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A friend of mine at work (a lot older than me) is a big fan of football manager games. I'm guessing at least most of you have heard about LMA 2 that is on its way, some of you probably eager to play it.
With a constantly slipping release date, my friend wrote a letter to Codemasters asking why there are constant delays and that it could have been a great selling release for christmas. Plus a point I made, by the time its released, all the kits and stats could end up out of date.
You'd hope a company would write back and even if it is just short, explain to you what is happening and maybe even take your points on board. Most companies even apologise for the wait out of being polite.
My friend got a reply shortly after and it was far from a polite company like letter he was hoping for. Heres some examples of what he got in that letter.......
In responce to the sliding release date : We'll release it when we want, mind your own business.
In responce to the reason : We're not gonna put out a game with bugs (anyone who owns the first LMA game will probably have run into the crashing it suffers from)
As for the responce to outdated kits and stats, it was just another we'll release it when we see fit, don't tell us when it should be put on the shelves.
My friend was in no way rude in his letter, I even read it myself cause he was so shocked at getting such a nasty reply.
If thats the way this company looks at its paying customers, I'm in no rush to buy their products. I can't see people ever getting out of order replies like that from companies such as Sega, Nintendo and Sony (along with other games making companies).
With a constantly slipping release date, my friend wrote a letter to Codemasters asking why there are constant delays and that it could have been a great selling release for christmas. Plus a point I made, by the time its released, all the kits and stats could end up out of date.
You'd hope a company would write back and even if it is just short, explain to you what is happening and maybe even take your points on board. Most companies even apologise for the wait out of being polite.
My friend got a reply shortly after and it was far from a polite company like letter he was hoping for. Heres some examples of what he got in that letter.......
In responce to the sliding release date : We'll release it when we want, mind your own business.
In responce to the reason : We're not gonna put out a game with bugs (anyone who owns the first LMA game will probably have run into the crashing it suffers from)
As for the responce to outdated kits and stats, it was just another we'll release it when we see fit, don't tell us when it should be put on the shelves.
My friend was in no way rude in his letter, I even read it myself cause he was so shocked at getting such a nasty reply.
If thats the way this company looks at its paying customers, I'm in no rush to buy their products. I can't see people ever getting out of order replies like that from companies such as Sega, Nintendo and Sony (along with other games making companies).
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I loved the Dizzy series of Games, the 1st few were particularly hard, on treasure Island Dizzy only one life.... you died straight away if you went in the water without a snorkel. Hard, but fun... I loved Micromachines too, Codemasters are still around though making great games such as Micromaniacs and Collin macrae rally (sorry if I spelt that wrong).
What has happened to Codemasters?
They were one of my favourite ever game makers on the C64, the "codies". Two people made the first Dizzy, and I never got bored of it. I have played, if not completed, every Dizzy game there is, even Dizzy Dice!
Micromachines was a pretty good racer too. But now...
Bring back the codies!
They were one of my favourite ever game makers on the C64, the "codies". Two people made the first Dizzy, and I never got bored of it. I have played, if not completed, every Dizzy game there is, even Dizzy Dice!
Micromachines was a pretty good racer too. But now...
Bring back the codies!
Ok, now thats done, before people start saying "all credit to them for dealing with the bugs" that is not the issue of my complaint about them. Its the way they replied to someone whos done nothing to deserve that kind of answer.
At the end of the day, it was bang out of order and if all companies were to follow Codemasters direction in dealing with customers then you won't find me approaching too many of them with queries.
At the end of the day, it was bang out of order and if all companies were to follow Codemasters direction in dealing with customers then you won't find me approaching too many of them with queries.
Ok good news and bad news...........
Bad news is the bloke has thrown away the letter.
Good news is that he remembered what was written so i can write what they actually said to him :-)
Heres the main body of the letter..........
In responce to your letter, we will release LMA 2 when we see fit and do not have to answer to the likes of you.
We are not going to release a game that is full of bugs and will hold it back until we feel it is ready.
Do not tell us when our game should be released as it is our decision to make and not yours.
Bad news is the bloke has thrown away the letter.
Good news is that he remembered what was written so i can write what they actually said to him :-)
Heres the main body of the letter..........
In responce to your letter, we will release LMA 2 when we see fit and do not have to answer to the likes of you.
We are not going to release a game that is full of bugs and will hold it back until we feel it is ready.
Do not tell us when our game should be released as it is our decision to make and not yours.
Why not ask HIM to post it? Or scan it and email it to you to post? Anyhow, no worries if he hasn't got it, it was nice to have a bit of controversy posted about Codemasters, who before now have always been held in high esteem by most of the gaming public. (I think.)
Anyhow, looks like their tactic worked, if that's what it was, because it started a discussion on a public forum, they got mentioned, and nowadays any press is good press.
Anyhow, looks like their tactic worked, if that's what it was, because it started a discussion on a public forum, they got mentioned, and nowadays any press is good press.
I'm praying the bloke still has that letter now ! Its like everyones crowded round for this big controversy and its upto me to deliver ;-)
TOCA and TOCA 2 are the games that I must have invested the most man hours into out of all the games I have ever played, even more so than the Final Fantasy series.
I found the TOCA's so addictive you see, trying to go for a perfect sprint/feature race with perfect qualification every time was not easy, especially with Knockhill and Oulton Park, but I found the Renault to be the best car for the results required.
Out of all their games I rate the TOCA series the highest. On the subject of old games, does anyone remember Wiz 'n' Liz? It came out on the Megadrive around 1993.
I found the TOCA's so addictive you see, trying to go for a perfect sprint/feature race with perfect qualification every time was not easy, especially with Knockhill and Oulton Park, but I found the Renault to be the best car for the results required.
Out of all their games I rate the TOCA series the highest. On the subject of old games, does anyone remember Wiz 'n' Liz? It came out on the Megadrive around 1993.
Codemasters were fine until they stopped making Dizzy games! Now they've ruined everything with rally games. (atleast they still make micromachines!)
My lower lip is drooling with unabated expectation.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I'll see if the bloke still has it at work. Its kind of a quote but it was written more formally than i put it out. But that is what they said to him. Couldn't believe it when I read it.
Let you know by tomorrow afternoon anyway :-)
Let you know by tomorrow afternoon anyway :-)
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