to them before the deal expires. Heck, even if they screw it up, it means they don't give you anything.

    I have a hard time applauding SOE for this. They knew these changes were coming well before the expansion pack was released. I'd wager the timing of the announcement was intentional, and SOE thought they could pull a fast one on their customers. This is just a quick fix because the public outcry was greater than they anticipated.