Play.com leaves Modern Warfare 2 buyers empty handed
Guaranteed launch day delivery promise broken
Updated Online retailer Play.com has failed to reach out to many Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 buyers it left in the lurch after failing to live up to its guaranteed launch-day delivery promise.
While many retailers, including supermarket Sainsbury’s, slashed the game’s price to around £26 ($43/€29), Play promised “guaranteed delivery on day of release” to pre-order customers provided they cough up £45 ($75/€50) for title’s console edition or £35 for the PC version. The game qualifies for free delivery.
However, Register Hardware has been contacted by a number of Play customers who still haven’t received their copy of the game – despite that “guaranteed delivery” promise.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 went on sale on Tuesday.
Play failed to tell us when missed deliveries will be made
Play has “failed many customers”, one reader told us. The online retailer “assured games fans that they would receive the most anticipated game of the year on release day so long as they ordered before 8 November 2009”.
Register Hardware contacted Play to ask the company how it plans to rectify the problem and, crucially, when gamers will receive the game.
“Play.com is taking this situation very seriously and is working with their mail carriers to ensure the fastest possible delivery of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to all customers,” we were told.
That's all Play would say. It did not to apologise to customers who did not receive their game on launch day.
Play’s delivery small-print terms and conditions say: “Play take no responsibility for late delivery due to card failures, incorrect address details or failure on the part of the delivery partner.”
And some customers have claimed that Play has offered compensation for copies not delivered on time. However, Play did not confirm this when we contacted the company.
Are you a Play.com customer who still hasn’t received your copy of the game? Let us know your thoughts.
Update
Play has since responded to Register Hardware with the following statement:
"We would like to apologise to any of our customers who have experienced delays in receiving CoD:MW2. This title has been the largest single release in the history of gaming with over 1m units selling on the first day. With such huge number, a very small proportion of customers who pre-ordered the game have been affected and we are doing our utmost best to rectify the situation and quickly as possible." ®
COMMENTS
still no game......
Ordered 3rd Sept 09, still not here 18th November !
Didn't even dispatch the game until after 4pm on the day of release and that fact was confirmed both via email and via a customer rep on the phone, so quite how it was going to reach me by release day I have no idea. And yet PLAY are still blaming (and I email them everyday, just to make myself feel better) the courier service? They haven't got back to me regarding how they expected it to arrive GUARANTEED on day of realease if they didn't dispatch it until the day of release, but I expect that's an excuse they are finding hard to conjure......
Fortunately picked a copy up at Morrisions for £26, so if PLAY's ever does arrive it'll back in the post the same day (however I bet mine gets back quicker than their's gets to me, if it ever does.........)
Misunderstanding...
"Well, I'm guessing that that blinkered old idiot will live longer than you do, you tw@t. Games are great (I have been playing since Space Invaders was new in the arcades)., but need to be tempered with other activities. I can honestly say, that no matter how good the games are, even now, I have had much more fun doing other activities. The trouble with the current generation of hardcore gamers, is that because they NEVER try anything else, they don't realise this until its too late.
Go on, try something REAL. Like a real guitar, or a real race car, or a real gun (not against other people though!). All of which are much more fun in real life."
Now this is a person who I can respect. I was pretty annoyed when I wrote the first post so it didn't come across to well... First of all you don't knock games as a some medium for teens and actually play them yourselves but crucially all the things you list to do are actually fun to do.
The other person didn't seem to understand the appeal of games and listed a frankly lame list of alternatives apart from the all encompassing "go out".
Hope this clears things up I don't want to be seen as some hardcore elitist gamer or the polar opposite of that person in a bad way because I'm not.
Still empty handed
It is the 17th and, despite an email from Play.com saying that the game was dispatched, I am still waiting anxiously. They had also sent me a previous email saying they'd dispatch by courier to ensure delivery on release date. I must admit that I live in Malta but, even if the courier were walking backwards, he'd have made over in ten days.
Cheap in Ireland
Got it from Smyths in Ireland on day of release for 40 euro, which has now been bumped up to 54 euro.
Is this a new tactic, launch day have it about 25% cheaper and then bump it up, as its the first time I've seen it.
I will of course be taking advantage of this tactic next weekend for Assassassassassassassassins Creed :)
Paris (her price is always low)
21 days!
Have been using Play for quite a while now. Generally they're OK price-wise (though Amazon are usually 1p cheaper, though super saver delivery takes a bit longer). One thing that does annoy me is that when an item is 'lost' you have to wait 21 days from the original dispatch date before they'll do anything about it (could have sworn it was 14 days before). So recently due to the posties playing silly buggers I had to wait a month to get hold of a 4GB Memory Stick. Still at least the pre-order Windows 7 turned up more-or-less on time (strikes permitting).
