Valve Is Not Psyched It Got An 'F' In Customer Service

[Tidosho]

Backing up saves was extremely difficult because of the encryption used.

Hmmm, I used GameSave Manager ( http://www.gamesave-manager.com/) to transfer GfWL gamesaves to different PC's, never had any issues with "encryption". They encrypt PC save games because modders and cheaters like to think they have an advantage by editing save files. I used the PS4 vs One analogy to highlight the amount of updates Microsoft do to things compared to rivals. They listen way more than Valve ever have. That's why Valve had to outright steal MS's Achievement system and gloop it into Steam, to lure hardcore MS achievement fans into their crappy service. They should have been sued for it.

 

I will use GfWL until I have mopped up Achievements on all my games, then will not use PC for gaming again. I rarely do these days, fed up of being shafted for the thousands of pounds upgrades investments I did a year. Consoles are so much easier, no hassle, and less cost. The power isn't an issue, I don't need the cutting edge stuff to enjoy games, but I do love switch on and play, which you don't always get with PC.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Hmmm, I used GameSave Manager ( http://www.gamesave-manager.com/) to transfer GfWL gamesaves to different PC's, never had any issues with "encryption". They encrypt PC save games because modders and cheaters like to think they have an advantage by editing save files.

Other games have dealt with the same issue without the process corrupting saves or making it hard for users to backup games. Steam provided the Steam Cloud service to make backing up games easier than ever before, allowing you to easily move between devices; GFWL made things more difficult and introduced problems. Microsoft tried to lock down PC gaming and gamers revolted.

 

I used the PS4 vs One analogy to highlight the amount of updates Microsoft do to things compared to rivals. They listen way more than Valve ever have. That's why Valve had to outright steal MS's Achievement system and gloop it into Steam, to lure hardcore MS achievement fans into their crappy service. They should have been sued for it.

If Microsoft had listened to PC gamers they wouldn't have tried to charge for what was already free on PC; they wouldn't have forced their middleware onto gamers without any tangible benefit; they would have evolved the service to deal with the legitimate criticism. Further, Microsoft didn't invent the concept of achievements. Activision was one of the first companies to implement it back in the 80s and many games followed - Microsoft just applied it to the platform as a whole. There was no grounds to sue Valve, as it wasn't an original concept, and to even suggest it shows that you are so biased as to make any legitimate discussion impossible.

 

What benefit does Microsoft suing Valve over achievements have for gamers? You seem to have contempt for any gaming that falls outside of the Microsoft ecosystem. It's like you want less competition so that Microsoft can dominate. I care about the gaming experience, which is why I

[Tidosho]

And now your motivation becomes clear. You hate Steam because you're a console gamer and resent having to spend money on PC upgrades. Unless you're going to be reasonable I have no intention of responding any further. 

 

I was never being unreasonable. I was stating MY opinion. I like GfWL, you don't, so lets leave it at that. I was an avid PC gamer at one time, until I realised I could save money, and loads of faffing around with drivers and stuff, with a console. Codemasters and EA really shafted me, I love racing games but they only care about profit. Then CDProjekt came along and ruined Saints Row 2 on the PC, I got fed up. The user experience is a lot better than PC. No massively understated minimum requirements, or driver crashes, or even bad ports to worry about. The one thing I loved about GfWL was the Live integration across both platforms.

 

Good luck to you. Each to their own. And I'm not an achievement junkie, I have loads of unfinished games on my Gamertag. AngelTiddles, if you wanna check me out

[NightScreams]

I think it's because gamers complain more than most anyone, are the most pessimistic and negative. Probably complaints from gamers that think they should get their money back because it didn't work on their ancient hardware or they didn't like it.

[NeoWind]

Not surprised at all to be honest, they took more than 30 days to reply and it's one of game region lock and they unable to come up with a good solution at all. This is why people get fed up with valve customer service. Oh, the steam controller isn't even live up to the expectation. Oh, when moving steam games to different library it always hassle even do it have a backup program which some might not want to use it and it also failed to authentic and need to re-download the entire file again even do you have exact copy of the file by copy and paste     

[gohpep]

Really? When was the last time you guys used it? I just fired it up to play GTA IV, and it is flawless. Not intrusive at all, just signed me in to Live, synched my profile and went into the background. It has got better over the years, and like I said, I only do disc based games anyway. The marketplace was only a tiny part of it, even that improved before it was shut down.

 

My opinion is my opinion. I like it, so stop laughing, you're the funny ones, slagging something off that you've probably not used since 2004.

Steam does the same exact thing. Like everything. You sign in, it syncs games automatically.

 

For me, GfWL was a bloated mess. The UI was horrid.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Really? When was the last time you guys used it? I just fired it up to play GTA IV, and it is flawless. Not intrusive at all, just signed me in to Live, synched my profile and went into the background. It has got better over the years, and like I said, I only do disc based games anyway. The marketplace was only a tiny part of it, even that improved before it was shut down.

 

My opinion is my opinion. I like it, so stop laughing, you're the funny ones, slagging something off that you've probably not used since 2004.

 

Improved so much it was ripped from the client and they decided to shoehorn it into Xbox.com? Even then it was a navigational mess.

[Noir Angel]

All the evidence I can suggest indicates that this rating is well deserved, I personally avoid Steam support like the plague, I'd sooner look on a third party forum than email their staff.

 

And what I really don't get about it is that Gabe N from all accounts is a really great guy that cares about his product and his customers, why isn't he putting it right?!

[BinaryData]

All the evidence I can suggest indicates that this rating is well deserved, I personally avoid Steam support like the plague, I'd sooner look on a third party forum than email their staff.

 

And what I really don't get about it is that Gabe N from all accounts is a really great guy that cares about his product and his customers, why isn't he putting it right?!

That is the question many are asking.

[dragontology]

Back in 2009/10, my account I'd not used for 4 years had been disabled. I asked for it to be reactivated since I'd not used the account, or at least be given a refund and the reply I got back was that they do not reactivate disabled accounts for any circumstance and that I was not eligible for any refunds. I asked why my account was disabled and they replied that they were unable to state why for some reason or another, all they could say was 'questionable activity'. $200 in games disappeared then and there. Steam accounts can and have been disabled without notification or reason nor any ability to contest / reactivate your old account. This may have (and I have been told before it did) changed since years ago but the reality remains that accounts do just get turned off.

Weird. I got Steam in its first year, I think, or the next, because I bought a CPU+Mobo+RAM combo that came with Half-Life 2. Guess what? The computer could not run it at an acceptable framerate (I didn't test, but it was 15 tops). Six years later I built a new computer, though I think a year before I used Steam to get Portal for free, though that may also have been later. I'm actually new to actively using Steam. Never had my account disabled.

Sounds like something shady happened with your account. Which has a fair chance of being not your fault, and it wouldn't be hard to believe it could be outside your knowledge.

 

I look at it like this, and I'm sorry if this goes against Neowin's policy or whatever. I'm a gamer, and I buy games because I believe in supporting the developers. But I tell you what, if Steam steals my games, I'm going to torrent them. Not other games, just the ones I paid for. I'm not going to not play the games I paid for because Valve said I couldn't. I hope it doesn't come to that, and if I really love the game I might even buy it again if I can get it on a good sale. Like Fallout 3 GOTY is always going for $5. That's less than a cup of coffee. I bought it for $50 on Xbox, $5 on Steam, $5 again on Steam for a good friend, and I'd probably buy it again for $5 on Steam because I really love that game. But I mean, I'm not gonna let Valve tell me I can't play my games. I will play the games I bought. Now my wife on the other hand... That is authority I will subject myself to.

[BinaryData]

Weird. I got Steam in its first year, I think, or the next, because I bought a CPU+Mobo+RAM combo that came with Half-Life 2. Guess what? The computer could not run it at an acceptable framerate (I didn't test, but it was 15 tops). Six years later I built a new computer, though I think a year before I used Steam to get Portal for free, though that may also have been later. I'm actually new to actively using Steam. Never had my account disabled.

Sounds like something shady happened with your account. Which has a fair chance of being not your fault, and it wouldn't be hard to believe it could be outside your knowledge.

 

I look at it like this, and I'm sorry if this goes against Neowin's policy or whatever. I'm a gamer, and I buy games because I believe in supporting the developers. But I tell you what, if Steam steals my games, I'm going to torrent them. Not other games, just the ones I paid for. I'm not going to not play the games I paid for because Valve said I couldn't. I hope it doesn't come to that, and if I really love the game I might even buy it again if I can get it on a good sale. Like Fallout 3 GOTY is always going for $5. That's less than a cup of coffee. I bought it for $50 on Xbox, $5 on Steam, $5 again on Steam for a good friend, and I'd probably buy it again for $5 on Steam because I really love that game. But I mean, I'm not gonna let Valve tell me I can't play my games. I will play the games I bought. Now my wife on the other hand... That is authority I will subject myself to.

I will never subject myself to my woman having more power than me, especially if I bring the bacon home. I say this, being a single man, who makes 42k a year.

But I agree, I really don't like companies like Valve. They've ruined a lot of games, CCP Games is another one that was screwed. Steam does sales for that game all the time. I started 5 new accounts for 25$, normally it's over 60$... Screw that!

[dragontology]

Yeah, I was mostly joking. Felt like I should add a touch of humor to a position of entitlement stemming from being burned, a situation I fortunately haven't found myself in. Seriously, how my wife tolerates my gaming habits... I dunno. She watches a ton of anime, and some of it's good, but it really isn't my scene. I suppose I would say that, coming up on nine years of marriage, time apart and independent interests are just as important as time shared and shared interests.

 

I don't understand the nature of your complaint against Valve. You got five copies of this game for $25, or $5 each, and normally it's $60

[WesDog]

When you make it nearly impossible to get a refund on a game customers are not going to be happy. When your customer service reps most common reply to issues is something like "sorry, nothing we can do its your problem." Customers aren't going to be happy.

They do little to get rid of the accounts constantly phi shingles and trying to steal other people's accounts.

When you have terrible customer service you are going to get poor ratings from customers. It's pretty simple math. They were the only player for so long that they didn't care what people thought. Now that there are other services competing for their business they want to act shocked that people are mad that Valve gave them no help.

They are going to have to spend money on support and offer refunds in more than credit to the Steam account.

There are a lot of really good reasons they have terrible reviews for their customer service. Fixing the issues is the only way to take care of the negative reviews and complaints.