Refundees have been written off as entitled scammers manipulating a system to essentially get a free game’s worth of playtime. Perhaps the most controversial response to the situation came from former Sony content director Shahid Ahmad, who claimed in a Tweet that NMS refundees were thieves.
Shahid Kamal Ahmad ✔ @shahidkamal
If you’re getting a refund after playing a game for 50 hours you’re a thief.
3:00 PM - 28 Aug 2016
Ahmad’s Tweet would lead to harassment, racist abuse, and attempted doxxing because apparently some self-identified “gamers” out there are always intent on being the ****ing worst. Those scumbags aside, many agreed with Ahmad’s accusatory stance, and at least as many obviously didn’t.
Personally, I feel I can’t in good faith agree with the idea at all.
You’re not a thief if you can successfully get a refund for any reason. You’re somebody who got a refund. There’s a huge difference between the two, to the point where it shouldn’t even need explaining. One is illegal, one is not. One is taking something without permission, one is not. One is stealing something, one is not stealing anything.
You can side-eye and criticize the refundee all you want, but you can’t call them a thief, because they literally haven’t stolen anything. They purchased a product, they attempted to return said product, and said product was successfully returned. Whether Steam was right to issue a refund for a game with fifty hours logged in or not, that’s what happened. It was all above board.
Ahmad would later apologize for using the word “thief” but his sentiment remains, as does the sentiment of others who believe it scurrilous behavior to seek your cash back after playing for so long.
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Personally? I can’t fathom personally spending 50+ hours playing a game I find interminably boring. That doesn’t mean I find the idea of others doing it inconceivable, though, especially for those without the disposable income to just buy more games if one isn’t to one’s liking. I do find it funny when I see a 0/10 Metacritic user review talking about spending hundreds of hours on a game they hate, but at the same time, I can believe there are those who’d do such a thing.
And if they are given an unexpected opportunity to recoup their money tangibly instead of just through dogged playtime perseverance? I’d expect them to take it.
You can call it thievery, you can call it acting entitled. I call it what it is.
A refund.
Not a perfect analogy though.. Axe's lie is that they never mentioned it only works for 5 mins after a shower. NMS lied about game features that were never part of the release product. Big difference. I'm still loving the game though, lies and all
