The Gamer's Bill of Rights!  

Finally, its here. A full detailed Bill of Rights which every Gaming publisher has to comply with if they want their games to sell. This is something STEAM players might find very relieving, especially if you ve been having problem with running a certain game or even playing a single player game in offline mode.

Just like humanity in general, PC gamers are entitled to basic liberties: freedom to return computer games that don't work (for a full refund); minimum requirements that are actually accurate; to not be treated as a criminal by game companies, and so forth.
 
To uphold these rights, Stardock and Gas Powered Games decided to put together the Gamer's Bill of Rights, which we present before you today. These are the key elements that publishers need to adhere to in their games; they're all pretty common sense, but they're things that the game industry is increasingly straying from. We admit that many developers are at the mercy of their publishers, but our goal, if we get enough industry support on this, is to create a consortium that upholds the following basic standards for PC games:
 
We the Gamers of the world, in order to ensure a more enjoyable experience, establish equality between players and publishers, and promote the general welfare of our industry hereby call for the following:
 

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will adequately play on that computer.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won't install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their express consent.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

This isn't something terribly new to gaming in general--consoles already have a similar standards system. Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo, certify console games and tell developers what they can and cannot do. But on the PC we don't have anything like that. Of course, we do have Games for Windows, but it's not quite the same as what we're doing here. (Actually, I'd love it if Games for Windows or the PC Gaming Alliance adopted these Rights.)
 
Let's talk about a few of these Rights:

No. 3: "Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state." Users want support for a game after it's released. Believe it or not, they don't want buggy software that gets maybe one patch after launch. Gamers want a reasonable amount of support post-launch.

No. 6: "Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will adequately play on that computer." Face it: system requirements are not always honest. One of the things that has always frustrated gamers is when they see a great clip of a game on GameTrailers, they get a game, expecting it to run decently, and they later find out that their system had no chance of ever reasonably running the game at those minimum specs. Sure, a $5,000 PC will run a game better than a $1,000 setup, but users will many times have to turn off so many graphical features that it looks nothing like what they saw in the trailer.

No. 8: "Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers." Obnoxious copy protection methods punish honest, paying gamers.
 
So to reiterate, here are the steps Stardock and Gas Powered Games plan on taking: Announce the new principles and adhere to them (done); Try to get other publishers to sign on; Form a consortium; And add on to the bill in a way that makes sense.
 
But for now, here it is. We'll be judging reaction on it, and we'll be talking to developers soon. Of course, some companies won't think that this is worth their time. (Publishers will probably ask, "Who the hell is Stardock? - that would be my reaction.) But it's the gamers who will end up driving something like this. From there, we hope this grows organically. If publishers want to participate in this, they certainly can--it costs them nothing, all they have to do is agree to adhere to the Rights.

• Psychiatrist: Gaming Addicts More Ashamed Than Porn Addicts

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites