Giving a grace period for STAR WARS: The Old Republic

[Rutheford]

What a cluster****. My game isn't scheduled to arrive until the 23rd (amazon.com), and the last item I had delivered via USPS arrived 4 days late, not to mention I'll be out of town (with my laptop) and thus unable to check my physical mail. You clearly have confirmation that I've paid for the game since i have my pre-order code registered, and I'm more than happy to put payment information on file for the recurring monthly payment.

 

Why on earth do you find it necessary to interrupt my playing time during a vacation holiday? Are you trying to piss off your customer base and ruin your reputation within the first week of launch?

[Arynath]

I'm disappointed. First due to "can't" terminology which I feel is a bit insulting and second because in my experience any deliveries from Amazon are always late.

 

Right now based on Amazon's estimate I'm looking at not being able to play the game during holiday's.

 

It's frustrating and disappointing that I need to wait for hard copy of the game to continue playing a game I had early access to. Why not enter payment options and be done with it.

 

I really didn't expect that, not very well thought through.

[kalisse]

I think for online game they should be on shelves before the launch so ppl would be able to play when the server came online. Not being able to play due to the time it take for a pre-order copy to arrive at home when they say shipping normally take 3-4 day here and giving us 2 day grace period make no sense to me.

 

Or give a longer grace period i had 1 week grace it Star Trek online and had trouble with the shipping i got it in 2 weeks due to misplace

[Taw_Kobalt]

Thank you for listening to your future customers.

 

Best launch ever in mmo history as far as I am concerned

[SupremeJim]

I seriously can not thank you guys enough for this. I just got the email that it was delivered this morning.

[Tiatiana]

I don't log into the forums every day all the time and I haven't been able to get on in a while due to the holidays and such but this was nice to see. My hubby was freaking out because he found out the gamestops here didn't open at 11 tonight for the release. Then I log in see the thread and was like why are you freaking out. So this is a huge help. Thanks a ton. Would have been nice for gamestop to tell him when he called or to post a link on their site to this. Would have saved my ears and head.

[Homeslice]

Thank you and good going there BW/EA.

 

/highfive

[Shreddi]

I recieved a code upon receipt of Digital Download Copy. Is that the only code I will need? In game people are saying they recieved another "Product Code" which is the correct code after official launch. I thought the first code was pre-launch code and then prior to launch we recieve "Product Code" I checked FAQ, Origin site, and nothing clear. *** is it please?

 

A simple explaination will help to thin out your call volume regarding this issue. Its being discussed unofficially through out ingame community.

 

Until further clarification I assume the Code recieved upon recipt of game is the only one I will need. We appreciate the phone numbers and polite customer service reps but.... Come on, simple answer please? Sorry wasted enough time looking where this information should be posted. Didnt comb through all the pages in this thread.

[GreyGhosst]

Poor effort here, even with the fastest shipping available it wont arrive till the 26th. So thanks but no thanks. And you don't have an excuse besides greed.

[mustanox]

Thank You Bioware!

[Steww]

Does the extended early access mean that the servers won't be down tonight to mark the end of early game access?

[asmithl]

Has anyone else who ordered the digital version not received their product key yet? Just got off with Origin and they told me I wouldn't get the key e-mailed to me until after the game has been released. Guess they didn't get the message that they were supposed to send them by 1159 EST on 19 DEC. Oh well, at least I don't have to wait on a physical version of the game to arrive via mail during Christmas.

[Syntillate]

As of this morning Walmart is saying that the pre-ordered Collector's Edition will be "shipping on 12-20-11" but they will not actually leave the warehouses until "12-23-11". Don't ask me to explain the inconsistency of that, I'm just repeating what Walmart CS told me. They have stated that some customers may not receive the physical copy of SWTOR CE until January 11, 2012.

 

Yes, JANUARY 11, 2012 delivery date for some customers.

 

Clearly, the 2 day grace period offered here is not going to be adequate for these Walmart customers, or may other customers who have posted here.

 

We, your loyal customers, have purchased these rather expensive pre-ordered editions in good faith. We did so because Bioware/EA represented to us that in doing so we would obtain early access to the game. We did not purchase these pre-ordered editions and the early access they afforded us in order to have a gap of 20 days in our service.

 

These shipping delays by retail agents of Bioware/EA are through no fault of our own, therefore it is unreasonable to punish us for these delays by suspending our access until the physical copies are delivered. Additionally, there is an implied merchantability issue here premised on the timeliness of product delivery and the access it affords. Bioware/EA has a responsibility to their customers to ensure that, despite the shipping delays, we have the access to the product and services we have purchased.

 

As I said, we, your customers, purchased your product in good faith in order to obtain early and continuted access to your product and services; all we ask of you is that you respond in kind. This thread, offering a 2 day grace period, acknowledges that Bioware/EA is aware that a problem exists and is making a effort to address that problem. Sadly, given that apparently several of the retail agents used by Bioware/EA for distribution are unable to provide delivery anywhere near within those time frames, these efforts are clearly inadequate. Contact your retail agents, such as Walmart and Amazon, and find out to what extent these delays will actually affect your customers, then adjust your grace period to meet those delays.

 

This can either prove to be an adversity or an opportunity for Bioware/EA. Do it wrong, and you *will* alienate thousands of loyal customers and get a major PR black eye right along with the retailers who screwed up. Do it right and you will solidify customer loyalty for those affected.

 

Please tell me that I didn't blow $150 bucks (in this really crappy economy) on your product so that I can sit around for the next 20 days waiting for access because you and your retail agents couldn't get it right. That won't make me a satisfied customer at all.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Syntillate

[Albytaps]

At least Walmart is telling you what's going on. I haven't recieved an email from Best Buy yet, and to call them says there's a wait time of 1.5 hours. This is BS!

[Syntillate]

I know, Albytaps. I sat on the phone for most of the morning to get that information.

 

It's just ridiculous. Gaming has been in the digital age forever. When I played Vanguard it was a digital download and (for all the problems that poor game had) it wasn't a problem.

 

It's not like our pre-order codes weren't unique and attached to an invoice somewhere for payment recieved to make the accountants happy. And it's not like we haven't got the game installed and are not already playing. All we're doing is waiting for the CE box to show up so we can take the goodies out and toss it on the shelf.

 

This is just corporate bureaucratic nonsense that is going to anger and alienate far more customers than it protects the company from potential scammers.

[Albytaps]

Wow so you had to call them? That stinks. I might have to do the same. Having paid extra for launch day delivery and I still haven't recieved an email saying they've shipped it means I won't be recieving it launch day. What was the point in paying extra?

 

I'm not going to wait on the phone for 1.5 hours to find out what should have been emailed to me. It's just a lesson I guess. If I don't recieve the game before the grace period ends I will never buy from BB online again.

 

Amazon seems to be the only reliable online retailer now....

[Tancredy]

By the gods,

 

whats wrong with some people??

This is most certainly the biggest mmorpg release in history, and BIOWARE grants us nearly a week of pre access( 4 days in my case) and 2 days FOR FREE on top of that !!!

The people that get the game 5-8 days after the official release, are either living on Australia, which is indeed on the far corner of the world, or happen to live in a certain country with 3rd world logistics, i.e. the mighty USA.

Here in the good ol old world, Germany,France, Spain, Italy , you got it via AMAZON on December 16 or 17, even the small states like Lithunia and Finland got it bye now.

 

So dont whine on a gaming company thats doing marvelous work compared to Blizzard, and go complain about your governments letting your infrastructure go downhill:mad:

[keithcole]

Military overseas is still screwed also. Launching a game right before X-mas is not smart. I barely get mail right now the APO system is so clogged. Thanks for the support of us Bio. How about you send a few copies to my BX overnight and help out a little! Thanks.

[Tarkun]

A little late, but thanks BioDocs! BioWare proves once again to be a great, customer-caring company!

 

I've only got one question, though, and I'm sorry if it has been asked before: what happens to my early-access character if I register the game after the grace period?

 

I'm asking this because, due to conflicting timetables, I probably won't be able to register the game until 01/01/2012... which is pretty bad by itself already, so here's hoping it doesn't get any worse being so far from the official launch date.

 

Thanks a lot again!

All the best to BioWare!!

Edited December 19, 2011 by Tarkun

[Syntillate]

People are "whining" because Bioware/EA induced us to pay $150 to pre-order the premium version of their product and now they're treating us like some homeless gate crasher trying to steal crumbs, instead of paying customers all because their retailers are apparently unable to provide physical delivery by their arbitray (but apparently fluid) deadline.

 

Read the posts here and elsewhere. Depending on the retailer (and these are national retailers used by Bioware/EA to distribute their product, not some blackmarket dealer we hooked up with in some shady back alley), delivery for some of these retailers may not be until JANUARY 11 (that's 22 days after launch!) for people who PRE-ORDERED the most expensive version of this game. And if you continue to read, both here and on the host of forums devoted to this game, it's not isolated instances. We're talking about delivery delays for several major national retailers that are affecting thousands of customers.

 

So gee, people should be grateful that:

 

a) Bioware/EA isn't as pathetically bad as Blizzard (that's not saying much!)

 

b) that we get to play for up to a week in early release (depending on when you got in), but then will have to sit on the sidelines for up to 22 days because of delivery issues with Bioware/EA and their retailers that is no fault of our own.

 

c) we will get a 2 day grace period out of those 22 days courtesy of Bioware/EA acknowledging that this is a problem.

 

d) And we can go through this suspension, watching while others we know who didn't pay the extra for the pre-order Collector's Edition cheerfully play on without us, knowing that it was totally avoidable, simply by Bioware/EA checking with their distributors to find out when customers will be receiving their physical copies and adjusting their "grace" period appropriately.

[Zero_Alignment]

This means that everyone who pre-ordered and is in the Early Game Access program has forty-eight hours from launch in which to enter their product registration code, which will be found inside the physical Standard and Collector's Editions of the game; for digital editions of the game from Origin.com, the registration code will have been emailed to you after December 16th and will arrive before December 19th at 11:59PM EST. After December 22nd 12:01AM EST, you will be required to have a valid payment method and a product registration code registered to your account to continue to play.

 

Was sniffing around the forums out of boredom when I spotted this! Best thing I've read this month! I received a call from Gamestop, saying my box copy of TOR would be ready for pick-up tonight (19th), however when I headed over to the store after work, I was almost immediately told, "Sorry, no. We can't give you your game until it's release date which is tomorrow.", also claiming to know nothing of the call I received.

 

At any rate, I've lost faith in Gamestop, but just gained a ton for you BioWare, it's nice to know I'll be able to play tonight, good call!

[gsorreta]

Just got my fedex tracking information and it won't be delivered until Dec 23rd. Boo!

[Beccaali]

I am going to get screwed here to for ordering a physical copy.

You have a great game, but sleezy marketing.

 

I have other stuff I can do but it's no huge deal for me (also there is a $59 dollar loan;) workaround if you feel the need to really have no down time)

My honest opinion, 5-7 days of grace period, especially around this season would have made sense but it's your product.

[Bovronius]

Much <3..

 

Amazon decided my Prime account should go USPS instead of standard 2 day o.O

 

Thanks dudes!

[xLukox]

48 hours is not enough grace time. Mine was shipped the 16th and won't arrive until end of day on 22nd. I know it within 48 hours but that stressing it and yea well they could have allowed them to ship the product out two weeks in advance.