5 ms·

So good news; the journey of Helldivers 2 has been a beacon of positivity in a very bleak landscape of online gaming, and the entire community got Sony to back

So good news; the journey of Helldivers 2 has been a beacon of positivity in a very bleak landscape of online gaming, and the entire community got Sony to back down in record time. Their success is proof that if you care for your game and your players first of all, and not micro transactions or "spreading the message", you can truly create something special. To see the community come together for the Major Orders (HD2 rewards everyone if e.g. key planets are taken, creating a sense of urgency rarely seen) has been great. To me, this created the force that came to play this weekend as everyone united in support of those who had no possible way of creating a PSN account - by putting pressure on Sony in any way possible. The Devs recommended updating the reviews and submitting refund requests as a valid way of voicing discontent - so we did. Also, Pilestedt/ Arrowhead took full and complete ownership over missteps around the requirements. This transparency was refreshing to see! It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the reviews to be updated in the days ahead. The victory will only make the community stronger!

thefz 2y ago
I think the review bombing is stupid for many reasons. Is the same game you were posting memes about yesterday, suddenly bad? No longer having fun? Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? Are you going to refund the game today then buy it again tomorrow when the change is reverted? You might be hurting the developer even more. IMO Steam reviews should completely disappear as it's no longer an useful gaugfe of a game quality. Hell, I see people leave negative reviews to co-op games such as "I hAvE No fRiEnDs tO PlAy iT WiTh lOl." Are you stupid? Besides, buy the game, test it and if you don't like refund it.
- krainboltgreene 2y ago
  > Is the same game you were posting memes about yesterday, suddenly bad? For many people, yes, it did in fact become bad, they had it taken away. > Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? In this particular case the game studio asked for this action.
- anon22981 2y ago
  Boohoo. I’m happy any time people show some spine and principles, instead of sucking up to companies and brands. We should do it more, not less. Review bombing is a great start.
  - thefz 2y ago
    You don't need to suck up to companies, but think really. Who do you think is going to be hurt?
    - Timshel 2y ago
      ? Everyone who makes money from sales including Sony. Sales tends to drop when games reviews becomes "mostly negatives". But I believe with only this it would have taken more time, I suspect steam starting to approve refund even post 2h was what forced Sony to react. But at the same time with no complains I doubt Steam would have cared.
      - thefz 2y ago
        So the developer already suffering from publisher's bad decision is a tolerable collateral casualty in your "war" for justice. Noted. Not that the kind of people leaving Steam reviews struck me for rational, but this is on another level.
        wasteduniverse 2y ago
        [dead]
        bluefirebrand 2y ago
        The developer was actively encouraging their players to ask for refunds and leave negative reviews Their community managers started off on the wrong foot with how they reacted, but issued strong apologies and quickly changed track. The CEO himself was tweeting about his own culpability in the mess and encouraging unhappy people to make their voices heard in reviews So... Yes
        2y ago
- braiamp 2y ago
  So, if I want to share my displeasure with a product I shouldn't show this displeasure with reviews? WTH? How companies will get feedback from their customers without reviews?! How customers would share their experiences with one another? How prospective customers would be informed before buying a product?
- burnte 2y ago
  > Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? Evidence indicates it hurt Sony far more than the developers. > Are you going to refund the game today then buy it again tomorrow when the change is reverted? You might be hurting the developer even more. Unlikely as Sony, the distributor/publisher is the party from whom refunds will be taken, the developer only gets paid after Sony takes their cuts. > IMO Steam reviews should completely disappear as it's no longer an useful gaugfe of a game quality. They might! This is a valid point and might be the opinion of Valve, too, if Sony or the publisher ask. They've done it before. > Hell, I see people leave negative reviews to co-op games such as "I hAvE No fRiEnDs tO PlAy iT WiTh lOl." Are you stupid? Yes, lots of people are very stupid, but that's not relevant here. > Besides, buy the game, test it and if you don't like refund it. How does one test a game when the publisher makes changes months after initial release? How is what you're suggesting here different from what you criticized a few lines above? Don't worry for Sony, they'll be fine.
johnnyanmac 2y ago
>if you care for your game and your players first of all, and not micro transactions or "spreading the message", you can truly create something special. For the game that has micro transactions. Already knew it from the Steam Marketplace, but rule of cool is in full effect, even in a medium historically thought of as geeky. >It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the reviews to be updated in the days ahead. Bad news, many won't. Nasty side effect of review bombs is that people "forget" to update just as quickly as they start the drama. Good news, Steams review system means they heal naturally. But it'll probably take months to get back to "outstanding" rating again, or whatever Steam calls it.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago
  > For the game that has micro transactions Compared to most other live service games around, the MTX in Helldivers 2 is both unobtrusive and minimal A vast majority of the content is earned in game, with no way to purchase it with MTX. Also you earn the premium currency in the game by playing, so there no content locked out permanently behind MTX purchases It's a move in the right direction compared to most games with MTX, they do deserve some credit here even if they aren't perfect
  - sundvor 2y ago
    This comment cycle is so predictable. :-) Yup, you don't have to pay for a single thing if you play the game enough, you find super credits on the map as you go about - or unlock from Warbonds with medals - it's one of the things I love about it. I've (happily) paid for one Warbonds set, earned another. And close to unlocking my third. A couple of points: There's a few individual (mainly cosmetic) items on daily rotation available for instant unlock, but you still have to earn medals in the game to unlock e.g weapons in the Warbond sets. And there's no time limit on the Warbonds, you can unlock them at any point in time. Reviews are already coming back, I'm tracking the Steam graph and we're back to "mixed" now. The Daily graph for 6th May was very encouraging!
- haiku2077 2y ago
  MTX in HD2 is extremely well handled. Everything is reasonably unlockable by playing the game, since you get enough currency through regular gameplay to customize your character how you like.

thefz 2y ago

I think the review bombing is stupid for many reasons. Is the same game you were posting memes about yesterday, suddenly bad? No longer having fun? Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? Are you going to refund the game today then buy it again tomorrow when the change is reverted? You might be hurting the developer even more. IMO Steam reviews should completely disappear as it's no longer an useful gaugfe of a game quality. Hell, I see people leave negative reviews to co-op games such as "I hAvE No fRiEnDs tO PlAy iT WiTh lOl." Are you stupid? Besides, buy the game, test it and if you don't like refund it.

krainboltgreene 2y ago
> Is the same game you were posting memes about yesterday, suddenly bad? For many people, yes, it did in fact become bad, they had it taken away. > Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? In this particular case the game studio asked for this action.
anon22981 2y ago
Boohoo. I’m happy any time people show some spine and principles, instead of sucking up to companies and brands. We should do it more, not less. Review bombing is a great start.
- thefz 2y ago
  You don't need to suck up to companies, but think really. Who do you think is going to be hurt?
  - Timshel 2y ago
    ? Everyone who makes money from sales including Sony. Sales tends to drop when games reviews becomes "mostly negatives". But I believe with only this it would have taken more time, I suspect steam starting to approve refund even post 2h was what forced Sony to react. But at the same time with no complains I doubt Steam would have cared.
    - thefz 2y ago
      So the developer already suffering from publisher's bad decision is a tolerable collateral casualty in your "war" for justice. Noted. Not that the kind of people leaving Steam reviews struck me for rational, but this is on another level.
      - wasteduniverse 2y ago
        [dead]
      - bluefirebrand 2y ago
        The developer was actively encouraging their players to ask for refunds and leave negative reviews Their community managers started off on the wrong foot with how they reacted, but issued strong apologies and quickly changed track. The CEO himself was tweeting about his own culpability in the mess and encouraging unhappy people to make their voices heard in reviews So... Yes
      - 2y ago
braiamp 2y ago
So, if I want to share my displeasure with a product I shouldn't show this displeasure with reviews? WTH? How companies will get feedback from their customers without reviews?! How customers would share their experiences with one another? How prospective customers would be informed before buying a product?
burnte 2y ago
> Who do you think you are going to hurt between the less-than-30-person studio or the multinational behemoth? Evidence indicates it hurt Sony far more than the developers. > Are you going to refund the game today then buy it again tomorrow when the change is reverted? You might be hurting the developer even more. Unlikely as Sony, the distributor/publisher is the party from whom refunds will be taken, the developer only gets paid after Sony takes their cuts. > IMO Steam reviews should completely disappear as it's no longer an useful gaugfe of a game quality. They might! This is a valid point and might be the opinion of Valve, too, if Sony or the publisher ask. They've done it before. > Hell, I see people leave negative reviews to co-op games such as "I hAvE No fRiEnDs tO PlAy iT WiTh lOl." Are you stupid? Yes, lots of people are very stupid, but that's not relevant here. > Besides, buy the game, test it and if you don't like refund it. How does one test a game when the publisher makes changes months after initial release? How is what you're suggesting here different from what you criticized a few lines above? Don't worry for Sony, they'll be fine.

johnnyanmac 2y ago

>if you care for your game and your players first of all, and not micro transactions or "spreading the message", you can truly create something special. For the game that has micro transactions. Already knew it from the Steam Marketplace, but rule of cool is in full effect, even in a medium historically thought of as geeky. >It'll be interesting to see how long it takes for the reviews to be updated in the days ahead. Bad news, many won't. Nasty side effect of review bombs is that people "forget" to update just as quickly as they start the drama. Good news, Steams review system means they heal naturally. But it'll probably take months to get back to "outstanding" rating again, or whatever Steam calls it.

bluefirebrand 2y ago
> For the game that has micro transactions Compared to most other live service games around, the MTX in Helldivers 2 is both unobtrusive and minimal A vast majority of the content is earned in game, with no way to purchase it with MTX. Also you earn the premium currency in the game by playing, so there no content locked out permanently behind MTX purchases It's a move in the right direction compared to most games with MTX, they do deserve some credit here even if they aren't perfect
- sundvor 2y ago
  This comment cycle is so predictable. :-) Yup, you don't have to pay for a single thing if you play the game enough, you find super credits on the map as you go about - or unlock from Warbonds with medals - it's one of the things I love about it. I've (happily) paid for one Warbonds set, earned another. And close to unlocking my third. A couple of points: There's a few individual (mainly cosmetic) items on daily rotation available for instant unlock, but you still have to earn medals in the game to unlock e.g weapons in the Warbond sets. And there's no time limit on the Warbonds, you can unlock them at any point in time. Reviews are already coming back, I'm tracking the Steam graph and we're back to "mixed" now. The Daily graph for 6th May was very encouraging!
haiku2077 2y ago
MTX in HD2 is extremely well handled. Everything is reasonably unlockable by playing the game, since you get enough currency through regular gameplay to customize your character how you like.