Stardock Announces "The Gamer's Bill of Rights"

Posted 09/03/2008 at 8:11am | by Paul Lilly

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Despite what the console crowd may like to claim, PC gaming isn't going anywhere. But just because the death knell isn't ringing doesn't mean gamers should be complacent with the current state of the industry. That's the stance Stardock purports to claim with the announcement of The Gamer's Bill of Rights, what the company calls "a statement of principles that it hopes will encourage the PC game industry to adopt standards that are more supportive of PC gamers."

First on the list of the rights states "Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund." Taking a practice what you preach approach, Stardock has put in place a policy where consumers can return their copy of The Political Machine at retail for a full refund if their PC isn't sufficient to run the game. A full list of the Gamer's Bill of Rights reads:

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

Is having a Bill of Rights hokie, or is it high time someone spoke up on behalf of the PC gamer? Post your thoughts.

Image Credit: Flickr Matt Brett