How can they “force” anything if you dont sign? By not agreeing to new terms… you dont agree to the terms. Wouldnt having it any other way just be insanity? Like i could write “contract” here that by viewing it you agree to it and if you dont agree, i could still claim that some part of it applies because it reads so in the contract. Or I have some other contract that is agreeable and someone signs it, then I change the terms and other party can’t reject them all because of something in the first contract.
As my lawyer used to tell me, “there is the contract and there is the law.” Meaning anyone can say anything in a contract. If you have the legal ability you can find out what the law says about it.
Internet companies usually have clauses that they can terminate the agreement at any time for any reason, including “because they feel like it”. They usually don’t have to tell you why, either.
Same deal with all the “licensing” things and “digital goods ownership”. In two words: you don’t.
But it’s been that way for ages.
Especially if it’s something free or subscription based. It’s just a “our rules have changed, if you don’t like it stop using it/paying for it”
It’s get very dodgy when it’s a physical thing you’ve bought like that Hulu agreement a few weeks back, but I doubt they’ll let that stop them.
They can just put in the initial contract a clause that basically they can change the contract as they see fit, when they see fit, and if you don’t like it, too bad.
That pretty much wipes out a lot of recourse for most people when it comes to changes in costs and services.
People don’t read the contracts, so companies just exploit that habit.
Hmm, now if they were forced to export your data, if you don’t agree.
Btw, there should really be some sort of legal “usage license” you can use with other providers, since you don’t own the game you buy. If not, it’s just a scam.
I don’t have time to check a video, but isn’t it true for any service that it you don’t agree to the new ToS, your contract is terminated?
What makes this case do special?
Paid-for games aren’t a service that should be able to be taken away in this manner
For software (like games) the usual rule is “use the old version if you don’t agree to the new terms”, but that’s not possible without piracy here
Yeah, I suppose that sucks if you never stopped to think about it.
In my case, it’s the reason I never bought Diablo 3 - when they turn an offline game into a mandatory online game, I figured that sooner or later they’d pull something like this.
Stupid question and I honestly don’t know.
If Steam puts up a bunch of new Agreements, and you refuse to accept, you’ll continue using the non-updated version - correct?
Where in this scenario, Blizzard just locks you out of your account?
If Steam puts up a bunch of new Agreements, and you refuse to accept, you’ll continue using the non-updated version - correct?
In theory you could keep using the service that adheres to the old agreement - but they will only provide the service under the new agreement. So effectively, no.
Unfortunately, Diablo 3 is an online game - even singleplayer. In case of starcraft, it’s even worse - the only reason for it to be online is multiplayer (fair enough) and drm (boo!).
Yeah, I think that a EULA change should reasonably permit for some kind of refund. Maybe have some mechanism for deprecating the value of the service based on use – like, if you expect a typical online game to be online for 10 years and a user has used it for 5 and the service wants to change the EULA, mandate the option for a 50% refund in lieu of continued service under the new EULA or something.
That’d make games more expensive, but it’s a risk that companies could factor in when deciding on EULAs and the initial price.
Does Blizzard even make any single-purchase games that require a Blizzard account? WoW is a subscription, Overwatch is free-to-play, I doubt the old Starcraft games require accounts, and I don’t know much about Diablo.
Diablo is indeed a single purchase game (with tons of MTX and soon to be DLC of course, but the base game is a single purchase).
So no, it’s only subscription games that would be affected? So you just can’t use the service in the future, they’re not locking anyone out of a purchased product.
Diablo (at least 3 - excluding the console versions and 4, not sure about the older ones) is an online-only game, if they’re locking you out of your account, then you will not be able to authenticate to the game server and thus won’t be able to play.
Hopefully the lesson people are slowly learning is to walk away from these systems.
This is what a vocal minority have been saying for years, but no one cares.
It’s not that easy. My Blizzard account is over 10 years old - never thought they’d go down hill so much. What’s the solution, to never create accounts online anywhere? Even if a service looks good and you support it, a corporation like Activision can come along and have their asshole CEO infect everything.
Walking away from my account now means throwing away a lot of money spent on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost
a sunk cost is a sum paid in the past that is no longer relevant to decisions about the future.
I walked away from my account with the Hong Kong stuff after spending an uncomfortable amount on Overwatch. Every decision they’ve made since then has made writing it off easier. I still have my Starcraft and Brood War discs, I enjoyed my time with WoW, but I don’t see a reality where I turn back to Blizzard without huge internal changes.
It’s no solution but the takeaway is this is always a possibility and maybe even inevitable.
I was playing WoW since 2005, just have to walk away. I left the game, and all Blizzard products, as they have just gone to absolute garbage.
There are better games out there.
So due to sunk cost the better choice is to continue supporting bad behavior?
For me, not continue to support but use what I’ve paid for and not put any more money into it
I’m not supporting them, I haven’t bought anything from Blizzard since the last Protoss SC2 game ages ago. But I don’t want to lose access to my games.
What’s the solution, to never create accounts online anywhere?
Yes. I buy all my games either as physical releases on consoles or DRM-free on PC. If a game requires an account to play, I won’t play it.
Fuck people who want to play matchmade competitive games I guess
Competitive games were once upon a time p2p 🥲 now we have single player games that demand networking.
they are all ill moderated and implemented anyway. competitive gaming is a cancer on the gaming community.
idk, I’ve had some great experiences with competitive gaming, I don’t think generalizing it all as a cancer is reasonable.
I played Vanilla WoW a week after launch and was with it all the way up through
CataclysmMists. After hearing about the multiple shocking incidences of sexual harassment and gender discrimination at Blizzard and upper management’s unwillingness to stop it, it was quite easy to delete my Battle.net account and walk away. (Yeah I hadn’t played in a while, but I’d intended to come back eventually.)There are plenty of other games out there. You vote with your dollars, and your vote shows your character.
Don’t use McDonalds or TB app anymore. Praying Dunkin don’t pull this bs. Every few times I go to McDs and they ask I wanna respond, “no cause forced arbitration is dumb for just a hamburger”
And the cashier would have no fucking clue 😂
Well you don’t own the games and they are just games
Don’t buy games from such vultures
I understand why Louis likes privacy.com so much. But he really needs to stop telling people to use them as a means of stopping payment with scummy vendors and companies so frivolously without having a disclaimer that it can open that person up to getting their credit dinged for non-payment.
Maybe he doesn’t care about such things, but his viewers might.
To get around the Blizzard dark pattern the “right way”, agree to the EULA, login, cancel subscriptions, remove payment details, close account (if possible), stop using Battle.net, done. Now the EULA is irreverent. This also has the knock on effect of being the path that Blizzard/Activision/MS will actually notice since it will cost them money at scale in a way they can’t explain away as childish internet trolling.
Now the EULA is irreverent.
True, but I think you meant “irrelevant”.
Indeed I did sir/madam
I haven’t watched Louis’ video, but I do have a Blizzard account, and up until a couple of days ago I had an active WoW subscription (ended because I wanted to play other games, not to make a point).
I didn’t get presented with any new terms recently, presumably I will in the future should I decide to sign up again, or even dip in on a free trial account.
I did look up the terms though. I’m not in the US so it’s not clear if I’d be bound by it anyway but not only do they have an opt-out clause (11.A.vi) they’re actually less egregious than some EULAs, allowing opt-out via email, rather than requiring a mailed in letter (Roku) and being prominently highlighted at the top.
Lot of folks here dreaming about them going bankrupt, I have to say, I think that’s wishful thinking. The current WoW expansion has been very successful with the highest signups and retention in a long time as they’ve apparently figured out what players actually want. Even without their other IP’s they’re doing ok.
OMG, Blizzard?! How could they?!? -.-
I have less reasons to feel bad about pirating everything day by day
Common Blizzard L
Let your House of Representative member know that you do not want forced arbitration.
Praise Microsoft
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https://piped.video/5YU8xw_Q_P8?si=-tfKQX43lds7yGBE
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
This seems to be the new norm, first Roku, now Blizzard.
