So Stardock’s just released their latest turn-based strategy game, Elemental: War of Magic, and according to PC Gamer, it’s “a mess”. The magazine ran a whole Public Service Announcement-type editorial warning gamers away from the title, claiming it’s “it’s been shoved out months too soon”, and that despite playing the game on two different machines and hardware profiles, reviewers encountered “a game-breaking bug every ten minutes”. They advise potential customers with the decidedly dire admonition that “You should not buy it”. Oh, burn.
Now, for loads of games, this isn’t exactly news. But Stardock has previously published their own “Gamer’s Bill of Rights”, including such instantly inconvenient precepts as “Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state” and “Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund”.
Obviously this doesn’t reconcile too nicely with PC Gamer’s – and, apparently, others’ – complaints about a game that “plays like an early beta”, and Stardock’s CEO guy Brad Wardell wasn’t too pleased. Posting on the Quarter to Three forums, he lashed out at moaners, saying they should “stay away from our games in future”. It’s like the exact opposite of a company memo on customer service or something.
Oh, Brad. You dun goofed. The consequences will never be the same. He’s feeling the remorse now, however, and issued Joystiq with the following statement:
“I spoke hastily and said things I shouldn’t have. I want to be clear that my comments on the Quarter to Three forums do not reflect my team at large. They were words spoken out of frustration and sleep deprivation and I am truly sorry.”
So, moral of the story – maybe hold off on buying Elemental: War of Magic for the moment, eh.
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