Diablo 3 refunds being offered to Korean gamers

If you are fed up with Diablo 3's constant connection issues, particularly Error 37, then you may be entitled to a refund – provided you are under level 40 and live in South Korea.

Gamers scored a victory on Monday as Blizzard announced it would offer a full refund to Korean customers who meet certain requirements. Blizzard, who originally said it wouldn't provide refunds to customers suffering from the persistent problems with the game's online connectivity, is now being forced to by Korea's consumer protections law that guarantees a refund if there is a problem with a product that is not caused by the customer.

Of course everyone knows by now that Diablo 3 suffered massive connection problems at launch in all countries, but particularly in Korea where it looks like Blizzard misjudged the user volume. According to reports, about two-thirds of online traffic in Asia came from Korea. A flurry of user complaints about Diablo 3's servers being overloaded led to South Korea's Fair Trade Commission launching an investigation into the company's Seoul office.

It looks like the end result is a win for consumers as Blizzard posted a message that said Diablo 3 players who are less than Level 40 can apply for a refund from June 25 to July 3. Blizzard will also accept returns from any players less than Level 20 within 14 days of purchase from now on.

Despite the victory, I doubt many refunds will be claimed now that Blizzard seems to have worked out the kinks (at least I hope they have by now). It's been over a month since the release and earlier this month Blizzard set up more servers in Korea to help ease overloading. Blizzard also said it would offer Diablo 3 players a 30 day free trial of Star Craft: Wings of Liberty.

Will we get the same offer in America? It's unlikely; we all know that America is controlled by greedy corporations who piss on the consumers.

[WSJ]