Before giving up - if there is a consumer protection public office or association in your country, inquire if there's anything that can be done.



My sentiment exactly. The more arguments they present, the worse they make things.

Ugh, that's a shame. Glad I balked from backing their Kickstarter in the end.

I envy you. I increased my pledge to $50 specifically because I thought 2 and 3 would be DRM-free.

Nah, consumer protection in Slovenia is meant for only one thing: protect consumers from themselves. Even if something is done, it has to be a massive scandal to get things moving and I am doubtful anyone employed there has even heard of crowdfunding, let alone had any experience in trying to claw back money from a foreign digital company.

Ah, another brother in getting screwed over by Stoic. Does Canada offer some sort of protection against such practices or allows you to make a legal claim (ie. Small Claims Court)? I know someone from the UK used the latter in trying to get their money back from the Star Citizen fiasco, but I never heard how it went.

I haven't needed to look into it before. Within the last 12 hours, I've filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, asked Kickstarter to rule on whether this is acceptable under their terms (if it is, then I'm never backing anything again), and wrote a how-to blog post for others.

I also mentioned my waning confidence in Kickstarter on Twitter since I figure that every little bit helps.

You have done an outstanding job on this and I will look into sending KS a message myself. Unfortunately, I cannot complain to the BBB, but like you said, every little bit helps.

Keep us informed of any response that you may get from both lines of inquiry.

Are you sure? I was under the impression that, with the BBB, the main thing that matters is where the business is located.

Will do.

And I didn't Kickstart so I went with the other approach.

Fired off a quick email letting them know how much I enjoyed their game and how I'd like to see it DRM free (here!).

I admit I should be turned off by some of their actions / responses (I'm a person that believes, especially with something like an entertainment product, it's important to "vote with your dollar") but I did like the game so much that I'd still like a shot at playing it.

I'm currently discussing the issue with one of the devs on a Steam thread. It's interesting that this caught them by surprise and that they don't understand how people feel like they've pulled a bait and switch with the no DRM-free release of the sequels. He did point out though that they're only saying no plans for DRM-free at this time. Not that it's off the table permanently. So there's hope it will arrive perhaps arrive here.

This sounds more and more like a case of timed exclusivity. Maybe I'm just trying to talk myself into being optimistic but I really do hope they "change their mind" and end up tossing a build up here at some point after release.

They had this same perplexed reaction when people objected to having pre-order exclusive in-game content for the first episode.

That's preposterous and impertinent. I feel treated like a second class-customer. As much as I love and adore BS 1 and think it's an aesthetic masterpiece, I sure won't buy their game on Steam, as I despise this platform. I really looked forward to part 2 for many months now, but if that's their way to play it, I'll pass and keep my money. It's rather laughable: I would definitely buy their game on day 1 if it would arrive here, but as things are now, I would have to resort to piracy to avoid Steam. So in my case their measure for less piracy would seduce me to become a pirate.

If they at least would finally release the Linux port of Banner Saga 1 DRM-free here, I as a linuxing gogger wouldn't completely feel shat upon by them at this point.

I wouldn't care about all this if I wouldn't like the first game so much.
How can such artists behave so idiotic in some regards?
If they want to avoid piracy, they shouldn't make the DRM-free version pirate exclusive!

I wish I could give you a lot more than a +1 for the above and this blog posting.

I've written them a long and honest email to tell them about my deep disappointment. They answered very fast and in a kind way, but their course is rigid - no drm-free version planned. They say they didn't even think about a drm-free version - I think they've pondered very much about this question, but decided to go a seemingly more safe way for their game. Sure, on Steam they may have the benefit of the first days after release, before one or another group cracks the game. On the other hand, pirates are not potential customers and it's the really honest buyers who buy a game on day 1, not the pirates. Steam-only is a Pyrrhic and short-lived victory for Stoic imho, as they close out many potential customers.