I can at least say that if I have the option to buy the generic, I do.
For example, I have a prescription for Seasonale. With my insurance (because Seasonale is a name brand prescription) it costs me $150. Now that there is a generic version of it, I pay $45. I prefer to pay the $45 to the $150, so I choose the generic.
Yep, I specifically bought Soul Calibur 2 on the Game Cube because I wanted Link.
I was disappointed that I had to buy SC 3 for the PS2.
While I do have the Game Cube (waited for the price to drop), PS2 (I actually bought it right when it came out) and the XBox (waited for the price to drop), I've yet to buy the XBox 360 because of a lack of interest in any of the games. I'm interested marginally in the PS3, but it is the Wii that I will be buying first.
I've had the new Legend of Zelda game on Pre-Order at my local EB since June of 2005 (when it was supposed to be coming out that year but got post-poned), and that's the first game that caught my interest with the Wii. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption looks interesting, as well.
I will often refrain from bidding on things from the UK these days because of the inflated shipping costs. (I'm located in the USA) I definitely pay attention to shipping because I'm not willing to get screwed by inflated shipping costs. Some things from the UK are fine, but I've seen different sellers who list shipping at 12 GPB for one shirt, and another who lists it for 3 GPB for the same service, so I just stay away from the high ones. Again, this is just a common sense thing.
Someone once said, "The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure."
I would argue that video game developers enjoy making their games and that they want people to enjoy them, so that qualifies as art. Game developers are delighted when they are told how much people enjoy the games that they create.
From a more intimate perspective and working for a game development company, I can tell you that a great deal of creativity and hard work goes into making a game. There are many, many artists who work together to make a game. Even if games are not enjoyed by everyone, they are as much art as a painting, or a sculpture.
Interesting. How long ago was it that they tried to charge you for changing your email address?
I have change mine several times over the 4 years that I've had my eBay account. I've also updated my mailing address, and even changed my eBay username with no difficulty. I've been charged no fees, either. Perhaps it is different if you don't sell things, as I only buy on eBay, but they've never tried to charge me for updating my information.
However, I agree that their customer service needs to be fixed. I've had problems with sellers who did not answer their emails, or answer their phones, and it took a lot of effort on my part (calling the seller's phone number for a week straight) to get a problem straightened out. eBay only helped by providing the contact phone number. When I had a problem with another seller, (I paid for shipping insurance and never received the item), I had to get PayPal's help to get my money back as the seller told me it wasn't her problem. That's why I always end up paying for shipping insurance, as it seems to make it less likely that I'll end up with a problem and not receive the item.
In my 153 purchases on eBay so far, I've only had 5 problems, 3 of which were easily resolved with the seller, 1 being the hard one to resolve, and 1 having to be resolved with PayPal's help. eBay's customer service didn't really do anything to assist in any of those situations, other than tell me 'here's their phone number. you call them.'
Actually, my parents gave me a cell phone when I turned 16 and got my car. It was to ensure that if I had trouble, I could always call them. I was supposed to keep it with me at all times. This worked in my benefit because if there was an accident (I was hit driving through a neighborhood, for example), I could call my parents and let them know what happened. If I got lost, I could call my parents and they could direct me to wherever I needed to go. If I was late coming home, they'd call me to see if I was ok. I relied on my cell phone a lot when I was in high school. As an adult, I rely on it even more. I don't even bother with a 'land line' phone.
Now, at my school, you weren't supposed to be on the phone in class, so I kept it in my bag, on silent mode. No big deal. My teachers only cared if it rang during class, so it was easy to prevent that.
I'm sure it's not the same for everyone as it was for me, but it worked well for me and my parents.
Well actually, since my company never receives the credit card information directly, it all goes through PayPal, it is up to PayPal to verify that the person using the credit card is indeed supposed to be using it. We can't actually charge someone. We can just receive a payment from them through PayPal. If a parent saves their PayPal username and password on their computer and a kid uses it. That isn't our fault. Furthermore, we end up refunding the unauthorized charges and eating the cost in resources for our game and fees.
So yes, I think the parents should take responsibility for the children's actions, instead of passing it on to everyone else.
We go out of our way to state in several places on our website that children should have their parents' permission to pay for our game. We don't accept the credit card information directly, and that is supposed to provide another level of protection for the card owner.
I would actually love to know where this mentality came from as well. I work for a game development company and so many parents want to blame us for their children using their PayPal accounts and credit cards without their permission. Some parents seem to feel like it is everyone else's responsibility to watch their children, when really they need to start taking responsibility for their offspring. They can't expect everyone else to be parents for their kids. It's not our job. We're not getting paid for it. We didn't sign up for it, we didn't give birth to the kids, therefore, we should not be expected to take on the responsibility of the child's actions. Parenting is a verb, and more parents need to remember that.
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I can at least say that if I have the option to buy the generic, I do. For example, I have a prescription for Seasonale. With my insurance (because Seasonale is a name brand prescription) it costs me $150. Now that there is a generic version of it, I pay $45. I prefer to pay the $45 to the $150, so I choose the generic.
Yep, I specifically bought Soul Calibur 2 on the Game Cube because I wanted Link. I was disappointed that I had to buy SC 3 for the PS2. While I do have the Game Cube (waited for the price to drop), PS2 (I actually bought it right when it came out) and the XBox (waited for the price to drop), I've yet to buy the XBox 360 because of a lack of interest in any of the games. I'm interested marginally in the PS3, but it is the Wii that I will be buying first. I've had the new Legend of Zelda game on Pre-Order at my local EB since June of 2005 (when it was supposed to be coming out that year but got post-poned), and that's the first game that caught my interest with the Wii. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption looks interesting, as well.
I will often refrain from bidding on things from the UK these days because of the inflated shipping costs. (I'm located in the USA) I definitely pay attention to shipping because I'm not willing to get screwed by inflated shipping costs. Some things from the UK are fine, but I've seen different sellers who list shipping at 12 GPB for one shirt, and another who lists it for 3 GPB for the same service, so I just stay away from the high ones. Again, this is just a common sense thing.
Someone once said, "The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure." I would argue that video game developers enjoy making their games and that they want people to enjoy them, so that qualifies as art. Game developers are delighted when they are told how much people enjoy the games that they create. From a more intimate perspective and working for a game development company, I can tell you that a great deal of creativity and hard work goes into making a game. There are many, many artists who work together to make a game. Even if games are not enjoyed by everyone, they are as much art as a painting, or a sculpture.
Interesting. How long ago was it that they tried to charge you for changing your email address? I have change mine several times over the 4 years that I've had my eBay account. I've also updated my mailing address, and even changed my eBay username with no difficulty. I've been charged no fees, either. Perhaps it is different if you don't sell things, as I only buy on eBay, but they've never tried to charge me for updating my information. However, I agree that their customer service needs to be fixed. I've had problems with sellers who did not answer their emails, or answer their phones, and it took a lot of effort on my part (calling the seller's phone number for a week straight) to get a problem straightened out. eBay only helped by providing the contact phone number. When I had a problem with another seller, (I paid for shipping insurance and never received the item), I had to get PayPal's help to get my money back as the seller told me it wasn't her problem. That's why I always end up paying for shipping insurance, as it seems to make it less likely that I'll end up with a problem and not receive the item. In my 153 purchases on eBay so far, I've only had 5 problems, 3 of which were easily resolved with the seller, 1 being the hard one to resolve, and 1 having to be resolved with PayPal's help. eBay's customer service didn't really do anything to assist in any of those situations, other than tell me 'here's their phone number. you call them.'
Actually, my parents gave me a cell phone when I turned 16 and got my car. It was to ensure that if I had trouble, I could always call them. I was supposed to keep it with me at all times. This worked in my benefit because if there was an accident (I was hit driving through a neighborhood, for example), I could call my parents and let them know what happened. If I got lost, I could call my parents and they could direct me to wherever I needed to go. If I was late coming home, they'd call me to see if I was ok. I relied on my cell phone a lot when I was in high school. As an adult, I rely on it even more. I don't even bother with a 'land line' phone. Now, at my school, you weren't supposed to be on the phone in class, so I kept it in my bag, on silent mode. No big deal. My teachers only cared if it rang during class, so it was easy to prevent that. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone as it was for me, but it worked well for me and my parents.
Well actually, since my company never receives the credit card information directly, it all goes through PayPal, it is up to PayPal to verify that the person using the credit card is indeed supposed to be using it. We can't actually charge someone. We can just receive a payment from them through PayPal. If a parent saves their PayPal username and password on their computer and a kid uses it. That isn't our fault. Furthermore, we end up refunding the unauthorized charges and eating the cost in resources for our game and fees. So yes, I think the parents should take responsibility for the children's actions, instead of passing it on to everyone else. We go out of our way to state in several places on our website that children should have their parents' permission to pay for our game. We don't accept the credit card information directly, and that is supposed to provide another level of protection for the card owner.
I would actually love to know where this mentality came from as well. I work for a game development company and so many parents want to blame us for their children using their PayPal accounts and credit cards without their permission. Some parents seem to feel like it is everyone else's responsibility to watch their children, when really they need to start taking responsibility for their offspring. They can't expect everyone else to be parents for their kids. It's not our job. We're not getting paid for it. We didn't sign up for it, we didn't give birth to the kids, therefore, we should not be expected to take on the responsibility of the child's actions. Parenting is a verb, and more parents need to remember that.