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Microsoft To Offer Digital Refunds in Xbox and Windows Stores (polygon.com)

Posted by msmash on from the helpful-additions dept.

Microsoft is finally planning to introduce refunds for digital content purchased from the Xbox Games Store and Windows Store, bringing those storefronts in line with popular digital retailers for PC games. From a report: The refund feature is included in the latest alpha release for the Xbox One Insider program. Refunds apply only for full games and paid apps, not downloadable content or season passes. These "self-service refunds" are designed to "provide a quick, simple way of returning a digital product," according to Microsoft. Microsoft says it has begun testing the feature with select users.

15 comments

  1. It's a good day... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most articles have been tech related! I'm impressed /dot!

  2. Still playing catch up by jediborg · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Once again, Microsoft is two years behind Steam. Funny thing is Valve originally came to Microsoft and said 'this is what we want from an online service' and microsoft looked at them like they where aliens and said 'This is light years ahead of anything people are talking about' So valve went and made Steam.

    1. Re:Still playing catch up by sexconker · · Score: 2

      Funny thing is Valve originally came to Microsoft and said 'this is what we want from an online service' and microsoft looked at them like they where aliens and said 'This is light years ahead of anything people are talking about' So valve went and made Steam.

      Hahahaha no.

      Steam was pure ass for about the first 5 years. It was a patch manager for Half-Life 2.

    2. Re:Still playing catch up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yet the service Microsoft are offering is now more consumer-friendly than Sony's, Nintendo's, Apple's and Google's. The aformentioned four either make you beg for refunds or flat-out refuse to grant them even if the software's defective.

      MS are the first console maker to ever institute a no-questions refund service and yet people like you find a way to bitch about it. Try getting a refund from Nintendo or Google the day after, and see how far you get.

    3. Re:Still playing catch up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't question the circlejerk or you'll get a VAC ban!

    4. Re:Still playing catch up by RogueyWon · · Score: 1

      Even Valve only implemented refunds in response to a) growing legal rumblings and b) EA's Origin jumping the gun by going first and putting the publicity spotlight on Valve.

      It's an issue where competition genuinely worked for the customer. It probably didn't hurt that threats of legal action in certain jurisdictions were hovering in the background.

    5. Re:Still playing catch up by halofan_sd · · Score: 2

      Sony and Nintendo are even further behind

    6. Re:Still playing catch up by jediborg · · Score: 1

      True, but in that first year it still had automatic downloads (patch manager) instant messaging both in-game and out. and the ability to purchase and download online titles

  3. M$ BAD! by Merk42 · · Score: 1

    I didn't RTFA or even RTFS, but I saw "Microsoft" in the subject, so I'm frantically typing in my Mom's basement to let everyone know that everything Micro$oft does is bad! Even when it's things I was mad at them for not doing before!11

    1. Re:M$ BAD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, where's my Windows license refund from the PC I just bought! I just stripped it off for Linux anyway. Where's my Windows tax refund?

    2. Re:M$ BAD! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Well no, gees dude, this is an obvious who gives a fuck what M$ does story. So more like, meh, news at 11, the arse holes at M$ playing catch up yet again but still leading at being arse holes, invading you privacy, windows watching you masturbate, forcing compulsory software installs, running ads on your computer at start up, breaking the functionality of your hardware, generally being a big ole bag of dicks and my haven't hey paid for it with their phone sales. The greedy arse holes having to sell android in order to be able to sell phones from their stores, what a pack of losers. So M$ desperate for a good news story, finally offering refunds from their store but no one cares (see that's all you need and no mom's basements involved).

      PS it should also very politically incorrect to defame people who choose to live with the parents regardless of which room they choose to live in. Seriously, what you are saying is that every person who lives with the parents is a worthless piece of pathetic shit because they don't try to masturbate as many people as possible and they are unemployable religious fanatic scum. So what age do you define as appropriate for that constant derision. I find it interesting idea to understand at what age is it appropriate for the entirety of society to psychologically attack those people, extremely ruthlessly, day in and day out, from every possible media source "You are sick fucking scum if you choose to live with your parents and not masturbate as many people as possible or be masturbated by as many people as possible", this seems to be uniformly politically correct mind you and actively promoted by the majority SJWs (apparently no social justice for the vermin that live with their parents), main stream media marketing and every form of content imaginable. Ruthless sustained psychological attacks and you fuckers call them trolls.

      So there is a class of people which current society decides is appropriate to attack at every opportunity, people who live with their parents, age is undetermined but seems that it is acceptable for society to attack them from mid teens on, it's for their own good apparently. It is acceptable by main stream society to attack those individuals by any and every psychological means possible and to do so relentlessly. If they respond in any way at all, they are anti-social trolls who should be criminally prosecuted. So who is the arse hole now.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  4. Refund on my Xbox? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can I get a refund on my Xbox? The whole point of buying the Xbox was so that I could play Halo. Shortly after I bought Halo Microsoft change the game play and it made it suck. Then they changed the game play again and it made it suck worse. I no longer play Halo because it's been completely redesigned for people who have no skill. I bought Halo quit changing what I bought. I don't want Halo anymore. I haven't played it in six months because of the changes.

    1. Re:Refund on my Xbox? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't want Halo anymore.

      Good. Maybe you'll move on to good games now.

  5. App stores are evil by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    I don't see positive outcomes from allowing operating system vendors to monopolizing software distribution channels.

    We've already seen the fruits of Apple leveraging it's position. Censoring objectionable software and actively snubbing apps from existence which happen to compete with or run afoul of Apple interests.

    The vendor run app store concept is inherently deleterious. It aggregates way too much power into the hands of a few and is a breeding ground for proliferation of defacto monopolies. Even where technically possible to get software elsewhere the presence of a dominant channel having achieved critical mass means it cannot simply be bypassed in any meaningful way.. not by vendors nor by customers.

    Windows app store is currently a joke yet given their track record with Windows phone, Windows RT and XBOX it's blatantly clear to me what Microsoft wants to do and where they want to go with this. They want a piece of everything and if they could get away with preventing execution of software that didn't come from a source they control they would do it in a heartbeat.