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14 Day Free Trial Requires Credit Card...
BigCountry
Member Posts: 478
No thanks.
BigCountry | Head Hunters | www.wefarmpeople.com
Comments
I wouldn't assume it means he doesn't have a credit card. I have one myself, but any game that requires one for a trial gets passed up by me. Too many people have been burnt by giving their card details for "trials" and ending up being charged anyway, as well as other issues. You very rarely see any successful mmorpg's require credit cards for trials anymore. AC requires one because it's players can't be trusted not to take advantage of the trial accounts to boost their status in the game, or something along those lines, according to the devs. And I'd say it's more than likely that they have lost quite a few potential customers because of requiring the CC for the trial.
To not require a CC for this trial would have been a disaster.
Credit Card is a valid form of ID in the US.. When the US passed the 18 law for porn sites , the law basically forced them to use Credit Card as the only way to ID a person. While it has flaws and such , Lineage 1 required an CC for its trials as did Everquest 1 originally.
Most Korean and non-US game require a SSN, giving away trials can cause massive stress on the server. See the report over the guy who was generating Beta keys and the recent happening in Lineage 2 , with people using thier service for a purpose other than to try the game out.
If you are old enough to have a credit card or debit card , you should know ways to prevent game companies or other people from withdrawing funds. My Mastercard I ve had since I was around 16 , began offering up to 5k protection for online stuff and I can call the bank or Mastercard , to get a charge back within two to three hours.
The sad thing is since they begun trials in the 90s , people use to use the account for 30 days (with intent on ever buying it). Which has lead alot of companies to "nerf" the newbie experience of the game. Say with Everquest 1 and the endless hole in the ground , you cant see anything beyond that hole and the lag is terrible.
Personally I dont see much wrong with making the players pay a fee or be identified for free trails. Its not really fair to the people who are playing and paying legit.
I mean take look at WOW , I believe they now require a credit card and broken many features because of abuse of the trial. (Feature nerf on trial characters).
Nope, look at Horizons. The fact of "credit card protections" didn't stop EI from charging over and over again. And the fact that charges were able to be disputed didn't change the hassles and frustration caused to the owners of the cards. So although I understand what you're trying to say, in the real world it's been proven already that these "protections" don't mean squat. As far as the "identification" part, ia AC a game for those over i8 only? If not, then there is no valid reason to require credit cards for identity purposes either.
Got to be a certain age to play Online games because of issues with minors and such accessing content. I think its a privacy thing .. For a long time , in Ultima Online , Lineage 1 , Lineage 2 and .. Everquest 1 I think they had deal about getting parent's consent to play.
Also minors have legal issues about being responsible for account and such. I think the age in the User license is 15 or something , dont remember off hand. I know in Korea , at least 2 years ago , they had court battle over a 12 or 13 year old accessing a free play game , that was geared to children , (Had board game things instead of fighting) and Yahoo games has had problems / law suits over minors playing thier games.
I ve dealt with EI with some of there other stuff , never had any problem with them. I think there sister company did or set up the billing for a old MMORPG , or MuD but I would have to look them up. When SE tried (Square) tried to take out two amounts , on my old card , Mastercard blocked them , but I got a gaming account and normally account.
Most times if you talk to the bank about online protection (unless you are in like Arkansas) they will help you out alot. Like for example , back in the old days , Priston Tale was a majorly hard to discontinue service with when you joined them after the free month.
All I had to do was tell the bank , and Mastercard the problem , they denied they access. Nobody can charge your card unless you let them. Everyone has to adopt a policy dealing with "personal" information and normally (with Square , Sony , and NCsoft) it takes only a phone call for them to wipe your personal data from thier records.
Also if you are heavy into gaming you should set up a debit card and checking account for Online stuff. Like for example my gaming account has the lowest amount allowed 30.00 , and when I dont play a game it has 10.00 in it and debit card is inactive after I get done playing something most times. (cost like 1.50 at my credit union to get new debit card and new password , takes a week or two to get a new one)