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Arrowhead Studios confirm PSN Account Requirement decision was on Sony - Game received over 15,000 negative reviews and is now 'Mixed' on Steam

Fabieter

Member
People are dumb, all you need to do is incentivise something without forcing it. Include some perks and people will happily sign up to whatever service they wish for.

The secret is, like anything in this world. You have to make the person think they've done it on by their own decision and they have won out from the transaction.

Don't tell people they must sign up...

"Sign up and receive this perk/item, have all your accounts sync up across devices with cross progression/account progression and receive 1000 free space bucks to buy imaginary shit with"

Simples lol

Dont think it will be optional the next time. They learned their lesson.
 

feynoob

Banned
Nice excuse for not carrying about other people. Like I said many many time this weekend selective outrage at its finest. If all people in the west would stop playing league tencent would care but they did eat it up from the cooperation.
Are you hearing yourself man
 

FunkMiller

Member
People are dumb, all you need to do is incentivise something without forcing it. Include some perks and people will happily sign up to whatever service they wish for.

The secret is, like anything in this world. You have to make the person think they've signed up through their own decision and they have also "won" out from the transaction.

Don't tell people they must sign up...

"Sign up and receive this perk/item, have all your accounts sync up across devices with cross progression/account progression and receive 1000 free space bucks to buy imaginary shit with"

Simples lol

This entire thing reeks of higher management, with zero expertise in customer service, handing down an edict because they saw more dollar signs and a bigger yacht.

Too fucking dumb and greedy to understand how to manipulate and persuade your audience properly.

I am so fucking happy it backfired on them so spectacularly.
 
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Fabieter

Member
I think, for Sony. They also have to ensure every country that steam sells games in is supported for psn and the set up is as easy as possible.

Don't think much will change on that front since the next game is probably around the corner. Doubt they will manage to support alot of more countries for the next games. They just won't sell it in unsupported countries.
 

Three

Member
OK here's my idea, they make a cool reward for people who sign up that is PlayStation themed.

A set of 3 armors based on other PlayStation Brands, one based on Helgast from Killzone, One that looks like a futuristic ghost of Tushima outfit... and because it's recent and also involves someone dropping in from Orbit a stella blade outfit.

That way people will want to sign up for the armor sets and enter the PSN shared ecosystem out of choice, and those that don't can continue to play without being effected.

You give people a carrot not a stick.
Does Steam even allow this? I don't think it does.
 

zombrex

Member
This is about more than just the PSN issue, discontent has been rising regarding poor balance updates and removing the fun, this was the straw that broke the camels back.
 

AmuroChan

Member
I read through alot of steam reviews right now and most reviews just mention that they canr make a psn account because its hacked every month.

I dont know but it's illegal to talk stuff about people and companies which ain't true and can damage them. Well at least where I live.

Do bot reviews occur on Steam?
 
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Holammer

Member
Does Steam even allow this? I don't think it does.
Ff_eM73WQAA5xij.jpg


Here is the PSN signup bonus for Sackboy.
Needless to say, I don't have it, nor have I played it online because it requires an EGS account which isn't communicated on the store page and Remote Play Together is disabled.
 

Astray

Member
I mean yes obviously they want the store to be successful but you asked if it benefited gamers in any way. It benefited them. Gamers were literally getting free games to play.
Not only that, they created pressure on Steam to improve further.

In my region pricing on Epic is either better or the same as Steam, so depending on your region there could be a positive price pressure too.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
I really hope Sony doesn't back down on this and instead double down on this.

Review bombing is nothing but extortion at this point—it's my way or the highway for these spoiled children, who don't even care about employees who are hired in a studio that made a game they apparently love so much.

They bought a game without reading the requirements and are now complaining about something so insignificant. It's on them.
Get fucken got.


How about next time champion for consumer rights instead of dicksucking Sony. Corporations do not care about you, you don't work for Sony, stop giving a shit and let consumers have options
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Sony is definitely going to start launching all their games day one on Steam ASAP, this is the type of response and free publicity you just can't get enough of as a company.

BOOM! Imagine having to go through all of this if every 1st party game would be PC Day 1 and wanting to deal with this crap.....
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Right?

So much complaining around here (rightly) that gaming is getting worse and worse due to corporate greed, over-reach, and executive bullshittery...

...but this is fine now?

When did so many gamers get so fucking cucked by corporations?

Because not all of us even want or care about all of Playstation games being on PC in the first place. Yet many PC gamers were crying for a system that allows them to play Playstation games on PC. Now that they got it, Sony is doing the same thing that every other companies have done in the PC space.

Maybe PC gamers need to be careful of what they ask for.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Because not all of us even want or care about all of Playstation games being on PC in the first place. Yet many PC gamers were crying for a system that allows them to play Playstation games on PC. Now that they got it, Sony is doing the same thing that every other companies have done in the PC space.

Maybe PC gamers need to be careful of what they ask for.


No, they really didn't in this case. That's the whole reason for what happened lol.

They were about to retroactively mandate PS accounts for a game they were selling for 3, 4 months without it being mandatory. Among other things, it would have resulted in players from 170+ countries not being able to play the game they bought on Steam, because PSN doesn't exist in those countries.

This whole "they're only doing what other companies are doing" argument is not very well thought out.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
For Sony, it was always mandatory. It being needed is entirely different.

Sure, I agree that Sony may have wanted to have it mandatory from day 1. But for whatever reason it wasn't, and it sold a shit ton in that state. Retroactively putting this, let's call it a very restrictive DRM, on a game post-release was never going to be received well.

Games get chewed up for even something less controversial like adding Denuvo post-release.
 

Mr Moose

Member
Sure, I agree that Sony may have wanted to have it mandatory from day 1. But for whatever reason it wasn't, and it sold a shit ton in that state. Retroactively putting this, let's call it a very restrictive DRM, on a game post-release was never going to be received well.

Games get chewed up for even something less controversial like adding Denuvo post-release.
Fucking Capcom and that shitty DRM they added to Monster Hunter Rise *shakes fist* I can't even launch the game anymore, no idea why, I don't use mods and shit :messenger_weary:
 

bender

What time is it?
I think, for Sony. They also have to ensure every country that steam sells games in is supported for psn and the set up is as easy as possible.

A saving grace or at least a reprieve might be the time it takes Sony to sort out getting global support for PSN Accounts. That's not light switch that can just be flipped on as every country has their own regulations and Sony needs to make sure they are compliant. The largest factor of course would be how their games are performing in regions without PSN Account support.

Sure, I agree that Sony may have wanted to have it mandatory from day 1. But for whatever reason it wasn't, and it sold a shit ton in that state. Retroactively putting this, let's call it a very restrictive DRM, on a game post-release was never going to be received well.

Games get chewed up for even something less controversial like adding Denuvo post-release.

The saving grace of Helldivers 2 launching in such a broken state is they had to scramble to get any semblance of functionality so they temporarily removed the requirement. Sony has a lot to learn about the PC market and live service and I'm going to take them at their word that they are listening and are willing to learn. They've taken the appropriate first step and did so swiftly. Up next figuring out the regional mess they've created.
 

mckmas8808

Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
No, they really didn't in this case. That's the whole reason for what happened lol.

They were about to retroactively mandate PS accounts for a game they were selling for 3, 4 months without it being mandatory. Among other things, it would have resulted in players from 170+ countries not being able to play the game they bought on Steam, because PSN doesn't exist in those countries.

This whole "they're only doing what other companies are doing" argument is not very well thought out.

The bad part was selling the game in countries without PSN and then making it mandatory. Looks like they didn't want to split the baby and make it mandatory only in countries that have PSN only. And non-mandatory in the other countries.
 

Viz108

Neo Member
The bad part was selling the game in countries without PSN and then making it mandatory. Looks like they didn't want to split the baby and make it mandatory only in countries that have PSN only. And non-mandatory in the other countries.
As much as I want to believe it was the negative reviews that made Sony cave it was probably a combination of this and Steam offering full refunds for anyone in those countries who could no longer play the game they paid for. There's voting with your wallet, and there's threatening it with a knife.

Anyway, thanks GabeN, always knew we could count on you.
 

Heisenberg007

Gold Journalism
Get fucken got.


How about next time champion for consumer rights instead of dicksucking Sony. Corporations do not care about you, you don't work for Sony, stop giving a shit and let consumers have options
My man, fuck Sony and all corporations. They were clearly in the wrong not providing non-supported countries with an official/legal way to create a PSN account.

At the same time, HD2 PC players were also wrong for protesting against linking to the PSN account as that is exactly what they agreed on when they bought the game.

Never have I ever sided with corporations against gamers. The community is way more important to me than anything else.
 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
As much as I want to believe it was the negative reviews that made Sony cave it was probably a combination of this and Steam offering full refunds for anyone in those countries who could no longer play the game they paid for. There's voting with your wallet, and there's threatening it with a knife.

Anyway, thanks GabeN, always knew we could count on you.

Should be a combination of both. Reviews generate headlines and discourage players from buying the game (which leads to lesser future sales), while exposing the numerous flaws of the PSN infrastructure.
 

Mithos

Member
Re-posting this that I posted in a different thread..

What I am wondering how will Valve react going forward when it comes to Sony games that mentions needing/requiring PSN accounts?
Will they block sales in all countries where you can not officially create one?
 

Pejo

Gold Member
Re-posting this that I posted in a different thread..

What I am wondering how will Valve react going forward when it comes to Sony games that mentions needing/requiring PSN accounts?
Will they block sales in all countries where you can not officially create one?
Good question. It's probably in their best interests to do so, that way if people break ToS with VPNs or whatever, they're not held responsible for it.

That said, it'd sure be nice if Sony kept it optional and just provided incentives for people to link their PSN instead.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Re-posting this that I posted in a different thread..

What I am wondering how will Valve react going forward when it comes to Sony games that mentions needing/requiring PSN accounts?
Will they block sales in all countries where you can not officially create one?

Yep. They'd have to. Otherwise they are selling a product that cannot be legally played in those countries.

Sony have fucked themselves with their greed, and it's delicious.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Re-posting this that I posted in a different thread..

What I am wondering how will Valve react going forward when it comes to Sony games that mentions needing/requiring PSN accounts?
Will they block sales in all countries where you can not officially create one?

Valve doesn't set the region restrictions for games. That's up to the publisher. The login process itself isn't a part of Steam so Valve may not even know if a publisher adds any requirement like this. This is where Valve's refund policy comes into play.

 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
You know, I'm really beginning to appreciate just how terrified a lot of games publishers and journalists were over Sweet Baby Inc Detected thing.

Steam is obviously a platform that can effect change in company policy and sales.

Not Steam, its the PC players. Steam only provide the tools for the players to do so.
 

FunkMiller

Member
Not Steam, its the PC players. Steam only provide the tools for the players to do so.

Very true, but Steam provides the outlet from which the players can make their opinions known. It doesn't feel like there's another gaming platform that has the same capacity right now.
 

JackMcGunns

Member
Checks and balances. Seems petty, but look at the results. I have an account, and I'm sure that most of users here do as well, so it doesn't seem like a big deal, but no one wants to be forced, especially after the fact.
 

Holammer

Member
Give it a day or two and the game should be available for purchase in the blocked territories again. Sony should announce the relisting with an apology. That would earn them a lot of goodwill. Fail to relist them? Oh boy, we got a problem, again.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Checks and balances. Seems petty, but look at the results. I have an account, and I'm sure that most of users here do as well, so it doesn't seem like a big deal, but no one wants to be forced, especially after the fact.

Forcing after the fact and in non-PSN countries, along with poor communication, were the crux of the issue. All avoidable.
 

rofif

Can’t Git Gud


Devs sound like theyre sick of this shit

lol this situation.
It's complicated. They had a deal with sony to put psn in place from day1 which they didn't (server issues they say).
Then they failed to communicate about reactivation.

On sony side, they totally fucked all the region selling stuff. So everyone did everything wrong lol
 
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