So it seems some foul play is in the air, with Russian and other consumers from Eastern Europe, getting chopped down and incomplete versions of games. Specifically, Borderlands 2.
A user on Reddit has highlighted the issue, explaining how pre-ordering Borderlands 2 netted him a special 'Russian Version'. One that is remarkably different from the version the rest of the world gets.
The list of grievances is quite extensive:
• The game shows as 'Borderlands RU' in the game library on Steam.
• A thing called AppID means Russian gamers won't be able to play with the rest of the world online.
• It looks like this version won't have access to the DLC either, as those who pre-ordered the season pass are unable to activate it.
• The Game is region locked so if they go outside Russia, they can't play it anymore.
• There are also worries about language and translation issues, as the Steam page says it is only playable in Russian - a bad version of Russian.
• Perhaps the worst is this: users from Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia and some other countries are getting the exact same, Russian version.
To read it in full go to the link above. Needless to say, this is a pretty shitty situation for the Russian and Eastern European gamers. The Reddit user also brought up how Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 have similar restrictions, namely; region locks, language locks and, in Starcraft 2's case, subscriptions.
The Reddit users are currently contacting publishers for answers and explanations, let's hope they can sort it out and play the version of Borderlands 2 the rest of the world gets to play. The publishers are probably thinking this version of the game is cut down for anti-piracy purposes, because all Eastern Europeans are pirates am I right? Yeah, stop hurting the ordinary consumers!
Posted 17-09-2012, 14:13
@Stuntman
Exactly what I mean. Some people won't change regardless but for others it is a 'necessity' if they want to enjoy these games. I have family in Latvia and with the salaries they get - well, I wouldn't be surprised if they pirate games too if they even had a PC.
Publishers simply don't understand these simple facts - they categories 'pirates' into one blob without investigating WHY the phenomenon occurs.
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:53
Aw hell, we had this shit with Mass Effect 3, too! Nobody liked it, even the russians, who were the first ones to find a way to hack the game back into english. As for why it's done... I have no idea. Those publishers are silly as hell.
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:47
I have "friends" back in Lithuania that will pirate games even if they are free. Its just that kind of person but also have friends who buy games even if they are 50 euro. Look at our own NAG3LT he is also Lithuanian and has shit load of games from Steam. Keep in mind 50 euro is still a big money in Lithuania (not half a months sallary though :P).
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:29
Because the whole eastern block is Russian...archaic American attitude.
To be serious: trying to cut back on piracy is within the rights of every company. The problem is that many of them don't understand why piracy exists, what kind of developer/publisher behaviour promotes it, why most people pirate game and that their will always be a tiny minority that will pirate regardless of what happens.
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:28
Damn... I hope this wont be the way steam games get treated from now on... :/
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:09
Well this is near an dear to my heart (because I'm Lithuanian) and all I can say is - it sucks! It defeats all the porpoises of digital distribution if you cant play games anywhere any time and having a shitty translation always sucks. Then as a cherry on top you add the full price (50 euro) for a cut down version and then a big question mark on why not to pirate!
Posted 17-09-2012, 13:06
Fuck you publishers!