8 Ways The Video Game Industry Punishes Its Most Loyal Consumers
7. No Reliable Refund Process On Consoles Whatsoever
Though console manufacturers are forever trying to convince us that digital is better than physical, one of the biggest issues comes with refunds, of which neither the PS4 or Xbox One offer an adequate solution to.
Microsoft are currently doing the best, though their idea is still in testing and has been for months, but would allow full games to be refunded if you had played less than two hours across a 14 day period.
So far, so good... in theory.
However, Sony's PlayStation policy might as well not exist, as it reads:
“If you change your mind about a purchase made from the PlayStation®Store, you can request a refund to your PSN wallet within 14 days from the date of transaction, provided that you have not started downloading or streaming your purchase.”
Basically, you can claim a refund if you accidentally ordered something and didn't follow through on the download. Not if a game is broken at launch, isn't as advertised or has any other issue that would necessitate being unhappy with your purchase.
Simply put: Consumers need to know that their money isn't going to waste and that there is some safety net - a feature that neither consoles can provide.
You need only look to something like the disastrous launch of Assassin's Creed Unity or No Man's Sky to see why this is such an integral feature.