29 réponses à ce sujet

[Cyberpunk]

Hello, I have bought a copy of Mass Effect 2 on Ebay because the seller claimed it was Authentic and Factory Sealed. He also explained to me that since he recieved the item from Ukraine, it was cheaper.

When it arrived, there was no Cerebres Key nor was there a manual. I emailed him on Ebay asking if he had accidently forgotten it and he replied that the Russian version of Mass Effect 2 is stripped down and does not have a manuel or the Cerebres Key.

Here is the link to the sale:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...em=300392628105

The box was indeed sealed, but when opened, looked really suspicious. No manuel, nothing. And the box was even cracked and the sides torn.

This is probably a fraud but I want to make sure before I give him a negative rating. He sent the following message to me when I asked him if he had forgotten the manuel and cd key:

Hello. Have You read a description of an item?
//////
This
is a game for market of Eastern Europe - game is brand new, sealed and
authentic, but it don't have paper manual and dvd-key for online
services. Single player functionality is the same
////

This
is authentic game (look at the hologram at back of dvd with my o****ry
national emblem) but for Russian market we have reduced functionality
and reduced price.


Sorry for this, I thought that it was an authentic Mass Effect 2 copy and since it was Factory Sealed and cheap, I immediately bought it. I was not sure how he could have gotten a copy for so cheap, but assumed that he was able to do so because he was located in the Ukraine <_<...

Any help would be appreciated. My question is: Is this an authentic Mass Effect 2 game? If not I need to take immediate action to resolve this issue. Thank you!


EDIT:

I have installed the game and the Cutscenes are very lower resolution and quality.
I have since bought an actual game, so no worries.

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 22 février 2010 - 04:04 .

[monochrome2]

It looks to me like you got exactly what you paid for a version of ME2 that you can't use any of the online features with. While probably being a fraud copy the guy did tell you as much in the description. If the game doesn't come with a key you can pretty much assume you won't be getting all the features of software that does come with a key.

[Cyberpunk]

I know, I did not read the last line too carefully. My complaint is that he said it was "Authentic" and so I automatically assumed a cd key and a manuel would be included. So he told me that it was an "Authentic" copy and that the seal on the back somehow meant that it was not a fraud. I am not sure I got exactly what I paid for.

So can I be sure this is a fraud?

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 22 février 2010 - 04:14 .

[monochrome2]

No, you can't be sure it is a fraud because it came from the Ukraine. If it came from the US then yes it would be considered a fraud, however the Ukraine,Russia,China etc have different laws when it comes to intellectual property so what can be considered a "legal" or "authentic" copy in those countries would be strait up piracy in the US. As an ebay buyer and seller myself I have been burned by similar issues but the key is to read the description in full, if you choose not to then do not blame the seller or give them negative feedback because you didn't have time to read the description of what you were buying. Just think of it as a $15 learning experience.

[Recnamoken]

No fraud, he warned you in the description. You got what he advertised. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Cyberpunk]

He advertised an authentic copy that is sealed. That is not what I recieved. I do believe it is a fraud. It would not be a fraud if he warned me that I would be recieving a copy version rather than a real version.

And I am not sure what are the copyright laws in the Ukraine. But I am pretty sure that selling a fake game as a real game is not allowed. In China, I have seen people selling fake games as fake games, not sure if that is allowed but at least they say its fake first.

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 22 février 2010 - 05:00 .

[Frink815]

Why don't you just spend the $50 and get a real version from Best Buy or somewhere else? It is your fault for thinking that a game coming from another country is the same as a game coming from the U.S.

[Kalec Stromhir]

A lot of games no longer come with manuls, most now come in digital. The Cerberus is only in Collectors and Digital Deluxe. You only bought the regular edition. Packaging in europe vs US is very different, and what the disc look like too. No fraud was done, you got what you paid for.

[cqdemal]

Kalec Stromhir wrote...

A lot of games no longer come with manuls, most now come in digital. The Cerberus is only in Collectors and Digital Deluxe. You only bought the regular edition. Packaging in europe vs US is very different, and what the disc look like too. No fraud was done, you got what you paid for.

The Cerberus code comes with ALL new copies of the game.

[monochrome2]

Kalec Stromhir wrote...

A lot of games no longer come with manuls, most now come in digital. The Cerberus is only in Collectors and Digital Deluxe. You only bought the regular edition. Packaging in europe vs US is very different, and what the disc look like too. No fraud was done, you got what you paid for.

Digital copies do not come with manuals obviously but retail hard copies do if they have a CD Key printed on them.  ME1 had the loose leaf piece of paper with the CD key, ME2 has the key on the manual which is much better as it is harder to loose that way.

[Kalec Stromhir]

OK guess you dont understand. I have bought games that had no manual in the box. The manual was on the disc. As for this person problem, he bought a dumb down version made for Eastern Europe, where most games with online capabilities has been disbaled.

[iniudan]

From the description of the item on Ebay, I also say he got what he bought, to know if a fraud would need someone from Bioware or EA (or whoever is the publisher in Ukraine) to confirm or deny thing about the said authenticity hologram.

[Cyberpunk]

Kalec Stromhir wrote...

OK guess you dont understand. I have bought games that had no manual in the box. The manual was on the disc. As for this person problem, he bought a dumb down version made for Eastern Europe, where most games with online capabilities has been disbaled.

There was no manual on the disk. Can you verify your claim that there are Authentic versions of Mass Effect 2 released in Eastern Europe that comes with no key or manual? I really want to know at this point.

And when someone says they have an authentic version, I assume it is an authentic version.

I called EA yesterday and they said that they believe it to be a fraud. So that is what I am going on.

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 23 février 2010 - 07:43 .

[Ex Tenebrae Lux]

kooaznboi1088 wrote...
There was no manual on the disk. Can you verify your claim that there are Authentic versions of Mass Effect 2 released in Eastern Europe that comes with no key or manual? I really want to know at this point.

And when someone says they have an authentic version, I assume it is an authentic version.

I called EA yesterday and they said that they believe it to be a fraud. So that is what I am going on.

Well, I can't say for sure that THIS version of ME2 is authentic, but I know that stripped down versions of computer games (no manual / online features etc.) are sold in russia and yes, they are genuine and authentic.
It's just the same with DVDs over there... just the movie, no extras on disk, no booklet etc. but earlier than the regular DVD release and cheaper.
This is actually the russian idea of fighting illegal copies. Just sell them cheaper without extras...

Question is... are these versions "legal" in the US? In russia (or ukraine) they are, so you can't blame the seller.

Oh, something I forgot to write...
whem someone says that he "believes" something to be a fraud, it doesn't have to be one.

Modifié par Ex Tenebrae Lux, 23 février 2010 - 08:18 .

[Kalec Stromhir]

EA knows nothing... I wont take thier word. What you bought is what you get. If you want access to Cerberus and any online feature, then your gonna have to buy a retail or digital download copy.

So don't be a jerk and give that seller a negative feedback, he sold you what he said he did, a legit retail copy of ME2, made for Eastern Europe.

[sTahon]

If the game came without a cd key how did you install it?

[Cyberpunk]

Kalec Stromhir wrote...

EA knows nothing... I wont take thier word. What you bought is what you get. If you want access to Cerberus and any online feature, then your gonna have to buy a retail or digital download copy.
So don't be a jerk and give that seller a negative feedback, he sold you what he said he did, a legit retail copy of ME2, made for Eastern Europe.

Okay, thanks for telling me nothing. You say that EA knows nothing even though they are the publisher of the game. Then you tell me to go buy the retail version. Then you say that I have already bought the retail version. You are either very bad at communication or just being annoying on purpose.

[Cyberpunk]

sTahon wrote...

If the game came without a cd key how did you install it?

Interesting, the dvd I got uses a Keygen.exe to install the game.
My antivirus picked it up as a threat too.

This is one of my major concerns about the disk I got.

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 23 février 2010 - 09:05 .

[Cyberpunk]

Ex Tenebrae Lux wrote...

kooaznboi1088 wrote...
There was no manual on the disk. Can you verify your claim that there are Authentic versions of Mass Effect 2 released in Eastern Europe that comes with no key or manual? I really want to know at this point.

And when someone says they have an authentic version, I assume it is an authentic version.

I called EA yesterday and they said that they believe it to be a fraud. So that is what I am going on.

Well, I can't say for sure that THIS version of ME2 is authentic, but I know that stripped down versions of computer games (no manual / online features etc.) are sold in russia and yes, they are genuine and authentic.
It's just the same with DVDs over there... just the movie, no extras on disk, no booklet etc. but earlier than the regular DVD release and cheaper.
This is actually the russian idea of fighting illegal copies. Just sell them cheaper without extras...

Question is... are these versions "legal" in the US? In russia (or ukraine) they are, so you can't blame the seller.

Oh, something I forgot to write...
whem someone says that he "believes" something to be a fraud, it doesn't have to be one.

If what you say is true, than I may have recieved an authentic version. But how come my Antivirus picked up a Keygen.exe on the installation disk. Is there a website that can confirm that there are stripped down versions of Mass Effect 2 for sale?

EDIT:

The disk is only a single layered DVD with 4 GB while I know the game is 2 DVDs worth of data. The game's cutscene quality is compressed too. Does this sound normal to you?

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 23 février 2010 - 09:07 .

[sTahon]

kooaznboi1088 wrote...

sTahon wrote...

If the game came without a cd key how did you install it?

Interesting, the dvd I got uses a Keygen.exe to install the game.
My antivirus picked it up as a threat too.

This is one of my major concerns about the game.

LOL, do you know what a keygen is!? It is a hack used to generate workable cd-keys for retail games. Since the key that is randomly generated will most likely belong to someone else by now, you can only use it to install the game, but not to connect to the internet and use cerberus.

That dude sold you a burnt copy of the game with a hack to generate a cd-key, that is fraud if he said it was authentic.

[Cyberpunk]

Yeah, I am really suspicious and if the seller does not reply to my message with an explanation, I want to open up a claim against him and see if I can return the game for a refund.

1. Keygen.exe
2. 1 Single layered disk with 4GB of data
3. No manual or key
4. EA has said that they know of no Mass Effect 2 game that does not have a Manual.
5. I know Ukraine has a lot of fake holographic seals.

So yeah, awaiting answer. I know I should have read the description. But I stopped when he said Authentic and Sealed. People on this forum have said that it is normal for Russian games to have a stripped down version with No manual or cd key... if so can I get at least 1 link that has some reference to this?

BTW: I really hope I can get someone from Bioware to comment on this...

Modifié par kooaznboi1088, 23 février 2010 - 09:17 .

[Ex Tenebrae Lux]

kooaznboi1088 wrote...

If what you say is true, than I may have recieved an authentic version. But how come my Antivirus picked up a Keygen.exe on the installation disk. Is there a website that can confirm that there are stripped down versions of Mass Effect 2 for sale?

EDIT:

The disk is only a single layered DVD with 4 GB while I know the game is 2 DVDs worth of data. The game's cutscene quality is compressed too. Does this sound normal to you?

Hmm... you didn't mention the keygen before...

Well, as we are talking about russia, everything could be "normal", so the cutscene quality reduction could be authentic... which "******" knows how to compress ingame video and would do it?
The  keygen is indeed a problem... never heard of something like this before.

OK, my advice would be: call EAs Legal Department. They should know. I would also write to ebay and tell them that the games sold by this seller may be a violation of copyright laws.

EDIT:
I checked for a reference to stripped down software, but as I don't speak russian... nothing to be found. I got my info a while ago from a co-worker who was born in russia, but I haven' t seen him for a while.

Only thing I found is a link to a russian games store.

http://www.gamestop....ml?u=&good=2580

with a picture of the box as it should look.

Problem is, the price of the ebay game is too low. If you order the game in russia, you pay 849 R which are approx. US$ 28,27.

Modifié par Ex Tenebrae Lux, 23 février 2010 - 09:52 .

[iceofwolf]

kooaznboi1088 wrote...

sTahon wrote...

If the game came without a cd key how did you install it?

Interesting, the dvd I got uses a Keygen.exe to install the game.
My antivirus picked it up as a threat too.

This is one of my major concerns about the disk I got.

Although this article is in need of some (quite a bit) clean up, it should do a fair job of answering your question.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keygen

In short, keygens are programs which create a valid key to unlock the program so that you can play it - without using the key that came with the program.  This allows many (infinite) copies of a game to be installed from a single purchase - or download.

I think people are getting mixed up by what you're asking.  Was the purchase from ebay authentic?  Yeah, looks like.  So what?  Was the game authentic?  I guess that depends on how anyone defines "authentic".  Me?  In this case, I'd define it by where the money goes.  The guy who sold this has almost certainly (99.9% positive) bought or downloaded a copy of Mass Effect 2 (probably downloaded) and then burned it onto a DVD with the keygen.exe file.  I can assure you with the same 99.9% confidence that there isn't a single version of this game officially produced for any market at all that comes with a program that hacks the game so your computer recognizes it as valid.  And that's exactly what the keygen does.

It's implied, but not explicitly stated - this game he sold is on one disc?  Mass Effect for PC is still on two DVD discs and there's not a single example that I can think of where a game company deliberately reduced the quality of their game in order to fit it on a single disc.

I certainly would call the game he sold you fraudulent.  It may be legal to download a game and then hack it to work and sell it in his country.  But Bioware hasn't earned a single penny from any number of copies this guy has sold.  If nothing else, I'd insist on a full refund.  I don't know how ebay is with things that would be illegal in some countries, but I know when I received a pirated copy of a DVD from a third-party seller through Amazon, they took care of that REAL quick.

[Cyberpunk]

Thanks guys.



And the Box I recieved from the seller does not match the box that was advertised on http://www.gamestop....l?u=&good=2580.



So I can safely say that I am going to press a claim against the seller...

[futs22]

It's definitely a fake copy. Keygen, no manual, no CD key, No Cerberus Key. All red flags right there.