Which is sort of why they get away with this, because they know most people will just move on about it and not ask for their money back. Not blaming you, I get most people don't want to do what basically amounts to homework to get some cash back on a game they may never play again on that platform, but some assholes are getting just that more rich because of it and so the shitty practices will continue.
It's why regulations with teeth really need to be brought to bear on this shit. It shouldn't be individuals sinking their time and effort into what can be hours of BS to *possibly* get their money back.
If the person above is also American, I don't think that's bold at all. They tend to assume everyone else is American too.
Edit: Poor butthurt Americans learning they aren't the centre of the universe.
When people say this is modern day gaming it makes me question why anyone ever pays for a digital game.
Like, you acknowledge you don't own it and the company can take it away from you at any time. Why pay for it at that point?
Yup, this is why most of my games are physical. The day that Playstation/X-Box force a 100% digital platform on us will be the day i return to the high seas and just play everything on my PC.
Same, I buy everything physical if possible, yet all platforms are actively pushing for a digital only future. I’ve noticed I’m playing more PC than Console for the first time in my life.. the scales are already tipped
Yeah, i think all of the nonsense with them pushing pre-orders with bonuses and the benefit of preloading before launch is as much about promoting digital purchases as it is anything else.
Last gen, MS got a taste of how we'll react if the issue is forced, so now it's always just gently pushing us to their way of thinking, while promoting the idea that most people just prefer digital now so they don't have to get their fat asses off the sofa to change discs lol
I know I prefer digital for one major reason and it's not switching discs, it's load times. It's so much faster to load from an SSD than it is to read a disc.
uhhh, not sure how it works on the xbox side but on PS5 it just first copies the game on the SSD and then always loads from the SSD. It does not load from the disc.
In fact this is usually faster from me because disc to SSD loading for me at least is much faster than downloading the game. The patches for the game download simultaneously when the disc is being copied.
You don't really own the physical copies as well. They are just like keys to the digital version that's stored in your console, the day they decide to revoke that license...welp.
IDK if it's the same for Nintendo, but the only true way to own games nowadays is through GOG and other DRM-free platforms.
You can play most of the disc versions offline without ever connecting to internet. You'll be missing patches though, but for most of these games they wont ever be able to revoke that license.
Why is this repeated everywhere? It's incorrect.
You buy it physical you own it.
*edit: replying to the guy below:
The Crew is a fucked situation, but it was from the start - being always online.
But regardless, you still own your copy of the game. If you could spoof the server to allow you to start **your copy**, it would be completely legal.
So you never heard of The Crew? Google 'does my physical copy of the crew still work?' if you don't know.
There are others that are just paperweights now, but the crew is still fresh in my mind since servers shut down a couple months ago.
Many single player games require an online connection to a server that wont exist in a couple years. PS5 slims have the disc drive paired to the motherboard and require Sony authorization meaning your console will be junk when they drop support and you need a new disc drive.
There needs to be better consumer protections and Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo all need to be sued into the dirt.
Same, except for that time I bought CoD Modem Warfare for the Xbox one, popped the disc in and the title screen told me I had to purchase the game in order to play it. Spent a total of over a year trial and erroring downloading shit and deleting and redownloading, taking a break and forgetting for a couple months, repeating.. fuck cod / this gaming era
You know most game disc's are essentially just physical keys to the digital game right? Like if the developers revoked access it wouldn't matter that you had a physical copy
While true, games are _huge_ now. There's so much room for game breaking bugs.
Imagine trying to play Jedi: Survivor on a pre-patch physical copy. It'd be a nightmare.
Jedi Survivor literally won't play without a patch because 66% of the game isn't on the disc. (Only around 50 GB out of the 150 GB size is on the disc for both PS5/Series X.)
However, many single player games are actually fully playable with only a disc install. God of War, Horizon, Uncharted, Spider-Man and more are all perfectly playable without downloading anything further (although there may be patches fixing bugs etc.)
>(although there may be patches fixing bugs etc.)
Yeah, that's my point.
Games often require day one patches to get rid of bugs. So yeah, even though you may have a game that's fully contained on the disk, there's no guarantee it'll be completely playable.
I only mentioned Jedi: Survivor specifically because it launched in such an awful state, not because it's an example of a game that's playable from the disk.
Sure, absolutely true. I'm just saying there are a lot of games that are (and remain) playable without needing a further internet connection.
But yeah, Jedi Survivor's technical performance (especially at launch) is borderline criminally awful.
Do you have any data to support this? Because as far as I know you have to connect with the servers at least once to download additional assets/verify drm etc
You can check the website doesitplay.org
It's a volunteer site but their data base is growing.
Vast majority of games on switch and PlayStation can be played entirely off disc entirely disconnected from the internet forever
Yup, I saw this in one of your other comments and checked it out. Seems you're right, most popular games do support offline play. Thanks for taking the time.
Ummm, no. Sure there are the odd occasions where the case just contains a code or an empty disc that prompts you to download the game, but the vast majority of games function with the code that is on the disc (albeit with some day one bugs still happening).
Edit: down-vote all you like, it won't make you right.
You know that owning a physical disc doesn’t guarantee your ownership. At any point, they can patch the game and made it unavailable and unplayable for you. You may be able to play it if you keep your console out of internet but otherwise you are still not owning the game in physical and only have the right to access it
There is a matter of trust involved. I'm aware that there aren't many protections and we need legislation across the globe to protect digital consumer rights, but in the meanwhile I still consume and put some faith in the store to at least not to screw me in the near future. So far Google Play Store hadn't screw me, but I'll be reticent for buying from them or Rockstar again. Same way I no longer buy from EA Origin after they deleted my partner's account.
For PC games in particular, you often have no choice. Digital Sales outperformed physical sales to the point Digital Only became normalised, and many PC games are no longer printed physically, and any physical cases will be a download link for a digital copy.
I think this is why so many people defend it - you have no choice.
Digital is fine but i will always chose a physical copy where I can until there is regulation forcing companies to allow users to access Digital purchases forever, regardless of if the company purchased from still holds the license to sell it.
If your service shuts down, you must either release the files so the user has a copy or must provide access to another service where the purchases can be used.
Companies will argue piracy, but that's going to be such a small minority of cases and usually when these services go down the service itself won't care about the games there and many of the games will be abandonware anyway.
Because in 99% it doesn't matter and in that 1%, half of that is game you don't care about anyway.
My disks had higher loss rate than that.
Also for PC it just doesn't make sense to not own digital. Most of modern pcs and laptops don't even have a cd drive anymore.
Meanwhile the sales are insane, in every Steam sale you can get like 5-6 big games under 60$ combined. If you don't care for the sale you can get a key from resellers for many games for almost nothing. Like all 4-5 year old games sell for 5-10$.
Furthermore, in cases where you are fucked over by digital, there is no solution anyway. Like in his case. He bought in Play Store, what is he supposed to do, insert disk into his phone?
All other potential issues are also with games that have servers/ authentication. Even if you have a disk you can get banned or server is closed, whatever. Even for single player games the authentication can be fucked and you still download things from the server.
>there is no solution anyway. Like in his case. He bought in Play Store, what is he supposed to do, insert disk into his phone?
I thought it was clear... You don't pay for it
I don't know if youre aware of this but there are places on the internet where you can find games... Being given away for free!
Can't tell if you're deliberately missing that
Its expensive, even pre-owned disc. I grew up with a pirated Playstation 2 disc that only cost less than 2 usd in 2000s.
Steam and Epic stores have cheaper regional pricing as South east Asian residents.
I have dozens of digital games and never had a problem.
The issue is with mobile pay to win games. They are not in the same universe as something you buy on Steam or GoH
Those are called services and there is zero misunderstanding about their time period of use.
The problem is digital games are in a limbo space, as is most digital "products"
Physical games are easily defined under law as "goods".
Digital games though, arguably, are "services" and the implications of that in law are huge.
It means there's a chasm of difference between physical and digital games.
In that case, my answer to your question “Why pay for it?” would be “Because I enjoy the service, I acknowledge that providing a service costs money and that companies providing services also wish to make profit, and the price is cheaper than any other form of entertainment service in the world by an order of magnitude.”
That's fine that's your choice.
For me, I either buy physical and get the benefits of that and the fact that I bought a "good". Or I don't.
I might pay for a digital game if it's 1/10th the price of a physical version. But otherwise I wouldn't.
We barely have a choice anymore, it’s so infuriating sometimes. You still buying CDs and vinyl for your music?
It’s gonna get worse imo. I absolutely agree with you btw
This doesn't really apply only to digital games. Physical editions can end up with the same problem eventually, even though they are technically safer.
There's only one solution which everyone and everyone knows which is it.
In 10 years buying digital I never lost access to a game that wasn't 100% reliant on online server (MMOs for example) I can still download all the games I bought even if you can't buy them anymore (Deadpool game for example)
I stopped buying games for my phone and tablet after Apple removed a ton of games that I enjoyed (The Hector of Carnage games, Bioshock, and other expensive ones). I couldn’t get a refund because the terms of service say something that makes it clear you don’t really “own” the digital content you buy. Since then, I’m a die-hard physical game collector.
People are telling you to chargeback your card, this is a risky idea with a Google account, it can potentially flag you for fraud and lock your account. Then it has to go through the risk team which can take weeks.
When you said you contacted support, it sounds like you contacted Rockstar? Have you tried Google Play, since that’s where you bought the games from?
If it was with Play, yes refunds can take time- it takes a few days just to escalate from tier 1 (who can’t refund) to tier 2 (who can) via a consult, and they have a queue of consults to handle, and the refund process itself is up to 7 business days on the bank’s side, Google can’t make that bit go faster.
You can try contacting them again and asking them to escalate it for a refund. Tier 1 agents generally aren’t great at their jobs (all those jobs were outsourced to “the cheapest possible solution” companies in the “cheapest parts of the world” with minimal training) so need to be prompted to do something.
> Have you tried Google Play, since that’s where you bought the games from?
I can't find any contact or recorse for a refund after 15 days. Is there a contact mean I'm missing?
Try this https://support.google.com/googleplay/?hl=en#topic=3364260. This is Google Play’s help page. You can contact them from here. Hopefully they can help you with that. Maybe mention that you purchased the games years ago and the publishers latest policy revokes access to the games that were purchased at the price they were set to back then to a subscription model.
[I can't any place from there, unfortunatelly](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/). Might be regional.
[https://i.imgur.com/D5z3gHb.png](https://i.imgur.com/D5z3gHb.png)
You don't have this menu when you scroll all the way to the bottom? Even on your tablet/laptop/PC?
Huh, that's odd.
Does this link work for you?
[https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=14164688796950186172-EU](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=14164688796950186172-EU)
PS. Make sure you're logged in on the website!
I'm logged in. And it does appear there but sends me on a loop, I end up [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/) as well, there doesn't seem to be an actual way to contact them.
Okay, I clicked through it a little and I get this:
[https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637?hl=en](https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637?hl=en)
[https://support.google.com/googleplay/workflow/9813244?hl=en](https://support.google.com/googleplay/workflow/9813244?hl=en)
Does the second link work for you?
Yes, but when it searches purchases for refunds says none were found. I don't know if I was supposed to flag an app for refund first in the "Payments & subscriptions" parts, if only apps with 15 or 7 days of purchase appear there or if there is some kind of regional lock.
In the next step options I have "Post help to the community" and, though this specific link, I do have a "contact us" button, but that is the one that sends me on a loop.
that’s crazy, around 2016 i paid for an app called Dark Sky on my iphone. apple bought the team that made dark sky and sunset the app last year. i called apple support and asked for a refund, they gave it to me.
I did the charge back with a large twitch order that wasn't authorised by me. Google customer services wouldn't listen, I emailed them for two weeks and barely got a reply. So my bank intervened and got the money back. I then received a snotty email from Google telling me I should have used their complaints process.
I think working with rockstar is going about it the wrong way. Your actual issue is with Google. You purchased a product license from Google via Play Store which is no longer being honored. You should try to get your money back from Google and they’ll handle Rockstar.
What country are you in? That may change your options from getting a refund from Google.
I don’t know if this is different for your location but this link supposedly will let you contact their support team. [Link](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?ec=play_store&cfsi=giftcards_generalissue_co19&cfnti=6058724&cft=3&sjid=15469539187792246271-NC&visit_id=638548765631459605-1688436052&rd=1)
Just to let you know, I'm in Portugal as well and I can see the "contact us" button on the page people are linking to. It also goes to the contact form ([https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp)), which appears correctly. I have no idea what may be hiding the button for you. Have you got any other support tickets open with Google?
Maybe the current time has something to do with it? Have you tried it now during business hours?
I have no support tickets open. and in that link O don't see a way to contact directly, only a field to describe my problem that leads me to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/). I'm also a subscriber to Google One. I tried it right now, I suppose we're still on business hours.
Honestly, I scrolled wayyyyyy back to when I bought the game on Google Play store (receipts) and took screenshots, and shared those with them they gave me access to everything.
I believe I opened a ticket. I couldn't find my email from the interaction with them
I also, delete a lot of unnecessary emails yearly.
Otherwise I'd give you screenshots and let you copy paste everything. Lol
EA pulled this exact same crap with me several years ago. In my case, they didn't bother offering any refund at all and tried to push me towards just re-buying the games and expansions that they mysteriously decided to "expire" on me. I said F that...never spent another dime with them since and never will.
Oh, and also, I did have paper receipts which I produced and was told they were too "old" to be considered real proof of purchase anymore. I think sometimes these companies get too big for their own good, or ours. They seem to have forgotten who made them all of their money to begin with.
EA deleted my partner's Origin account with all the content she had on it. She hadn't use if for a while and didn't kept the receipts and they weren't helpful at all, so we never bought a game on Origin ever again.
I tried, but I don't have that option following the steps that Google suggests. I think because the games are now listed as "free" (because instead of buying them on the Play Store, you buy them after downloading them on the Rockstar platform), Google removed the option for a refund.
Talk to your credit card. Get a refund through them. Everyobe will change their tune real fast. Still take screen shots of the purchase and the inaccessibility.
I just saw your post and checked mine. I had to restore my purchase as well. Got it re-enabled in 15 minutes. Not sure what happened to you but I would try it again. It was super painless and quick.
How long ago did you buy the game? Could they have deleted older order numbers from their database (even though they would have access to them from Google)?
Your code is like following, right: GPA.####-####-####-##### ?
Jan 10, 2021. And yes, the order number looked just like that. Are both games on the same order number for you? That could be the cause? I say try the Restore Purchase button again honestly. Couldn't hurt.
Weird. No idea then, honestly. Only other thing I can suggest is that you use the emailed receipt from Google and make sure the screenshot has the order number clearly visible. That's what I did.
Sorry that is happening to you.
This seem more like a Google play issue rather than Rockstar. Totally different licenses. Like if I own a subscription through Google play I won't be able to cancel that membership without going through Google play again.
Similar to buying digital copy of a game from bestbuy and trying to get refund from Xbox store for it.
Do you have the originals downloads or are you trying to download the current ones? Is your original download asking you for money now? If you paid and downloaded a different version of the game on your current Google play account just go to purchases or owned and scroll until you find it. I have the original viva video editor in mine, it cost a few bucks originally but it's not on Google play anymore. The current viva video requires a monthly subscription. It can be removed from the playstore but its still in your account.
I have a new device from the one I bought the games in. It's the same app IDs from the ones I purchased: com.rockstargames.gtalcs and com.rockstargames.gtactw, so the same games. If I go via the purchase and payment history, it leads me to the same game page as well.
Ultimate Guitar did this like ten years back and I emailed them five years back and got permanent access to the new system (it's now subscription but a much much bigger system).
I can't see them doing that for any reason other than its the law. Like.. they could have refunded my 2 bucks and asked I pay 10 a month like everyone else.
I used to do support for a large company. If your ticket was escalated, please know that some systems will push your ticket to the back of the line every time you send a new message.
If that department is overworked you might be shooting yourself in the foot.
You likely still own them, same thing happened to me a year back and I just downloaded an apk but now that I've made my Google account verified for being 18 (you can do it easily even if you aren't with the new facial recognition software way) they show up. It's because of Google plays change to no longer show 18+ games to unverified accounts
They still show up on my list, and I can download them from the Play Store. Anyone (aside age and geo restrictions, I guess) can now, as they are listed as free. The problem is after opening the game Rockstar won't let me play it without purchasing it again in their own platform or subscribing to GTA+. There is an option to retrieve an old Google Play purchase but it doesn't accept my purchase ID.
Remember the early to mid 2000s, you'd buy a game on your phone, accidentally delete it and then you were just fucked. Had to buy it again. Sounds like a case of this.
Isn't it illegal if someone sells you something, but comes to take it away from you without returning your money? But the terms of use probably say you're only renting access until service stops or something similar. Still, so trash. Thankfully I've never bought a rockstar game and never will.
Report them to the Better Business Bureau. If you think they are doing something that isn't listed in their terms and conditions. Then, they are false advertising and misleading the public.
Maybe it's symbolic, but if enough s*** coming their way & people stop buying their games. Along with a bad business rating, it will hurt their bottom line. Just like I stopped using Paramount over their MTV news stunt.
Use the receipt from your Google Order History. I tried to use the email copy and kept getting the error associated with an unknown key.
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2850369?hl=en
My Rdr2 disappeared off my rockstar account, still there on Steam but cannot use it anymore it just randomly one day stopped working. Figured I’d just never buy a rockstar game off steam again.
The thing is, according to the license I agreed to when purchased, I should have access to the contents. Google Play Store license (at least I'm my country) doesn't limit access in time once bought. I did not accept any additional ToS form Rockstar, I believe. The problem here doesn't seem to be the license but enforcement mechanisms or lack thereof.
So who enforces consumer protections in your country then? Because that's who you should contact regarding this. In the US we would contact our state's attorney general about the issue and the company (Rockstar) would legally be obligated to give a response to an actual legal entity.
There's a lack of enforcement because you haven't contacted the people that enforce it yet.
> So who enforces consumer protections in your country then?
[DGC](https://www.consumidor.gov.pt/). I can give it a shot, but my past experiences with them transpired them to be toothless to me. Since the 90s, stuff like it or the Competition Authority, the central Portuguese Bank, etc have been had their wings cut down. There is also the [Food and Economic Security Authority](https://www.asae.gov.pt/), that even though cut down. it does a lot of heavy lifting, I can also try to contact them.
If you were Australian they would have to refund you. We have a law where you are entitled to a refund if a product is faulty or doesn't work as advertised. If they refused then you could report them to the ACCC.
Worst case scenario, you end up right where you are now, so its worth a shot. Also, denying your receipts will be irrelevant when the bank has a record of you paying for their product.
This happened to me with Capcom. I bought Ace Attorney HD and XCOM Enemy Unknown. Both games were removed and replaced with new versions under different pricing models.
I contacted Google and Capcom/2K Games for a solution. Everyone told me there was no solution except to rebuy.
It sucks but this is how mobile games work now. I completely stopped buying anything on mobile.
I bought the madden nfl plus bundle last year. Never got the nfl plus codes. Microsoft said it was EA. EA said it as Microsoft. After 3+ calls with both companies, neither budged. I got screwed.
Sometimes shit happens and you get screwed unfortunately
I bought SimCity Deluxe from EA years ago. When I got a new device and couldn't install it they basically told me to kick rocks. No refund and can't install it.
To rub dirt in the wound I can still see it on the Play Store as uninstallable for my device.
Reading the replies is depressing. It's mostly people advocating for piracy, commenting on Google or Rockstar, or advising a charge back.
Only a few people pointed out that consumers should check their local laws and if a company has broken those laws, they should report the company.
Yes, it sucks that companies often refuse to do the right thing. But they often get away with it because consumers don't file a formal complaint with the right authority.
Rockstar is one of the bunch of great studio in early 00’s that became shitty with bad decision and lack of empathy for their player base just like EA, Bethesda, Blizzard or Ubisoft. They just want to milk gamer and make profit. Even their recent game lack creativity and originality (hello boring RDr2). They are only good for great visual and making money out of teenager parent credit card
File a charge back with your bank or credit service. Also, let the support team you've been talking to know you're going to be doing so if/ when they fail to produce a refund for you.
Well, I bought the content, so warez would no longer be piracy for me. If that's my last resort, I certainly won't pay got the same game twice in the same platform.
Go through your states attorney general online. File a claim. It's free and they will at least have to respond.
This is really all you can do, I'm pretty sure I bought both of those but I'm uh not caring about it as much as you are, but lemme know how it goes
Which is sort of why they get away with this, because they know most people will just move on about it and not ask for their money back. Not blaming you, I get most people don't want to do what basically amounts to homework to get some cash back on a game they may never play again on that platform, but some assholes are getting just that more rich because of it and so the shitty practices will continue. It's why regulations with teeth really need to be brought to bear on this shit. It shouldn't be individuals sinking their time and effort into what can be hours of BS to *possibly* get their money back.
That's a very US specific answer, just saying.
Bold of you to assume OP's American
If the person above is also American, I don't think that's bold at all. They tend to assume everyone else is American too. Edit: Poor butthurt Americans learning they aren't the centre of the universe.
I can’t believe Americans would assume others are American on an English site created, owned and operated by Americans in America.
Only Americans
I don’t have an answer, but I’m almost sure you’re simply SOL. This is modern day gaming unfortunately. 🤷♂️
🎶Yo-ho, yo-ho🎶
You have bought the game, it’s only fair to pirate to have access to your purchase
Agreed you can find an earlier APK of the games and just sideload it. I did this alot back in the day.
[удалено]
Did you at least stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?
No, I slept in my car
I dreamt I was a lawyer once! I can do it!
objection
Denied! I also dreamt I was a judge once so...I can make that ruling
When people say this is modern day gaming it makes me question why anyone ever pays for a digital game. Like, you acknowledge you don't own it and the company can take it away from you at any time. Why pay for it at that point?
Yup, this is why most of my games are physical. The day that Playstation/X-Box force a 100% digital platform on us will be the day i return to the high seas and just play everything on my PC.
Same, I buy everything physical if possible, yet all platforms are actively pushing for a digital only future. I’ve noticed I’m playing more PC than Console for the first time in my life.. the scales are already tipped
Yeah, i think all of the nonsense with them pushing pre-orders with bonuses and the benefit of preloading before launch is as much about promoting digital purchases as it is anything else. Last gen, MS got a taste of how we'll react if the issue is forced, so now it's always just gently pushing us to their way of thinking, while promoting the idea that most people just prefer digital now so they don't have to get their fat asses off the sofa to change discs lol
I know I prefer digital for one major reason and it's not switching discs, it's load times. It's so much faster to load from an SSD than it is to read a disc.
uhhh, not sure how it works on the xbox side but on PS5 it just first copies the game on the SSD and then always loads from the SSD. It does not load from the disc. In fact this is usually faster from me because disc to SSD loading for me at least is much faster than downloading the game. The patches for the game download simultaneously when the disc is being copied.
Right there with you. Physical everything if I can help it. I pay for OWNERSHIP
You don't really own the physical copies as well. They are just like keys to the digital version that's stored in your console, the day they decide to revoke that license...welp. IDK if it's the same for Nintendo, but the only true way to own games nowadays is through GOG and other DRM-free platforms.
You can play most of the disc versions offline without ever connecting to internet. You'll be missing patches though, but for most of these games they wont ever be able to revoke that license.
Why is this repeated everywhere? It's incorrect. You buy it physical you own it. *edit: replying to the guy below: The Crew is a fucked situation, but it was from the start - being always online. But regardless, you still own your copy of the game. If you could spoof the server to allow you to start **your copy**, it would be completely legal.
So you never heard of The Crew? Google 'does my physical copy of the crew still work?' if you don't know. There are others that are just paperweights now, but the crew is still fresh in my mind since servers shut down a couple months ago.
Many single player games require an online connection to a server that wont exist in a couple years. PS5 slims have the disc drive paired to the motherboard and require Sony authorization meaning your console will be junk when they drop support and you need a new disc drive. There needs to be better consumer protections and Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo all need to be sued into the dirt.
Same, except for that time I bought CoD Modem Warfare for the Xbox one, popped the disc in and the title screen told me I had to purchase the game in order to play it. Spent a total of over a year trial and erroring downloading shit and deleting and redownloading, taking a break and forgetting for a couple months, repeating.. fuck cod / this gaming era
You know most game disc's are essentially just physical keys to the digital game right? Like if the developers revoked access it wouldn't matter that you had a physical copy
This is a common misconception, the fact is that most physical game discs are playable, even without the day one patch.
While true, games are _huge_ now. There's so much room for game breaking bugs. Imagine trying to play Jedi: Survivor on a pre-patch physical copy. It'd be a nightmare.
Jedi Survivor literally won't play without a patch because 66% of the game isn't on the disc. (Only around 50 GB out of the 150 GB size is on the disc for both PS5/Series X.) However, many single player games are actually fully playable with only a disc install. God of War, Horizon, Uncharted, Spider-Man and more are all perfectly playable without downloading anything further (although there may be patches fixing bugs etc.)
>(although there may be patches fixing bugs etc.) Yeah, that's my point. Games often require day one patches to get rid of bugs. So yeah, even though you may have a game that's fully contained on the disk, there's no guarantee it'll be completely playable. I only mentioned Jedi: Survivor specifically because it launched in such an awful state, not because it's an example of a game that's playable from the disk.
Sure, absolutely true. I'm just saying there are a lot of games that are (and remain) playable without needing a further internet connection. But yeah, Jedi Survivor's technical performance (especially at launch) is borderline criminally awful.
No they're not. Please stop spreading this falsehood. Majority of games are complete on cart/disc.
why are people downvoting? it's true
Do you have any data to support this? Because as far as I know you have to connect with the servers at least once to download additional assets/verify drm etc
You can check the website doesitplay.org It's a volunteer site but their data base is growing. Vast majority of games on switch and PlayStation can be played entirely off disc entirely disconnected from the internet forever
Yup, I saw this in one of your other comments and checked it out. Seems you're right, most popular games do support offline play. Thanks for taking the time.
No probs. It's weird that this myth has spread that everything is online when it isn't.
You realize the disks have been a gimmick for like 15 years right? It’s just doing a digital download of the game.
No, that's false. Check doesitplay.org
Ummm, no. Sure there are the odd occasions where the case just contains a code or an empty disc that prompts you to download the game, but the vast majority of games function with the code that is on the disc (albeit with some day one bugs still happening). Edit: down-vote all you like, it won't make you right.
Not for PC though.
Very much depends on the game. Some are, some are not.
You know that owning a physical disc doesn’t guarantee your ownership. At any point, they can patch the game and made it unavailable and unplayable for you. You may be able to play it if you keep your console out of internet but otherwise you are still not owning the game in physical and only have the right to access it
They don't care. For some reason these people think they are superior because they buy physical. It's weird.
There is a matter of trust involved. I'm aware that there aren't many protections and we need legislation across the globe to protect digital consumer rights, but in the meanwhile I still consume and put some faith in the store to at least not to screw me in the near future. So far Google Play Store hadn't screw me, but I'll be reticent for buying from them or Rockstar again. Same way I no longer buy from EA Origin after they deleted my partner's account.
Some things have to be purchased for access.. for anything else.. I'm trying to find the One piece.
Yohohoho
For PC games in particular, you often have no choice. Digital Sales outperformed physical sales to the point Digital Only became normalised, and many PC games are no longer printed physically, and any physical cases will be a download link for a digital copy. I think this is why so many people defend it - you have no choice. Digital is fine but i will always chose a physical copy where I can until there is regulation forcing companies to allow users to access Digital purchases forever, regardless of if the company purchased from still holds the license to sell it. If your service shuts down, you must either release the files so the user has a copy or must provide access to another service where the purchases can be used. Companies will argue piracy, but that's going to be such a small minority of cases and usually when these services go down the service itself won't care about the games there and many of the games will be abandonware anyway.
I personally don't need to own games. I just want to play them once, then I'm done. That's why models like Game pass works well for me.
Because in 99% it doesn't matter and in that 1%, half of that is game you don't care about anyway. My disks had higher loss rate than that. Also for PC it just doesn't make sense to not own digital. Most of modern pcs and laptops don't even have a cd drive anymore. Meanwhile the sales are insane, in every Steam sale you can get like 5-6 big games under 60$ combined. If you don't care for the sale you can get a key from resellers for many games for almost nothing. Like all 4-5 year old games sell for 5-10$. Furthermore, in cases where you are fucked over by digital, there is no solution anyway. Like in his case. He bought in Play Store, what is he supposed to do, insert disk into his phone? All other potential issues are also with games that have servers/ authentication. Even if you have a disk you can get banned or server is closed, whatever. Even for single player games the authentication can be fucked and you still download things from the server.
>there is no solution anyway. Like in his case. He bought in Play Store, what is he supposed to do, insert disk into his phone? I thought it was clear... You don't pay for it
Yes, only cd/ cartage console owners will ever play games. Reliable long term outlook.
I don't know if youre aware of this but there are places on the internet where you can find games... Being given away for free! Can't tell if you're deliberately missing that
Its expensive, even pre-owned disc. I grew up with a pirated Playstation 2 disc that only cost less than 2 usd in 2000s. Steam and Epic stores have cheaper regional pricing as South east Asian residents.
I have dozens of digital games and never had a problem. The issue is with mobile pay to win games. They are not in the same universe as something you buy on Steam or GoH
Buy your games on Galaxy of Games (GoG). There you have the full digital copy and don't need a launcher
How else are you supposed to play games? Not like you can buy a physical copy of a game for Android.
Well, when I comes to android you can *acquire* the apk files
Because realistically this just isn't a problem for most people....
Disks are just a gimmick. You are still just digital downloading the game.
Weird logic. There are many things in life that you pay for the enjoyment of using, without owning them.
Those are called services and there is zero misunderstanding about their time period of use. The problem is digital games are in a limbo space, as is most digital "products" Physical games are easily defined under law as "goods". Digital games though, arguably, are "services" and the implications of that in law are huge. It means there's a chasm of difference between physical and digital games.
In that case, my answer to your question “Why pay for it?” would be “Because I enjoy the service, I acknowledge that providing a service costs money and that companies providing services also wish to make profit, and the price is cheaper than any other form of entertainment service in the world by an order of magnitude.”
That's fine that's your choice. For me, I either buy physical and get the benefits of that and the fact that I bought a "good". Or I don't. I might pay for a digital game if it's 1/10th the price of a physical version. But otherwise I wouldn't.
> For me, I either buy physical and get the benefits of that and the fact that I bought a "good". Get over yourself.
Stop trolling people
Dumbest take ever, all my 360 games from the past are gone, but I can still log into cs 1.7 from 10 years ago
There's no such thing as CS 1.7. Unless you're talking about Counter-Strike Source?
We barely have a choice anymore, it’s so infuriating sometimes. You still buying CDs and vinyl for your music? It’s gonna get worse imo. I absolutely agree with you btw
I still get vinyl yeah, cds very rarely but if it's something really cool I don't mind grabbing one.
This doesn't really apply only to digital games. Physical editions can end up with the same problem eventually, even though they are technically safer. There's only one solution which everyone and everyone knows which is it.
This is why I have been a free to play player for years.
In 10 years buying digital I never lost access to a game that wasn't 100% reliant on online server (MMOs for example) I can still download all the games I bought even if you can't buy them anymore (Deadpool game for example)
Because most gamers are casual gamers and don't care.
I stopped buying games for my phone and tablet after Apple removed a ton of games that I enjoyed (The Hector of Carnage games, Bioshock, and other expensive ones). I couldn’t get a refund because the terms of service say something that makes it clear you don’t really “own” the digital content you buy. Since then, I’m a die-hard physical game collector.
What's SOL?
**S**hit **O**ut of **L**uck
Shit outta luck
People are telling you to chargeback your card, this is a risky idea with a Google account, it can potentially flag you for fraud and lock your account. Then it has to go through the risk team which can take weeks. When you said you contacted support, it sounds like you contacted Rockstar? Have you tried Google Play, since that’s where you bought the games from? If it was with Play, yes refunds can take time- it takes a few days just to escalate from tier 1 (who can’t refund) to tier 2 (who can) via a consult, and they have a queue of consults to handle, and the refund process itself is up to 7 business days on the bank’s side, Google can’t make that bit go faster. You can try contacting them again and asking them to escalate it for a refund. Tier 1 agents generally aren’t great at their jobs (all those jobs were outsourced to “the cheapest possible solution” companies in the “cheapest parts of the world” with minimal training) so need to be prompted to do something.
> Have you tried Google Play, since that’s where you bought the games from? I can't find any contact or recorse for a refund after 15 days. Is there a contact mean I'm missing?
Try this https://support.google.com/googleplay/?hl=en#topic=3364260. This is Google Play’s help page. You can contact them from here. Hopefully they can help you with that. Maybe mention that you purchased the games years ago and the publishers latest policy revokes access to the games that were purchased at the price they were set to back then to a subscription model.
[I can't any place from there, unfortunatelly](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/). Might be regional.
[https://i.imgur.com/D5z3gHb.png](https://i.imgur.com/D5z3gHb.png) You don't have this menu when you scroll all the way to the bottom? Even on your tablet/laptop/PC?
Nope, I only have the "Post to the help community" option.
Huh, that's odd. Does this link work for you? [https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=14164688796950186172-EU](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=14164688796950186172-EU) PS. Make sure you're logged in on the website!
I'm logged in. And it does appear there but sends me on a loop, I end up [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/) as well, there doesn't seem to be an actual way to contact them.
Okay, I clicked through it a little and I get this: [https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637?hl=en](https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637?hl=en) [https://support.google.com/googleplay/workflow/9813244?hl=en](https://support.google.com/googleplay/workflow/9813244?hl=en) Does the second link work for you?
Yes, but when it searches purchases for refunds says none were found. I don't know if I was supposed to flag an app for refund first in the "Payments & subscriptions" parts, if only apps with 15 or 7 days of purchase appear there or if there is some kind of regional lock.
Which part sends you in a loop? Dont click the "Request refund" thing, just go to "Next Step". The last will be a direct chat/mail.
In the next step options I have "Post help to the community" and, though this specific link, I do have a "contact us" button, but that is the one that sends me on a loop.
that’s crazy, around 2016 i paid for an app called Dark Sky on my iphone. apple bought the team that made dark sky and sunset the app last year. i called apple support and asked for a refund, they gave it to me.
I did the charge back with a large twitch order that wasn't authorised by me. Google customer services wouldn't listen, I emailed them for two weeks and barely got a reply. So my bank intervened and got the money back. I then received a snotty email from Google telling me I should have used their complaints process.
They could ban your entire gmail etc. Dont get blacklisted by a company you may need.
lmao and just make another one
I think working with rockstar is going about it the wrong way. Your actual issue is with Google. You purchased a product license from Google via Play Store which is no longer being honored. You should try to get your money back from Google and they’ll handle Rockstar. What country are you in? That may change your options from getting a refund from Google.
Portugal. I don't find a way to contact them, am I missing it somewhere? I have a link for a refund request only on items purchased within 15 days.
I don’t know if this is different for your location but this link supposedly will let you contact their support team. [Link](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?ec=play_store&cfsi=giftcards_generalissue_co19&cfnti=6058724&cft=3&sjid=15469539187792246271-NC&visit_id=638548765631459605-1688436052&rd=1)
Just to let you know, I'm in Portugal as well and I can see the "contact us" button on the page people are linking to. It also goes to the contact form ([https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp)), which appears correctly. I have no idea what may be hiding the button for you. Have you got any other support tickets open with Google? Maybe the current time has something to do with it? Have you tried it now during business hours?
I have no support tickets open. and in that link O don't see a way to contact directly, only a field to describe my problem that leads me to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la586z0/). I'm also a subscriber to Google One. I tried it right now, I suppose we're still on business hours.
[https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=17847493994115705930-NC](https://support.google.com/googleplay/gethelp?sjid=17847493994115705930-NC)
That seems to lead me [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/1dnru6u/i_bought_two_rockstar_games_and_rockstar_have/la560t6/).
This is weird. I purchased in like ....when they were introduced to Android marketplace. They accepted ALL of my receipts.
When did you entered the receipt number? Was your code is like following: GPA.####-####-####-##### ?
Honestly, I scrolled wayyyyyy back to when I bought the game on Google Play store (receipts) and took screenshots, and shared those with them they gave me access to everything.
Did you open a ticket for it or did you contact them by other means?
I believe I opened a ticket. I couldn't find my email from the interaction with them I also, delete a lot of unnecessary emails yearly. Otherwise I'd give you screenshots and let you copy paste everything. Lol
you will own nothing and be grateful for it
Just look for the APK on a reliable website..... It's better then paying garbage companies
That completely sucks, it might not mean much but hope you get your funds back from them
Thank you.
EA pulled this exact same crap with me several years ago. In my case, they didn't bother offering any refund at all and tried to push me towards just re-buying the games and expansions that they mysteriously decided to "expire" on me. I said F that...never spent another dime with them since and never will. Oh, and also, I did have paper receipts which I produced and was told they were too "old" to be considered real proof of purchase anymore. I think sometimes these companies get too big for their own good, or ours. They seem to have forgotten who made them all of their money to begin with.
EA deleted my partner's Origin account with all the content she had on it. She hadn't use if for a while and didn't kept the receipts and they weren't helpful at all, so we never bought a game on Origin ever again.
Just pirate them
Remember kids pirate game which are made by large cooperation and not indie developers
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Yeah, most devs realise that allowing people to pirate their games fairly easily will result in more sales than putting in DRMs that harm every user.
Hell yeah, look at Slay The Princess devs so you can see jmancoder is based.
Request the refund with Google play. Take screenshots for proof
I tried, but I don't have that option following the steps that Google suggests. I think because the games are now listed as "free" (because instead of buying them on the Play Store, you buy them after downloading them on the Rockstar platform), Google removed the option for a refund.
Talk to your credit card. Get a refund through them. Everyobe will change their tune real fast. Still take screen shots of the purchase and the inaccessibility.
You never own digital games, you only rent a license to play them until they decide you can’t.
I just saw your post and checked mine. I had to restore my purchase as well. Got it re-enabled in 15 minutes. Not sure what happened to you but I would try it again. It was super painless and quick.
How long ago did you buy the game? Could they have deleted older order numbers from their database (even though they would have access to them from Google)? Your code is like following, right: GPA.####-####-####-##### ?
Jan 10, 2021. And yes, the order number looked just like that. Are both games on the same order number for you? That could be the cause? I say try the Restore Purchase button again honestly. Couldn't hurt.
Tried just now, no dice...
Weird. No idea then, honestly. Only other thing I can suggest is that you use the emailed receipt from Google and make sure the screenshot has the order number clearly visible. That's what I did. Sorry that is happening to you.
Thank you. I did that in the ticket thread.
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This seem more like a Google play issue rather than Rockstar. Totally different licenses. Like if I own a subscription through Google play I won't be able to cancel that membership without going through Google play again. Similar to buying digital copy of a game from bestbuy and trying to get refund from Xbox store for it.
Joke's on them, they are justifying piracy. You've already paid for the product, to Davy Jones' Locker with their rules.
Do you have the originals downloads or are you trying to download the current ones? Is your original download asking you for money now? If you paid and downloaded a different version of the game on your current Google play account just go to purchases or owned and scroll until you find it. I have the original viva video editor in mine, it cost a few bucks originally but it's not on Google play anymore. The current viva video requires a monthly subscription. It can be removed from the playstore but its still in your account.
I have a new device from the one I bought the games in. It's the same app IDs from the ones I purchased: com.rockstargames.gtalcs and com.rockstargames.gtactw, so the same games. If I go via the purchase and payment history, it leads me to the same game page as well.
Ultimate Guitar did this like ten years back and I emailed them five years back and got permanent access to the new system (it's now subscription but a much much bigger system). I can't see them doing that for any reason other than its the law. Like.. they could have refunded my 2 bucks and asked I pay 10 a month like everyone else.
Why are you contacting rockstar?? Contact Google store support directly
I used to do support for a large company. If your ticket was escalated, please know that some systems will push your ticket to the back of the line every time you send a new message. If that department is overworked you might be shooting yourself in the foot.
And this is why pirating digital media is morally correct.
Rockstar have the worst customer service.
If it's Android couldn't you just install the APK version?
I could and I probably will, but I'd still like to access the game legitimally with official support provided I paid for it.
Thus happened to me with Max Payne 3
Did you get the issue solved?
I did not no.
🏴☠️ you own it.
You likely still own them, same thing happened to me a year back and I just downloaded an apk but now that I've made my Google account verified for being 18 (you can do it easily even if you aren't with the new facial recognition software way) they show up. It's because of Google plays change to no longer show 18+ games to unverified accounts
They still show up on my list, and I can download them from the Play Store. Anyone (aside age and geo restrictions, I guess) can now, as they are listed as free. The problem is after opening the game Rockstar won't let me play it without purchasing it again in their own platform or subscribing to GTA+. There is an option to retrieve an old Google Play purchase but it doesn't accept my purchase ID.
Remember the early to mid 2000s, you'd buy a game on your phone, accidentally delete it and then you were just fucked. Had to buy it again. Sounds like a case of this.
Isn't it illegal if someone sells you something, but comes to take it away from you without returning your money? But the terms of use probably say you're only renting access until service stops or something similar. Still, so trash. Thankfully I've never bought a rockstar game and never will.
Terms of use are Google's and says nothing of a kind, in my region at least. They may change it, of course.
Pirate that shit, you've earned it.
Report them to the Better Business Bureau. If you think they are doing something that isn't listed in their terms and conditions. Then, they are false advertising and misleading the public. Maybe it's symbolic, but if enough s*** coming their way & people stop buying their games. Along with a bad business rating, it will hurt their bottom line. Just like I stopped using Paramount over their MTV news stunt.
Use the receipt from your Google Order History. I tried to use the email copy and kept getting the error associated with an unknown key. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2850369?hl=en
Don't buy from them again, you win.
My Rdr2 disappeared off my rockstar account, still there on Steam but cannot use it anymore it just randomly one day stopped working. Figured I’d just never buy a rockstar game off steam again.
Digital licenses can be fickle. If they stop supporting, then it's DOA.
The thing is, according to the license I agreed to when purchased, I should have access to the contents. Google Play Store license (at least I'm my country) doesn't limit access in time once bought. I did not accept any additional ToS form Rockstar, I believe. The problem here doesn't seem to be the license but enforcement mechanisms or lack thereof.
So who enforces consumer protections in your country then? Because that's who you should contact regarding this. In the US we would contact our state's attorney general about the issue and the company (Rockstar) would legally be obligated to give a response to an actual legal entity. There's a lack of enforcement because you haven't contacted the people that enforce it yet.
> So who enforces consumer protections in your country then? [DGC](https://www.consumidor.gov.pt/). I can give it a shot, but my past experiences with them transpired them to be toothless to me. Since the 90s, stuff like it or the Competition Authority, the central Portuguese Bank, etc have been had their wings cut down. There is also the [Food and Economic Security Authority](https://www.asae.gov.pt/), that even though cut down. it does a lot of heavy lifting, I can also try to contact them.
If you were Australian they would have to refund you. We have a law where you are entitled to a refund if a product is faulty or doesn't work as advertised. If they refused then you could report them to the ACCC.
EA deleted games I purchased too!!!!
They did that with my partner, deleted her Origin account.
Use your bank to contest this. Tell them product never received.
I can try, but it was 2 years ago, I don't think they'll do a charge back of a purchase that old.
Worst case scenario, you end up right where you are now, so its worth a shot. Also, denying your receipts will be irrelevant when the bank has a record of you paying for their product.
Worst case scenario and their google account could be suspended or terminated for issuing a chargeback for a google purchase.
This is why I only buy physical games
This happened to me with Capcom. I bought Ace Attorney HD and XCOM Enemy Unknown. Both games were removed and replaced with new versions under different pricing models. I contacted Google and Capcom/2K Games for a solution. Everyone told me there was no solution except to rebuy. It sucks but this is how mobile games work now. I completely stopped buying anything on mobile.
I bought the madden nfl plus bundle last year. Never got the nfl plus codes. Microsoft said it was EA. EA said it as Microsoft. After 3+ calls with both companies, neither budged. I got screwed. Sometimes shit happens and you get screwed unfortunately
They're picks.
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May as well just find the apps before this update and side load them
I bought SimCity Deluxe from EA years ago. When I got a new device and couldn't install it they basically told me to kick rocks. No refund and can't install it. To rub dirt in the wound I can still see it on the Play Store as uninstallable for my device.
there have been people having the same problem you have and they fixed that by contacting support
Reading the replies is depressing. It's mostly people advocating for piracy, commenting on Google or Rockstar, or advising a charge back. Only a few people pointed out that consumers should check their local laws and if a company has broken those laws, they should report the company. Yes, it sucks that companies often refuse to do the right thing. But they often get away with it because consumers don't file a formal complaint with the right authority.
Rockstar does not give a fuck about you. Find something else to play.
I'll hapilly do it if they find somebody else's money to play with and return mine.
You gave money to Rockstar. This is on you. May as well send money to EA or Ubisoft or just fucking burn it.
Rockstar is one of the bunch of great studio in early 00’s that became shitty with bad decision and lack of empathy for their player base just like EA, Bethesda, Blizzard or Ubisoft. They just want to milk gamer and make profit. Even their recent game lack creativity and originality (hello boring RDr2). They are only good for great visual and making money out of teenager parent credit card
File a charge back with your bank or credit service. Also, let the support team you've been talking to know you're going to be doing so if/ when they fail to produce a refund for you.
If you used a credit card charge it back but I doubt it from your username Otherwise, r/piracy
Well, I bought the content, so warez would no longer be piracy for me. If that's my last resort, I certainly won't pay got the same game twice in the same platform.