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Why can't STO Prize giveaways be truly international?
ajm1067
Member Posts: 205 Arc User
So, was reading about the Star Trek Online Special Edition ORIGIN PC Desktop Giveaway, and as usual, I checked the T&C, which, as usual, confirmed that as I do not reside in North America, I was not eligible to enter.
Don't you think it is ironic that an Internet game, with an international player base, which is itself based on a ground-breaking TV show that showed us a world where it didn't matter what part of it you were from, and despite running longer than the original TV series, cannot manage to offer a prize, like the above, outside of the US/Canada?
Don't you think it is ironic that an Internet game, with an international player base, which is itself based on a ground-breaking TV show that showed us a world where it didn't matter what part of it you were from, and despite running longer than the original TV series, cannot manage to offer a prize, like the above, outside of the US/Canada?
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I still entered and would be amused if I won
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After a quick search this will give you a idea why it is only domestic.
If you think that sweepstakes laws can be confusing and expensive to adhere to in the US, wait till you check out these unique laws in other countries.
Canada: When running a promotion in Quebec all materials must be available in English AND French. This includes rules, promotional ads, posters, entry forms, web sites, etc. And when you run a sweeps all winners must pass a basic skill test (usually a math problem) to claim their prize. See our previous blog post for more information on this.
Mexico: In Mexico, any prize exceeding approximately US$5,000 has to be delivered in the presence of the Mexican authorities.
Brazil: In Brazil, you can’t award cash as a prize. UPDATE AUGUST 2015: Brazil recently revised their position on contests. Contests/promotions are now prohibited unless permission is obtained from the Ministry of Finance in Brazil and there is not a standard practice for submitting promotions for potential approval at this time. Please contact us if you have an interest in running a promotion in Brazil.
France: In France, ANY participants in your promotion can claim the cost of Internet or postage that they paid to enter your promotion. Which means if you have thousands of mail-in entries and they all want to be reimbursed for postage, you may compromise your budget.
Sweden: In Sweden, all games of chance (sweepstakes and instant wins) are banned. Games of skill (contests) are allowed, though!
Ireland: In Ireland, all games of chance (sweepstakes and instant wins) requiring purchase are banned unless a sponsor is a non-profit charity.
Italy: In Italy, you must have your promotion registered, bonded, and have your rules reviewed by Italian counsel – plus you must involve a public official in winner selection. As if that were not cost prohibitive enough, you must also collect all of your sweepstakes data in Italy.
Netherlands: According to Dutch law, an individual may not receive more than 2,500 Euros in total prizes. And the total amount of prizes for an entire promotion prize pool cannot exceed 100,000 Euros.
Russia: Maintaining publicity rights in perpetuity is not possible in Russia. This means that the rights to use any user generated content (photos, essays, videos, etc.) you collect in conjunction with a promotion will need to be negotiated if you plan on using the content.
Taiwan: In Taiwan, your grand prize can’t be more that 120 times the basic monthly wages set by the Council of Labor Affairs under the Executive Yuan (Cabinet). As of July 1, 2014 this amount is set at NT$19,273 (approximately US$640) per month, so don’t let your grand prize go over NT$2,312,760 (approximately US$76,800).
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How exactly do you expect a giveaway to be "truly international?"
Some possible reasons for this:
* The person running the contest is ignoring the laws. Joe Streamguy can get away with this, and maybe even a few small companies without an international presence. Real companies with an international presence can't do this safely.
* It's a low-value prize so ignoring the laws "seemed safe" -- here it's a $3,000+ computer
* It's a digital in-game item like the holographic boffs with no "real-world" cash value
* It's being done by a much larger company than Cryptic, and they've spent the thousands of dollars to do the legal review for multiple countries
But in general, most merchandise giveaways I've seen from real companies do have limitations on the countries allowed for entries, and in most cases it's US-only for a US company.
Germany's a state of the US isn't it? Between New Hampshire and Minnesota on the north coast.
You're eligible.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
JJ Trek The Kelvin Timeline is just Trek and it's fully canon... get over it. But I still prefer TAR.
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'...The Federation. Starfleet. We're not a military agency.' Scotty: Beyond
'I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm an engineer.' Miles O'Brien: Empok Nor
'...Starfleet could use you... It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada...' Admiral Pike: Star Trek
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Well Romulus is located in New York state. check google maps you will find it.
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@ren_larreck
I've often seen my argument 'countered' with something silly like "Oh, just because you can't have it, nobody should have it?!" Why, if you put it like that, it sure sounds petty; but why not turn it around, and ask yourself, 'Why would a company deliberately give the middle finger to everyone who is not American?' And no, not 'because of law,' but simply because of choice. They could be giving away ultra rare 23rd century TOS ships, gold-plated Ferengi Marauders, and what not. Something all their customers can participate in. Instead, they're choosing the 'America First' sweepstakes model. And that remains odd.
I don't even know what would be required to participate; and even if I could, I likely wouldn't even enter; and even if I entered, chances of me winning would be infinitesimal. Still, it does irritate me that they keep choosing this 'in-your-face' giveaway model.
^^ That would actually be a perfect solution!
Why?! Zen is just an ingame currency. Yes, it can be bought with RL cash; but also be converted from Dilithium.
We've had sweepstakes for years and while I accept that the sweepstake laws vary from country to country. The people running them have had years to come up with a viable solution and haven't. They seem to be sticking to the old USA only formula and not bothering to look at viable international solutions.
Yes, I know it's a big task to figure out and manage something that would be playable by everyone, but I come back to the point. They've had years to figure this out. Why haven't they?
SNIP
Quick search, huh? Your search may have been quick, but collating all that sure wasn't was it...
I think darakoss missed the point, which someone else however hit right on the head.
If you can't make an offer like this available to the ENTIRE, INTERNATIONAL player base, don't offer it. Offer something you can.
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Actually, he didn't. He just gave a long list of laws in different countries on what they do and don't allow as part of a competition - which is largely based on real money and paid entry.
Use your imagination and offer the entire player base some competition rewards, or offer nothing. Nothing would at least mean equality.
I note the use of the word "probably". This means your entire response is based on a presumption without any evidence to support it.
So actually...it is.
Instead of assuming the reason, why not question why they don't do this anymore, to the clear detriment of the international player base?
Meh, some people having nice things that others don't is a pretty intrinsic to the practical realities of human existence. You won't always get the nice things, but circumstances tend to average and you may find yourself with a bit of shiny denied to others who don't share your geographic region. I can't promise that'll be through Cryptic (though if you're in the EU you should keep tabs on Nevandon), but I don't think it's a compelling argument at all to suggest that Cryptic can't do certain things for certain regions simply on the basis that the world hasn't adopted a unified legal framework, sufficient to make all contests and giveaways universally permissible. Making special accommodations for that is a big ask of a small studio.
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My character Tsin'xing