South Korean players up to level 40 will be able to request refunds from Blizzard after log-in problems and slow connections mar online PC game's launch.
Diablo III is having a devilish time in South Korea, where the game's rocky launch has prompted Blizzard to offer full refunds to some players.
According to a Wall Street Journal report of a Korean Blizzard announcement, Diablo III players under level 40 will be able to apply for a refund before July 3. In the future, Blizzard will also give refunds to any Diablo III player within 14 days of the game's purchase, provided their characters haven't reached level 20.
While problems logging in and slow connections affected users around the world in the wake of Diablo III's launch, the situation in South Korea was bad enough that the country's Fair Trade Commission last month launched an investigation into Blizzard's latest game. Earlier this week, the head of South Korea's Internet PC Culture Association--a trade group of Internet cafe operators--said the group was planning a class-action lawsuit against Blizzard Korea because of Diablo III's ongoing server issues. The country's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also reportedly be taking administrative guidance action against Blizzard Korea, with the first order being to increase the number of servers for the game.
As of press time, a Blizzard representative had not returned GameSpot's request for comment on whether the refund program would be extended to other regions.
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
ei! what about me? I only got the terran campaign! where are the protoss and zerg campaigns blizard? ....and they want games to go digital? (so that you can chop up more games then sell them into parts like that stupid the walking dead game) fudge that!
why not hit people with Error 37 again, Blizzard? That should give 'em all the clicking they need.
1 Like The main thing is... Even thought the server sucked and lagged at launch, it's not the reason why ppl are angry.
The reason for ppl to angry about and want a refund for is the Game itself sucks.
That's all, and Blizzard isn't gonna admit it at all, That even pisses more people off.
FTW are you doing Blizzard? The only game im going to buy from you is starcraft now.
For the first 48-hours I would have taken a refund. Now, although I'm not enjoying the game as much as I expected, I would probably keep it for the first expansion pack.
1 Like Diablo 3 doesn't seem like a Blizzard quality game when you look at everything but the actual core game.
Gold Farmers Item Duping shut their own Asia servers down for the rest...S. Korea well known for that activity. They sue, get their refund, and the rest of the World has less Gold Farmers, still some...but less. Is a win-win for everyone.
7 Like I think Blizzard should drop the online requirement for single player being it is not very popular.
2 Like I agree, I do in some aspects miss the setup from D2. however, I think D3 is good, but not excellent.
2 Like Wow. Gaming is obviously far more important to Koreans than it is where I come from :)
3 Like Good luck to everyone hoping to get a refund - I know that I would leap on the chance to get a refund.
5 Like Another fail of ALWAYS ONLINE DRM !!!!!
Let's see what the Court will decide in France, Germany and UK since i heard a lot of people are complaining because are unable to play the game.
It seems that Blizzard failed even harder than Ubisoft (AC 2) whit there ALWAYS ONLINE DRM, guess that they are unable to learn from other people mistakes.
9 Like That's why DRM that requires a active broadband internet connection is a terrible idea.
4 Like @megakick you sir are part of the problem that ruined video games if you think this shit is ok
4 Like @megakick You probably also believe that second hand sales hurt the industry, huh?
4 Like Class action suit?
Can we do this to Ubisoft and there horrid servers on Ghost recon?
Wow, would like to see that kind of actions in the Netherlands. Lots of consumer protection on normal products, but games, no way.
20 Like Must be nice to live somewhere that the gov't actually tries to protect consumers.
3 Like @timmy0001 Must be even nicer to live in a country where the govt. actually protects its citizens instead of police constantly harassing them about a dimebag of weed, not having a seatbelt on, and proding little girls at the airport like they got a bomb.
"n the future, Blizzard will also give refunds to any Diablo III player within 14 days of the game's purchase, provided their characters haven't reached level 20."
Can you specify whether this extends to just Korean markets or global markets?
3 Like All south koreans can refund their game as long as their characters are not more than level 40. Non koreans can be refunded if their characters are more than level 20.
World of Warcraft and Diablo III maker says encrypted passwords, security question answers, email addresses from players on North American servers were compromised.
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