Open Letter to Online Gaming Companies

Yesterday, I posted a letter to Flying Labs Software expressing my concerns as a customer about ready to enter into a gaming contract with them. This is yet another attempt to play a game and be treated like an adult at the same time. I am not surprised to mention the letter received no response. I expected to be ignored, and was; apparently Flying Labs Software is no better than any other gaming company. I’m posting this here because I want to keep a copy of the letter and use it again with other gaming companies. Not that any of them will respond either. And it’s rather sad.

I know it won’t matter to them (the gaming companies), my lone voice amongst the tens of thousands (or millions in a couple cases); really — what business will care whether my $15 comes in or not when it is making between $150,000 and $15 million per month from the rest? If it loses one hundred of us who share the same views, it’s out $1500; who really cares about that figure by comparison to the others? Sure, the principle of the matter is more than money can count, but show me a gaming company that cares about principle. A gaming company, like any other company, is in business to turn a profit — that’s the point of business and I am not against that at all (in fact, I’m rather for a business making a profit). Gaming companies like Blizzard, Turbine, CCP, and Sony Online Entertainment don’t care about doing business with their customers, they’d rather just gouge them for every penny they can get. It’s almost like the Democrats / Socialists and their tax schemes. And I digress.

Why do gaming companies do this? Because they can. They’ve tapped in to something akin to hash, blow, weed, nicotine, alcohol, and poker; online gaming is very addictive (to a lot of people) and just like any other addict, the gamer will pay anything, do anything, tolerate anything; just to be granted another hit — um, I mean allowed to play. As one of the unwashed masses who is not addicted to gaming, I would rather have good customer service than the newest digital widget. As the customer, the gaming company works for me (I am paying them a wage to provide a good or service — how’s that not employment?) and as their employer, I want better customer service — much better; because of this, I will continue to be ignored. As an employer facing an unruly, ungrateful, and poorly performing employee, I am left with two options; 1) educate them, or 2) fire them. So far Option 1 has failed; it may be time for Option 2.

Too many gamers just accept being treated like criminals and children for the gaming companies to care about folk like me. And until many, many more folk like me just walk away from them, there will be no change in the industry. If I were King of the World for a day (/cue spooky music), the entire gaming industry would be forced to do business like the grocer, like cobbler, or the restaurant; if the customer is treated poorly, they’re out of business.

So after that rant, here’s the letter I posted to Flying Labs Software. As I say, it could be used for any gaming company; it should be.

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Dear FLS:

As a customer, I come to Pirates of the Burning Sea with great expectations and excitement; I had the opportunity to play Open Beta and saw, first-hand, the quality product your developers have created. There is a lot here for a gamer like me and, more importantly, there is a lot of potential. As a member of the Pre-Boarding crew, I look forward to Monday, January 7, 2008 with great anticipation. Thank you for your efforts and showmanship; I look forward to many, many hours of quality gaming.

I am a refugee from a lot of games that came before you, notably Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, Asheron’s Call 1 & 2, EvE, and yes, World of Warcraft. It is because of my experience with these games – specifically the publishers and customer support – that I feel some trepidation as Pirates’ launch date draws near. This trepidation is the cause for my letter.

Perhaps I have chosen the wrong place for such a letter; I hope that someone with authority can answer my questions and concerns irrespective of the negativity this post is apt to receive. The response from those who have never been put in the position I have been in does not diminish my concerns, or the concerns of those perhaps too shy to ask.

Blizzard Entertainment has recently shown me that neither does it care for its customers, nor does it concern itself with helping its customers who have been wronged. My account was recently hacked and used inappropriately. Blizzard noted this inappropriate use and rightly locked my account; but not in time. Not only is there a financial dispute between us now, but Blizzard seems loathe to release my account to me so I can correct the dispute. Yes, I have followed all Blizzard’s account recovery procedures to the letter. The email I received this morning put the final nail in the coffin for me; not only is Blizzard not interested in returning my account to me, it is demanding I pay for services for which I never asked (character transfers). This is tantamount to charging me for someone else’s goods when I step up to the register at a store – whether I want them or not. I am still working with Blizzard (that is, banging my head against a steel wall); it is my hope I can right my account so I can walk away from them cleanly, though I may be hoping in vain. I will never play a game that has been touched by Blizzard in any way – ever again. I would encourage any who have read this far to do the same. World of Warcraft is just not worth the risk to be treated like a criminal.

I said all that because I wanted to give you only the most recent nightmare I have lived when it comes to gaming. Sony Online Entertainment and Turbine have done their share of mistreatment; I am nervous about entering into another arrangement with a gaming company. Certainly, there are those that have never had an issue with any game and I envy them their success. My experience tells me that something will go wrong at some point, and I won’t be able to play for what I’ve paid. Further, when I try to get assistance from the company to play, I will be treated like a criminal.

At the end of the day, I am still a customer – I would like to be your customer – but I would ask these things of you:

1) When there is an issue with my account (e.g. someone’s hacked my account), what are the procedures to have my account restored? Additionally, if my account / characters have been modified, how do I get it / them restored to the point where I last had control?

2) If a hacker has used my account in a violation of the Terms of Service, will your company expect me to accept the punishment (e.g. warnings, suspensions, bans, etc)?

3) If a hacker has used my account for a paid service (e.g. character transfers or in-game swag) will you expect me to pay for services rendered that I have not authorized (e.g. paying for someone else’s goods at checkout)?

4) When I have to contact you regarding an issue with my account, will I be able to call a customer support representative and speak to a real, live, English-speaking person, or will I have to use Blizzard’s impersonal and customer-punishing email-only method (with five-to-seven business days between communications)?

5) I am an adult with a professional job and I constantly weigh the opportunity cost to play your game. Will I be treated as such when I have to contact you for customer support or will I be treated like a child? Will I be treated like I’m a criminal? What recourse do I have if I am treated thusly?

6) If a problem requires more than a week to resolve, what are the procedures to be refunded for that time spent locked out of my account?

I am hoping this letter will be taken seriously and that answers to my questions will be more than, “You won’t have to worry about this because we don’t do character transfers” or some other dismissive approach. In fact, if you could be as specific as possible it would further separate you from the rest of the online gaming companies, something I’m coming to enjoy in my observations of FLS.

Thank you for your time and attention to this letter.