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Halo: The Master Chief Collection should be recalled
- Thread starter Foolishfellow
- Start date
every time i see a mcc thread pop up, i always feel bad because i bought an x1 for mcc and im really loving the h4 campaign. i can probably count on one hand the number of times ive had issues with the game going to a black screen or blue loading screen that would get stuck. but from what i gather the ce, 2, and 3 campaigns are the ones with problems as well as online being broken. i planned on finishing all the campaigns first before going online, so hopefully its all sorted out by then. but i dont regret my x1 or mcc purchase.
Kssio_Aug
Member
Its functional in the sense that it allows you to play. What is the minimum required for a game. But functional functional... well, I cant agree with that.
Halo was the only game that was returned opened. I spoke to customer support, explained the game had shipped unfinished and that it should not be sold to their customers.
Games shipping faulty, incomplete, completely broken is clasified as being sold a defective product, judging by peoples experiences with the two biggest offenders this year, Diveclub and MCC, retailers are getting fairly familiar with returns for unfinished shit. If you cannot play the game as it was advertised and intended it is faulty, I don't understand why anyone has any difficulty grasping this concept.
Thanks for the Amazon lecture, I imagine i've been using them for almost as long as most of this forum has been alive. As I said, this is the first time in my life as a gamer i've returned games. That is almost 25 years of purchases.
If retailers start punishing customers for not accepting broken software that's fine, people would stop using that retailer. The retailerers should just ship these unfiniahed turds back to the publishers, this won't happen of course because too many people keep the software.
I do research game purchases, but I also buy quite a few games a month, stuff like Halo I had brand faith in that was essentially betrayed, with Destiny I had publisher faith, Driveclub I had misplaced faith, lesson learned. Games journaliam hasn't exactly been great thia year at highlighting this new wave of giant broken turds.
I'll keep buying games that appeal, and if they ship broken and unplayable i'll take the appropriate action. I'm hardly punishing a retailer when all they do with the returned product is send it right back to the manufacturer. I don't understand why people are so forgiving and defensive of receiving faulty games.
staticneuron
Member
I could have sworn recalls happen on things that are dangerous or life threatening. I never heard of something being recalled simply because the end product is poor and non -threatening.
The radio on my car was recalled because the presets were messed up
CreateNowSleepLater
Member
Why in the world would anyone buy Halo 5? You want to send them a message? Boycott the H5 beta.
Kssio_Aug
Member
Honestly. 100% fixed... like instantaneous matches and stuff, I dont think it will ever happen (or at least not anytime soon). I'm even dubious if they're gonna fix the campaing issues.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
I'm happy with my copy.
Poodlestrike
Banned
Pretty good. For most people, multi seems to be 80% fixed from a technical perspective. They still need to go back in and tweak playlist management and settings after that, though.
NullPointer
Member
Instantaneous seems like a lot to ask for, so yeah, I don't think that'll ever happen ;p
But dedicated servers, solid matchmaking, all the promised playlists and content and features without errors doesn't seem like asking a lot - all of this was promised, along with 1080p and 60fps for all campaigns (except Halo 2). We've seen patches week to week but it'd be good to know how far away the light at the end of the tunnel is.
Petrae
Member
Some consumers have become used to the "games shipping broken" trend. It's just how it is, so they accept it. They believe that the game will eventually be fixed, and that's all they want. They understand that today's video games are much more complex than anything we've seen, and unforeseen things happen. They don't want delays.
I've been burned enough that I don't consider the reward of playing a game on launch day worth the risk of buying a product that might not work as promised for weeks or even months after release. Being patient and waiting a few weeks or months generally gets me a more functional game while also saving me some cash.
No, it's not always about life threatening circumstances. It's about consumer protection. When something is so broken that it effects almost everyone that paid for it, then it needs to be recalled as it doesn't work when people paid for it. If there was no consumer protection, then businesses would always do the least they have to, in order to make money. And would not care about abusing their customers (if it meant saving a buck). It's very important to have these protections.
You don't get to sell people something that doesn't work, and then just say "oops"...and take their money. So recalls aren't always about safety (although often they are).
My thoughts on all of this, is that I just this truly unacceptable. I blame Microsoft more than I do 343 or whoever worked on it. Because at the end of the day, it's MS that chose the deadline for release. It's MS that wanted this thing out when it wasn't ready. It was MS that was so desperate to compete with PS4, that they needed this game out during the holiday season (since they had no game lined up). They wanted to sell units, so they pushed it out.
Shame on MS for treating their customers this way. Phil Spencer likes to go on and on about how he wants us to feel like first class gamers. Sorry Phil, sniping third party multiplay exclusives so other people can't play it, doesn't make me feel first class. It has no impact on me at all. Me spending $60 on a game I love, and it not working, does not make me feel first class.
This to me falls back on MS. And they really IMO need to make this right to their customers. At this point, I feel like they should just give people refunds outright (and let them keep the game). OR...give us a free game. OR give us 50% off a game. SOMETHING. Anything. Instead of cutting and slashing the prices of their systems to absurd levels and taking a hit (which IMO devalues the system anyways, all so they can get slightly better numbers then PS4 on NPD)...they should be taking that hit, to make the customers they already have feel good about buying this console.
Because this is just terrible customer service through and through. My heart goes out to all the Xbox fans that bought an X1 just so they could play their favorite franchise. They did not deserve this experience. And if MS truly gives a damn, they need to really think about the damage they have done to their reputation, and how their customers feel right now. They certainly don't feel first class.
I wanted to give Spencer the benefit of the doubt. I really liked the guy, and thought MS was moving in the right direction. But now it's all talk. He needs to put up or shut up. Like I said, he goes on and on about wanting the customer to feel good, and yet they let this come out broken, and burned all their customers. They are treating us like a loan agency, and we might get the product we paid for...eventually. Just unacceptable.
Yeah, its hard not to agree with this. My new years resolution is to wait at least two weeks before buying any game. By then you'll know whether or not its broken.
That's what's so crazy about this. The basic framework for these games was already there. They worked. All of the hard work was already done.
I'm never blindly pre-ordering or pre-loading again. I've been burned too many damn times. It sucks, because I loved pre-loading and getting to play 9 the night before release. It was a feature I loved. But I can't do this anymore. I just don't trust these companies anymore. And I refuse to give anyone my money, in the off chance I get a product that doesn't work. I got Unity and MCC on the same night. And both were messed up at launch. Never again.
The only time I will do it again, is if it's a game that has reviews or previews up before. Or people confirm it actually works.
Even that isn't 100% reliable though. Remember when all those Halo MCC reviews came out, before the matchmaking was even live for the press. And yet they gave this 9/10 10/10.
TheGreyHulk
Member
I fully regret buying the game. It was a full waste of $65. This was a system seller for me and was anticipating playing a shit load of halo during the fall, but I haven't been able to do so thanks to it being a broken game not ready for release.
Spending more time searching for a match vs actually playing is very frustrating. It's like a slap in the face to us consumers. Yes, we bitch and moan a lot, but this time it's definitely warranted.
What's worse is that I completely forgot all about the H5 beta coming up too because MCC has pretty much sucked any halo excitement out of me. Had the game worked, I would have been pretty excited about it...but now..I just dont care for H5. I won't even buy it day one cuz I don't trust it will work for a quarter
Spending more time searching for a match vs actually playing is very frustrating. It's like a slap in the face to us consumers. Yes, we bitch and moan a lot, but this time it's definitely warranted.
What's worse is that I completely forgot all about the H5 beta coming up too because MCC has pretty much sucked any halo excitement out of me. Had the game worked, I would have been pretty excited about it...but now..I just dont care for H5. I won't even buy it day one cuz I don't trust it will work for a quarter
m_shortpants
Member
I have a friend who was a huge Halo fan. He isn't a massive gamer or anything, he just really loved Halo. Not hardcore like GAF or anything. He picked up an Xbox one and Halo MCC the day it came out. I talked to him recently and he was so pissed. He was saying things like everyone who made the game should be fired and stuff.
It was interesting seeing the reaction of a "casual" buyer.
It was interesting seeing the reaction of a "casual" buyer.
Iorv3th
Member
The single player isn't perfect though either and frame drops in co-op.... So how it got reviewed so well even considering those things?
You know what really sucks too? Is the fact that even when they do fix it (if they do), they've already blown it. The population playing this has taken a major hit. It will never be as active as it would have been. So even those that are staying loyal and who love this series, they will still get punished. Because they ruined this for a lot of people and that impacts online traffic.
SMH
SMH
Foolishfellow
Banned
I'd say most of the people I run into on matchmaking are "casual" buyers as well. I define "casual" as someone who is a little misinformed or uneducated about the latest videogame news and updates that we see daily here on NeoGaf. More often than not, I'm the one educating people about the Halo waypoint patch notes site.
Obviously this is anecdotal, but I'd say the vast majority of casual players that I've met are people in their mid-late 20's (like myself) who grew up playing Halo 1 and 2 and have been disappointed with the direction the series has gone in recent years. I've met a lot of folks who are really interested in objective gametypes, custom gametypes, and matchmaking in Halo CE and 2. Many of these late 20 somethings have jobs and families but bought Halo MCC and an Xbox One specifically to rekindle the joy that the felt playing this game in their childhood. Most of the people that I've met on time, do not have the time to deal with the amount of patience that currently goes into playing matchmaking games with a party greater than one.
These days, a lot of the friends that I added during the week after the games launch using their Xbox One's to watch Netflix.
Again, this is all anecdotal, but In some cases I feel like anecdotal evidence carries a lot more weight than whatever focus groups and big data aggregation that Microsoft is using these days to make the design decisions that are ruining some of their biggest brands.
Why not? You aren't forced to return it. It's only for people that want a refund, or want a fix. Selling customers a game that is broken really isn't acceptable.
So what is the solution? You are okay with this?
Sending it in to "get a fix" honestly sounds like a pointless thing. Send it in for what? For them to manually apply patches you'd get on your xbox anyway?
The solution at this point is to unfortunately wait for patches.
I honestly still think Halo 5 should be delayed because of this. It won't happen but it should. I also think people should lose their jobs over this but that won't happen either. The level of incompetence that was required for this mess to happen is astounding
Dlacy13g
Member
I suppose I should qualify my comment. I don't think the game needs to be recalled Per se, however I'm not opposed to those that want to return it to be allowed to return it whether it be physical or digital. I myself have not had major issues with the games single player which has been primarily what I have been playing.
TBH I don't think you could send it in to get fixed. I was just kind of going off what OP said. But I do think MS should offer mass refunds (like make it an actual thing vs. just people having to do it on their own), or do something at this point. The product is clearly broken, and it impacts a lot of people.
So some kind of recall, or something, anything.
EDIT: I have lost faith in 343. But I'm still placing the blame on MS here. Spencer and everyone running things, really pushed this to be out. They were the ones doing anything to compete with PS4. I see MCC being pushed out + the absurd price cut slashing as a desperate attempts to close that cap. But it was at the expense of their customers (new and old customers). So I think they need to make it right. I do get people being mad at 343. But I still think more blame should be geared towards MS. And yes, Halo 5 def needs to be delayed at this point.
As I said in my post, Spencer goes on and on about wanting Xbox owners to feel like first class gamers. Time to prove this aint all talk.
Head.spawn
Junior Member
I don't like that they are not giving us solid details on the problems or even a reasonable ETA for when the problem is going to be fixed. They PROMISED that. It hasn't happened and it's shady as fuck.
rokkerkory
Member
Give us like $30 back
I doubt mass refunds will happen because that would be too difficult to verify for physical buyers. I still think the compensation we will get is more H2A maps
Talent is not the issue. It's management. Those artists and programmers work damn hard for executives who don't have the game and it's audience's best interests at heart.
*shrugs*
Then people should sue them? Class action law suit would only pay the lawyers though (I hate these). But I see something like that, as a way to show them they can't keep doing these things. It's kind of like setting precedent. If companies are able to do this and they get off completely free, then it kind of leaves that door open to do it again.
I get that people think that, consumers should just then vote with their wallets. But in this case, most people have lost their money and don't have a product that works. I guess the argument is that, people can get a refund. Okay.
I dunno. This whole thing is fucked. I just feel Spencer + MS have really treated their user base like trash here. And I just wish there was something they could do to make it right.
I love my X1. I still love the MS brand. But MS has continued to let me down over and over. I was really getting hope when Spencer took over, and they were starting to move things in a new direction. But I am not happy about this. And I've started to lose faith in them. Imagine those that, bought an X1 just for this game this holiday. They must feel even worse.
Mineshaft_Gap
4077th
Halo CE Anniversary co-op was never fixed. Game was unplayable if you tried to co-op online.
They have effectively killed any enthusiasm I had for future iterations. That's hard to do, considering Halo 1 and 2 are my top two favorite games of all time. There is NO WAY I will purchase another Halo game, ever again.
Yeah. I think MS supporting actual mass refunds is more appropriate. As the only way to fix this is through patches. But I still think OP's idea is in the right place. That this shouldn't just be a thing that is released, is broken...and then nothing is done about it.
Shame on the media for not covering this. Shame on them for reviewing this before matchmaking is live. Ugh. Basically OP just wants something to be done. Something to come of this. Because as of now, it's just like...they released a broken ass game. Millions have their money taken and a product that doesn't work the way it's supposed to work. And what's happening is, we are just waiting and waiting as patch after patch is thrown at it.
Even if like a patch in 3 months fixes this, it's not acceptable. What are we some kind of loan agency? Loan them $60 and they will get back to us at a later time with a product. SMH.
EDIT: The only silver lining, is that MS has given refunds if people really pushed for it. Although, I've heard some users get the run around, as some reps won't give refunds. So it's not like this MS supported thing. That's what bugs me about all of this. MS is just silent on this. And it's like, nothing is being done about this (outside the slow patches).
Still sold well, at #10 in NPD? All that matters to MS in the holidays more or less. Sure MS cares about brand image BUT, it cares more about a Halo product shipping these holidays to go along with the price drop narrative. 1.2m Xbox One's.
I don't think 343i is that incompetent as it's made to be....the product was simply rushed and wasn't nowhere near polished like the single entries in the Halo series before it - the deadline killed it - set in conjunction w/ MS. Without Halo MCC you're only looking at Sunset Overdrive.... and that won't create nearly the same buzz, nor move consoles comparatively.
Like I said in the previous threads. If you're a MS exec, you do it again in a heart beat. Control the damage and next year release a "redemption product" - and use the narrative of listening to consumers and Halo fans and all the PR bla bla bla that people eat up so easily. "Next-gen" Halo is here. Maybe a great amount of Gafers are skeptical, but Gaf is really a small portion of Xbox's base and target market. A great majority of Xbox fans buy Xbox One's for Halo, not gonna change. I expect droves of X360 owners to jump ship next November 2015, when Halo 5 ships.
I don't think 343i is that incompetent as it's made to be....the product was simply rushed and wasn't nowhere near polished like the single entries in the Halo series before it - the deadline killed it - set in conjunction w/ MS. Without Halo MCC you're only looking at Sunset Overdrive.... and that won't create nearly the same buzz, nor move consoles comparatively.
Like I said in the previous threads. If you're a MS exec, you do it again in a heart beat. Control the damage and next year release a "redemption product" - and use the narrative of listening to consumers and Halo fans and all the PR bla bla bla that people eat up so easily. "Next-gen" Halo is here. Maybe a great amount of Gafers are skeptical, but Gaf is really a small portion of Xbox's base and target market. A great majority of Xbox fans buy Xbox One's for Halo, not gonna change. I expect droves of X360 owners to jump ship next November 2015, when Halo 5 ships.
Yeah and that's fucked.
MS spent all this money (lost money) just to beat PS4 in NPDs by a slight margin. They slashed all their prices, and did everything possible. But they couldn't be arsed to treat their loyal customers right, or the new customers that are jumping in for the holiday season.
Suddenly that NPD win doesn't feel like a win. They got their win, but at the expense of customers. And Spencer goes on and on about wanting us to feel like first class gamers. SMH (Sorry to keep repeating that, but I'm just so let down. I really wanted to like Spencer. Damnit. Damnit MS for letting me down again. I wanted to believe).
It's like, I'm just so passionate about gaming. And I really really love the MS brand when it is on. That is why I love my X1. Why, I'll buy games on X1 over PS4, even if the PS4 version runs better. Because i love the controller. Of the X1 experience. I really really want this to succeed. It's just ugh. Sigh.
Well if MS only cares about the sales then I hope they know MCC is directly influencing my desire to not purchase halo 5
I just wish there was something we could do, just to let these companies know it's not okay. The whole "vote with your wallet" doesn't seem to work, as the majority of casual buyers don't really look into these things (aren't aware), or don't care. So it allows them to keep doing it over and over. And as long as they keep making the bulk of their money, they seem to be okay with it (and keep silent on the matter). Companies like this only will care, if they start getting a lot of negative PR and get embarrassed. Companies hate it when they get negative press. Even if their game did sell well, they fear that the negative press will eventually lead to future lost sales and a lack of confidence in their larger audience. (This is why, we really need the media to help us, and be on our side on these consumer issues).
So I'm not sure what the solution is. But I wish someone could organize something to strike back at this bullshit.
PROh1bited
Banned
Just played against a guy whos gamertag is DontpreorderH5. Wow.