Origin refunding Mass Effect 3 purchases

After having rumours going around of Amazon giving refunds to Mass Effect 3 owners who were dissatisfied with the game's ending, EA's Origin seems to be following the trend.

[Nitrowolf2]

I wonder if EA is going to halt this, since well they are the ones who are running Origin

[Fred-G-Sanford]

I'm still waiting to be refunded for my purchase of Haze.

[solidjun5]

LMAO!!!!! that's too funny. +1

[teething]

I want a refund on life. Why couldn't I be born into riches? Screw working for a living!!!

[joab777]

Lol. Steady u r comment makes sense. They played the whole damned game and this comment proves that they r only pissed because they loved it so much. Give me a break. I am very sad today.

[jeseth]

This whole Mass Effect stuff is pathetic. This gen has created and developed the most whiny, spoiled, bratty, and childish "gamers" ever.

Its an awesome game. Could the ending(s) have been different? Sure. But the ending they chose, they chose for a reason .. their reason. Complaining about the Mass Effect 3 ending is like complaining to an artist because they didn't use the colors you wanted. But its not up to you, or me. They are telling their story.

Find something more productive to waste your time and energy on instead of crying over the ending to a freaking video game.

[thechad2]

this is america capitalism at its best. i hope bioware get class action law sued for false advertising over this. "in america if something sucks your supposed to be able to get your money back" Stan Marsh

[darthv72]

if they get refunded...what happens to their copies of the game? Do they become invalidated to prevent play?

I would think that would happen so people dont just complain to take advantage of the refund and then keep on playing like nothing happened.

[teething]

The ending was TERRIBLE. It ruined my my entire mass effect experience with over 15 playthroughs of ME1 and ME2. That is lost time that is dead to me and I now have PTSD from playing the first games... because the end of ME3 was so bad.

I returned my game because the ending was so bad.

Oh wait... they are now going to fix the ending. But I sold my copy. Now I need to buy ANOTHER copy. EA/Bioware MUST give me a new copy for FREE because it was their fault that the game ending was so bad in the first place.

[morkendo23]

wonder will this be END of MASS EFFECT series?? or all FPS games??

im wondering not saying it will be.

[GameOn]

FPS?

[DavidMacDougall]

Yeah FPS?

[Kurt Russell]

Duuuh Mass Effect ain't a FPS... it's a Driving Sim! (>.>)

[badz149]

I thought that it's a point & click? no?

[Godmars290]

Actually thinking about, I hope it ends the trend of game companies from making whatever claims they want.

Seriously, Peter Molyneux shold be up on false advertising charges. Then there were Square's multiple advertising "accidents" with PS3 and 360 footage.

[RedDead]

I dunno why him calling it FPS is that bad..compared to thinking this will be the end of all Tps

[Ginn]

The "F" stands for "ferd".

[joab777]

I didn't want them to change the ending but now i do. I want them to keep track of who they refunded to and charge them $200 for the game when they attempt to repurchase it. And they will because they love the game.

[gedapeleda]

It's a great deal
1.buy game
2.complete
3.send to ea:"I don't like it"
4.????
5.profit

[Raf1k1]

Just what I was thinking. Nobody would bother pirating anymore.

[Crazyglues]

Wow refund on a game for having a bad ending, Really? OMG!! I got a list of games that need a refund then..

I mean this is really surprising as companies usually don't give you money back because the game sucked.. -_-

This just seems strange.. ??? I didn't get the game but is it really that bad...?

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[mcstorm]

This is just stupid. Some people need to wakeup in life and see whats important. Just because you don't like the end of something dose not mean you should get your money back. its like going to the cinema and watching a film but then you decide you did not like how the film ended so you want your money back. Come on people wakeup. If you have got to the end of the game then you must of liked the game to get through to the end in the 1st place. But if you did not like how it ended then go and trade it in and get a different game that you like the end of rather than asking for your money back.

If I think back to some of the games I have played and thought the ending was not that good (off the tope of my head MW 1 and 2, BFBC2) I thought the endings were poor but that did not make me think I know ill take it back to the shop and say I want my money back as the ending was bad. I have only ever taken one game back and that was heavy rain but that was because I was having a lot of problems with my PS3 crashing when I was playing the game so I swapped it for a different game and got the game 2 months later when the patches ect were out and the game did not crash.

This world is becoming a sad and stupid place with what we can do. You can take someone to court for letting one rip in a small space, Get your money back off the bank that you have been paying them for years without moaning. Get money out of business for falling over in a work place because you were being stupid. Get a big payout for whiplash even though you don't have it and we are wondering why the world is in the stat it is in now.

[BigPenguin]

You should be able to get your money back for a shit movies.

Keep in mind, its not the theater that loses the bulk of the money(they have to give the studios around 80%(star wars was 90%) of the ticket price for the first weekend) because they make the bulk of their money off of concessions.

The people it would really hurt are those putting out shit movies. It would raise the level of films that are being released, and that is something that benefits everyone.

[Snookies12]

Wow... EA's giving refunds for its own game? Haha, that is pretty bad... I must beat ME3 so that I can see this ending that everyone says is so awful. XD

[BattleTorn]

and what were your thoughts?

EDIT: Yeah, I read the comment wrong.

[Stephen5543]

He said "I must beat ME3" so that he can see the ending. He has no thoughts on it yet because he hasn't beaten it.

[badz149]

if the ending is what you're after, Youtube is your friend my man. no need to spend money on it and no need to be refunded either!

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Why would you youtube the ending of a game you have...? Kinda kills the point of buying the game.

[aCasualGamer]

Hey, you know what. Even though EA screwed up Mass Effect 3, I'm actually surprised at the generosity of refunding their customers. It's not often you see that from publishers.

Next time they should focus more on creating a game that fans deserve.

[Topshelfcheese]

Maybe you should go make your own game and see how many people love it. The "my opinion is the only thing that matters generation" is crazy. You like it or you don't, you don't "deserve" a refund for services rendered

[Lazy_Sunday]

@aCasualGamer: I accidentally agreed to your comment, and just had to post to tell you how ignorant and stupid I felt for agreeing with you. The consumer shouldn't be so self entitled when the industry it supports is completely reliant on millions upon millions of dollars in risk with no guarantee of success. The games industry is one of the few industries left in this world that is willing to innovate because it knows the potential, and if you like that you should support it regardless of a shitty ending.

I hated the ending of I Am Legend, but I didn't ask for a refund for 30 seconds out of 100 minutes of great entertainment. If you enjoyed Mass Effect 3 and disliked the ending, then the logic is "REFUND" because you think your game isn't worth the $60? You're lucky to have the privilege that companies make these games cheap enough for you to afford. It's money that's holding back the industry, and this immature self-entitled attitude only slows down the potential of this great entertainment and art form. You're the problem.
Apologies if I sounded harsh. I'm not an asshole, just trying to inform.

[aCasualGamer]

@Lazy_Sunday

I'll support the industry til the day I die. I can't speak for anyone else, but regardless of what the issue was, refunding the fans that built up the success of Mass Effect in the first place, is a sign of generosity. It's rare that a big company as EA would just agree to refunds. They probably acknowledge the fact that they made some mistakes with Mass Effect 3 and that they don't want anymore bad publicity.

Listen, i think EA (Bioware) should have done a better job with the ending. With that said, i haven't asked for a refund yet and i won't. To me, the journey was too good for it to be ruined by a mediocre ending. I'm glad they are generous enough to refund those who apparently are "victims" of marketing fraud. That's their argument anyways.

The money argument doesn't hold. These games are 50-60$ not because it's a low price but because the return value is much higher when taking into consideration that millions gamers buy the games. If I'm not mistaken, Mass Effect 3 had six figure copies sold during the first week. The thing you have to keep in mind is that the majority of gamers are young with little to no finances, so 60$ is still alot of money.

I don't really care for the issues with the game personally, but I can see why some fans are greatly disappointed with it. In the end it's a strategic move from EA to refund, so that the majority of the bad publicity doesn't escalate into something uncontrollable.

[neoandrew]

Not everyone, only haters, a tiny amount of millions copy sold.

[Godmars290]

Sounds like the lawsuit rumors have weight.

[kamruk]

I'm surprised the post is till up on the forums

[Mystickay86]

Finished ME3 and keeping it. A great game, minus the ending. Will replay with other import/multiplayer

[kamruk]

You are right sir, I really loved how everything came together and that was the whole coming together of the trilogy for me. Of course the ending fell flat, but that did not destroy the entire experience as a whole for me.... still would have loved to see so much more different at the end :D i felt like i gathered the galaxy to fight on my own

[Grap]

so u loved taking back earth mission?? wow

[kamruk]

@grap

Errr.... I can see how you might have read it that way. No I didnt, it was a lame survival of waves, I enjoyed everything up to the end. and for me the end includes the take back earth mission. thats what i meant by "fighting on my own" the battle was not a bit epic and might as well could have been a sidemission

[Mystickay86]

I'm guessing the dislikes are those who hated the ending that much. Pay the troll tolls.

[omi25p]

best of the 3 so far. If you ignore the last 5 minutes.

[yesmynameissumo]

So the ending is shit and worth a refund? Wow.

[DarkBlood]

lol god damn might as well recall those products

[BattleTorn]

I don't get it.

How can a bad ending warrant a refund?

Did the ending completely void all the enjoyment that took place getting to the end?

Do I get a refund when I don't enjoy a movie? No.

[MysticStrummer]

"Do I get a refund when I don't enjoy a movie? No."

You're the second person I've seen make this point, but you can get a refund after watching a bad movie. It probably depends on the manager of the theater, but it can be done.

[BattleTorn]

Although rare, this is true.

But that's because the theatre is willing to guarantee satifaction.

You'd be hard pressed to get a refund direct from "Universal Studios"

Which is what is going on with EA/Origin.

[badz149]

can you just shut up and let them have their refunds? don't you see? this is actually good for gamers! hate the ending or not, a refund is great to customers no matter what! If only I've bought ME3 via origins, I'll ask for refund regardless of reason! finish the game and use the refund towards another. that's pure WIN in my book!

[ninjahunter]

Actually, you can get a refund on movies if the theater recognizes it as a terrible movie.

[Rageanitus]

Here in Canada you are not entitled to a refund if you watch beyond 30 minutes of the movie.... because hating a movie just like hating a game or having a meal is SUBJECTIVE.

Ppl should really get real and don't always feel like they are entitled to something.

[jony_dols]

I think this whole debacle is ridiculous, and neither EA nor Amazon should even consider refunding customers.

But I have found that after completing Mass Effect 3, I no longer have the desire to replay the campaign, like I did with the previous 2 titles. The generic, plot-hole riddled endings has paved over the generally great game in which ME3, which is unfortunate.

Maybe I'll give it another run through when EA force some $10 DLC on me...

[bobrea]

I agree, but it doesn't mean I wont try to get one.

[Grap]

it was not just the ending the last mission. the whole game talk about was literally Cr@p

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Is anyone else getting annoyed at the people on Biowares Social Club?

I mean, really you requested a refund for a game just because you did not like the ending?

The community is overeacting way to much, sure at first I hated the ending, but this constant complaining has made me appreciate the end more, and the whole indoctrination theory that is floating about
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

But, Im not returning the game yet, I will allow Bioware to explain their ending first.

I mean, I have hated dozens of endings, but I do not complain for a refund.

Lets face it, you had a 30+ hour experience. Hell it was an incredible experience up to the ending that honestly baffled me as to why Bioware would make it like this.

By refunding the game, you pretty much got that 30+ hour experience for free, thats BS to the rest of us.

You might as well have stolen it because you got that experience for free where the rest of us had to pay for it.

I say, give Bioware some time and let them explain themselves and their ending.

And even if they changed the ending, would it really matter? You already know this ending existed. They tried to do something a bit different, and they messed up.

To Bioware this game was a labor of love, they loved this universe, lore and characters as much as we did. However they forgot that ME is not your average game series. If ME was a game where I possesed no control over the events in the game, I would have been fine with the ending. But ME is a series that I control the outcome, thats is why people love ME so much. The ending stood against everything ME was about, I would have never agreed to the starchild, because Shepard is the reflection of the player, and I think Bioware forgot about this, and released this ending. Or the indoctrination theory, which would be bloody brilliant if they planned all of this to happen.

I say, give Bioware some time to explain themselves. Until then, I will pay my respects to Marauder Shields

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Imalwaysright]

I think that hitler said it better why some of us are upset with the shitty ending of the Mass effect trilogy

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

I know that it was made to get some laughs but it is spot on!

[denero1]

Actually We got a refund on tomb raider >.< when it came out

just saying >.<

[Topshelfcheese]

This whole situation is the most idiotic thing I have heard in a long time. Where was all this hate when Peter Maly"hype" made all these claims about Fable, guess what, Fable didn't even deliver 10% of what was advertised. Get over it and move on...

[Hicken]

See, here's the problem: IT KEEPS HAPPENING.

Yeah, the first offenders are gonna get away with it. That's how it always goes. Even so, it's not like he got away clean. Fable felt the wrath of the consumers, though. Or the reviewers, at the least.

Mass Effect isn't the first game, I think that's your point. But that point is also why Mass Effect is suffering the criticisms that it is. It's had the benefit of other games going before it and making such mistakes, and yet it didn't avoid that problem. And to make matters worse, the creators themselves dug a hole for ME3 by claiming it would do the exact opposite of what it did.

And that's the even bigger issue: that the developers lied and said the game would do something that it doesn't. They encouraged people to go out and buy their older games so the choices they made would affect this one.

But they didn't.

I don't know about you, but I want my money's worth when I buy something. So I'll complain if I buy something and it's not to my liking. It's not what I expected, what was advertised. I have that right, and I'll exercise it.

Aren't things bad enough for gamers without us accepting shitty choices like this?

[theDECAY]

I agree man. I know it seems a little ridiculous to ask for a refund, but the bottom line is we are the consumers. Just because every one else is ok accepting something that they are unhappy with, doesn't mean we all should. When I buy something I want my money's worth, and I want what was promised. It's simple really: we are the consumer and we drive the industry.

[crossplatformgamers]

How about putting Mass Effect 3 On Steam Origin. That is what I want instead of being forced to use your crappy service, because you want to make more profit per game.

[MasterD919]

By this logic I should be getting every dollar I spent on seeing the Star Wars prequels back again. Ridiculous...Just move on people!

Rather than refunds, EA should be offering more content. This would be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic. I own ME3 and know this is all being blown way out of proportion. ME3 has a 2 star rating on Amazon for god sakes...We get it already.

[ShabbaRanks]

This one is pretty funny LOL (review from Amazon) :

"An excellent final chapter in Commander Shepard's story which is completely spoiled by a nonsensical, cop-out of an ending - one which was basically directly ripped from the original Deus Ex. Not only does the ending spoil what would otherwise be an excellent game, it also destroys the replay value of all the previous games in the series. And no, I'm most definitely *not* exaggerating.

Do yourself a favour and give it a pass. Or even better, donate the money to the charity "Child's Play" which provides games and toys to sick children."

...I agree with the DeusEx3 part and what frustrates me is that DE3 didn’t get the attention it deserved. Then there are games like MassEffect3 that are so overrated that get so much praise when it shouldn’t.

[STONEY4]

*Mass Effect 3 ending spoilers*

He was actually talking about Deus Ex 1. It's endings were, if I remember correctly:

Send Earth into a technological dark age, where communications between everyone would be completely severed. Just like the destruction of the Mass Relays, and the destruction of all reaper-based technology in the Destroy ending.

Join the Illuminati and control all governments on Earth and the flow of information. No real equivalent in Mass Effect though.

Merge with the Helios AI and essentially become a God, controlling everything on Earth. Just like the Control ending where you control the reapers, and Synthesis with the joining of synthetics and organics, even though JC Denton technically wasn't an organic. The whole theme of Deus Ex was information control and organics evolving further through synthetic implants/augmentations though.

[Mythicninja]

This seems extreme to me especially considering before the game was released they said to save your mass effect 3 saves for .........something. there will almost certainly be DLC sometime in the near future which expands the game........ Now how do you think that will happen??? Consider also the ending....watch it a bunch of times and give it some thought....it might not be what you thought it was......

[Pintheshadows]

The fact that after the ending it basically tells you there will be DLC.

[PirateThom]

This is completely mental....

[ninjahunter]

Cool, I would expect this. I have no more reason to complain about ME3.

[pandehz]

I never understood the idea of refunding art content, experiences , ideas , information etc.

I thought refund is to get your money back while the seller gets the product back. Does that mean ppl need to chisel out parts of their brain and send it to EA, coz they've already played the game so I dont see how its fair trade.

[Awesome_Gamer]

I already sold my copy, Worst game in the series by far. stupid ending for a great trilogy :(

[Hufandpuf]

what about the rest of it?

[godzilla72]

Wow, might have to order from Amazon and then tell them i hated the game ending, get a refund! lol

[GameOn]

Well to be fair they did sell like 4mil copies. I think they can afford a few returns. Could cause problems for other games/devs/publishers tho.

[parasit3]

THANK YOU PC! I mean refunding digital downloads of PC Mass Effect 3?!

[gamey]

God, some people feel SO entitled. To play all the way through a very polished AAA title and find yourself disappointed with the ending, and think you deserve a refund is the height of arrogance and entitlement. Man, this argument could work with any product or service and the whole economy would come crumbling down because of entitled little *hits.

[Chuk5]

I'm sorry but this is just nuts to me, that people are this upset about an ending. I understand, the disappointment some people feel, but that doesn't mean your disappointment should override policy. It's not like Bioware gave you socom confrontation, jeez.

[ginsunuva]

If that's the case, Activision owes me a bunch of refunds for their disappointing crap.

[CryWolf]

I wonder could I get a refund for SWTOR on Origin cause I was dissatisfied about the game I purchase.

[honkyjesus]

Needs more Hamburger Hepler.

[kesvalk]

the ending is lacking? yes? but the rest of the game is worth the money.

getting a refund for this is not better than pirating the game.

[Strakken]

So let me get this straight, people who purchased a game, played through THE WHOLE THING, and finished the game, are now getting refunds if someone just doesn't like the ending.....Bioware, don't be a pushover.

[turgore]

even solitaire had a superior ending to mass effect 3

[SneeringImperialist]

Make haste bioware fix your broken game, you are losing customers!

[MateSLO]

I have seen Mass Effect 3 ending and I must say that it is not THAT bad. It could have been done a lot worse, but on the other hand a lot better.
But so bad that they're giving refunds for it? Oh come on, where is the world coming to. It's like going to your favorite fast food restaurant, eating a double hamburger and after you're finished eating it, you go and get your refund, because YOU didn't like it.
Liking or disliking something is a matter of preferences, your own opinions etc.
BioWare has made this story. That's how they wanted it to play out. That is how it played out. DEAL WITH IT!

[gamer7804]

This sense of entitlement from some gamers is outrageous. Go to a movie theater, watch the whole thing, then ask for a refund because you didn't like the ending...

[SicilianGunner]

wtf since when do you refund games seriously people wtf ending fucked up deal with it.. isnt the game like 20 hours plus u bought the game to see the ending what kind of bullshit is that

[ATi_Elite]

IDK! This is all weird to me! Not really a Mass Effect fan but hey if people are getting refunds for Mass Effect cause of the ending then I say power to the Gamers!

We all have bought a totally super crap game at one point and were unable to get a refund so maybe this is the system trying to balance it's self.........a little!

[MateSLO]

Power to the gamers? Why? Because they played through the game, finished it, now demand a refund? That's asking a lot. Maybe some discount on DLC, but not this.

[denero1]

so you'd rather the consumer suffer then a corporation make some refunds?

Bravo people like you make it that much harder for us to get simple things when we deserve them

[eak3]

If anything comes out of this Bioware should at least realize that they pissed off a lot of people. The game creators should have realized when putting this ending together that by eliminating the ability for choice, which was the entire point of the series would enrage a bunch of people. Getting a refund is ridiculous however, to let Bioware know your not happy you don't buy the next game they put out.

[thechad2]

Its like stan from southpark says after seeing the entire passion of the christ movie..."this is america, if something sucks your supposed to be able to get your money back.
When stuff like this happens it reminds people were a captilistic country. And even if we werent false advertising is false advertising. if someone advertises a t-bone but provides me with salsbury you can bet im getting my money back

[Ness-Psi]

I thought it had to be an actual fault with the product to get a refund, so a bad ending must be considered a fault lol. crazy.

so does this mean i can get a refund on the matrix box set on blu ray, because if you thought mass effects ending was bad this one was worse.

[allyc4t]

I think we are all getting trolled here. All the guy did was post that he got a refund. Anyone can do that. He never offered any proof.

[susanto1228]

Returns on Amazon and now this...EA has been "bitchslapped" by gamers ouch

[teto83]

I want a refund for the last 8 NCAA football games. That what EA gets for hiring the drug addicts that wrote the end of Halo 2 to finish ME3.

[Asgaro]

Pathetic.

Asking a refund for a game that you spend quite some hours on, but where the last little half hour (= ending) didn't satisfy you?
What's wrong with this gaming generation??

[Razgriz383]

So we should just eat whatever they feed us? How could they not know that people would be pissed about that? Your telling me not ONE person in Bioware sat back as the credits rolled...and was the least bit confused?

[Razgriz383]

This is proof that gamers are finally not allowing themselves to be troll'd by producers and what not. For all the people trying to defend Bioware...thats not the point. It is the companies responsibility to make something that the consumer wants and likes. If the buyers say enough is enough...shouldn't they be inclined to make the product better? Think of it like a TV show. Critics can say its the best thing in the world...but if the public doesn't like it you can almost guarantee thats the last season your going to get. Think of how many great shows have been cut just because not enough people watched it or thought it appealed to them as an audience. Mass Effect could of gotten a 15/10 on IGN and GameInformer and still be hated on by the public...its their right if not responsibility to tell the people they are PAYING good cash whats what.

[young7yang]

just fix the PS3 version of the game.. its really unplayable... i have not even experienced the ending because i wont play beyond the mars mission due to the supper lag and choppiness in the frame-rate... all those reviewrs out there who over look these flaws should be fired.. how on earth can you give a game such a high praise in the graphics department on the ps3 when its clearly broken and buggy.. games like uncharted 3, final fantasy XIII-2, gundam extreme vs and killzone 3 all look far better then mass effect 3 and they all run at about 30-60 frames per second without the fear of crashing my system. only after i finish the game will i be able to complain about the ending like everybody els.

[Canvas Of Flesh]

I couldn't care less if they change the ending or not. I don't think the ending is horrible, but you can definitely tell it was rushed and poorly written.

Having said that, I wouldn't say a lot of the fans complaining are entitled. From what I've seen the ones complaining are the series' die-hard fans and they have a right to complain. They don't have the right to demand the ending be changed, but they definitely have a right to complain. The fact that people are able to cause such a fuss that stores are refunding opened copies of the game and one of the heads of Bioware himself is promising to fix it...I like that.

It shows that consumers really do have the ability to change an industry. And, regardless if you think creative products such as films, books, and games should be held to the same standards as non-luxury products, more consumer rights is something no one should complain about. It means even more nowadays when it seems like the games industry as a whole is out to punish and alienate the very consumers that got them where they are. It just seems like they can't stop slapping the hand that feeds them.

[STONEY4]

*Mass Effect 3 ending spoilers*

He was actually talking about Deus Ex 1. It's endings were, if I remember correctly:

Send Earth into a technological dark age, where communications between everyone would be completely severed. Just like the destruction of the Mass Relays, and the destruction of all reaper-based technology in the Destroy ending.

Join the Illuminati and control all governments on Earth and the flow of information. No real equivalent in Mass Effect though.

Merge with the Helios AI and essentially become a God, controlling everything on Earth. Just like the Control ending where you control the reapers, and Synthesis with the joining of synthetics and organics, even the JC Denton technically wasn't an organic. The whole theme of Deus Ex was control and organics evolving further through synthetic implants/augmentations though.

[pbasson]

Im personally very shocked at this. Whats next Activision giving out free DLCs. EA giving refunds, remember people you are the first to witness this, because this may never happen again or cud it, hmmmmm

[NeoTribe]

This is completely rediculous. Whiny little bitches is wut they are. One good thing is if enough people get these refunds maybe it will bankrupt the franchise and well never see another shitty dragon age or mass effect again. One can dream right?

[NeoTribe]

Wow if I could get a refund for every game that had a ten minute part in it that I didn't enjoy I would have played every game I own for free. Rediculous. Don't like it? Don't buy the next one....