Prepared is no more - New Multi-Boxing maximum is 24 characters

[MiRai]

Do you guys really think that Blizzard is going to track down every single person who has more than three BNet accounts and then personally ask them to choose which ones they want to keep? Or... Do you think that Blizzard is just going to choose for them? How do either of these scenarios make any sense at all?

If anything, Blizzard will sit dormant until an individual is reported and then they'll be looked into. The same goes for account sharing... I'm sure a handful of multiboxers use accounts with names that don't match their main, but Blizzard isn't out actively looking for these people; it's only after you're reported is something like this found out. Blizzard leaves most in-game policing to the people that play their game... Have you ever been to Goldshire on Moon Guard (US)?

And IP bans? Is this the 80s and we're all using dial-up? In this day and age with how limited IPs have become, how could Blizzard possibly know which IP is attached to who? What if there's a single building attached to a single router with one IP? You're telling me that everyone who plays WoW in that building is going to get banned because it looks like more than three BNet accounts are active? You could say, "No, they'll look at the names and see that's not true." I think you guys overestimate how much manpower Blizzard has or is willing to put into searching for people with more than three BNet accounts. Did Blizzard just hire a few thousand people and create a new team to crackdown on people with too many BNet accounts?

What's funny, is that this clause has supposedly been part of the D3 ToS for over three months now since someone brought it up on the ISBoxer forum, but no one knows why it's there. It hasn't been enforced on a single D3 multiboxer who runs more than three accounts, so what would be different in World of Warcraft?

Even if Blizzard took all the available support team manpower they had and began searching their database of millions upon millions of both active and inactive accounts, and could somehow enforce this the day it went active... How many multiboxers would be truly affected? Less than 1%? Even if enforceable, is only being allowed to play 24 accounts that limiting? At what point does one cross the line for "too many accounts"?

I actually fear the day that World of Warcraft receives a more convenient F2P option that allows players to not be capped at level 20, because I know there will be so many people that will roll a ton of characters because "fuck Blizzard" or some other ridiculous reason. I fear that because of that, Blizzard may revisit their policy on multiboxing and move to abolish it once and for all. I can only hope that doesn't happen or that they'll at least still allow subscribed accounts to multibox.

So how does one request a refund from Blizztard if you've already got 4 x Diablo3?

You don't. Why would you be entitled to a refund for a game you paid for months and months ago because something is going to change next month? Blizzard has the right to terminate your account for any reason they want, even if no reason is ever given -- This is part of the terms you agree to when playing their game; in fact, I believe this part of every game's EULA/TOS agreement.

7. ACCOUNT SUSPENSION/CANCELLATION.
BLIZZARD MAY SUSPEND, TERMINATE, MODIFY, OR DELETE ACCOUNTS AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.

Source (Blizzard)

8. ACCOUNT SUSPENSION/DELETION
TRION MAY SUSPEND, MODIFY, TERMINATE OR DELETE ANY ACCOUNT AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON OR FOR NO REASON, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.

Source (Trion Worlds)

I'm not going to go through every EULA/TOS, but it's pretty much worded the same way in each of them, regardless of which game you're playing.

[zenga]

Blizzard has the right to terminate your account for any reason they want, even if no reason is ever given -- This is part of the terms you agree to when playing their game; in fact, I believe this part of every game's EULA/TOS agreement.

It's not because they write that in their ToS and you agree that it will hold in court. If they write in their ToS that from now on I have to smash with a hammer on my nuts or that I have to molest my dog prior to logging in, and I agree with that, ... Don't ask me how I came up with those examples, but you get my point. Every day there are lawsuits going on about the small letters in insurance/rental contracts/etc ... and customers win as much as companies win.

If blizzard was to close down my account for no reason whatsoever (say because an employee finds it fun to do so), and if I was to go through all the trouble, pretty sure they will always lose the lawsuit (based on my domestic laws, laws they have to comply with if they sell their products overhere). I recall a lawsuit in holland years ago. Back then it was legal to download content for personal use (might have changed meanwhile). There was a website (service) that made you agree to not download any of their content (forgot the details), and that company lost all their claims in court, simply because the law overruled their ToS.

You make it sound like Blizzard can sell me a game, and close down my account a minute after my payment just because they can.

[Velassra]

It's not because they write that in their ToS and you agree that it will hold in court. If they write in their ToS that from now on I have to smash with a hammer on my nuts or that I have to molest my dog prior to logging in, and I agree with that, ... Don't ask me how I came up with those examples, but you get my point. Every day there are lawsuits going on about the small letters in insurance/rental contracts/etc ... and customers win as much as companies win.

If blizzard was to close down my account for no reason whatsoever (say because an employee finds it fun to do so), and if I was to go through all the trouble, pretty sure they will always lose the lawsuit (based on my domestic laws, laws they have to comply with if they sell their products overhere). I recall a lawsuit in holland years ago. Back then it was legal to download content for personal use (might have changed meanwhile). There was a website (service) that made you agree to not download any of their content (forgot the details), and that company lost all their claims in court, simply because the law overruled their ToS.

You make it sound like Blizzard can sell me a game, and close down my account a minute after my payment just because they can.

Good luck suing a multi-million dollar company over a $15 game in the U.S.

[zenga]

I don't think it is very relevant if a lawyer would or would not be interested in this discussion, nor if you go up against a multi billion dollar for $15. Besides when fighting multi-billion dollar companies in court, individuals tend to unite quite often (at least in the EU) with people in a similar situation and/or with customer/consumer organisations. There are quite a good amount of examples where someome with enough time/money/balls goes after a big guy just for the sake of the principle.

Discussing if something is legal/illegal can't be based on whether a lawyer would accept the case or not, nor on the size of the deal cq the size/worth of the parties involved.

They never sold you a game. They sold you a license to use their game.

Overhere (EU) there was a court ruling last year that gives you the right to resell downloaded games (i.e. games you have bought a license for but that you not physically own). Either way, if they sell you a license as you say 'to use their game', and would e.g. terminate your account 1 second after it became active (which according to earlier comments they can do based on the ToS) there is simply no possibility that they will get away with that in any court. It conflicts with any basic principle of what a commercial transaction is. Regardless if they actually do it and/or whatever they write in their ToS.

[Gurblash]

You make it sound like Blizzard can sell me a game, and close down my account a minute after my payment just because they can.

That's exactly what they 'can' do.

[JohnGabriel]

They never sold you a game. They sold you a license to use their game.

[daanji]

it's only after you're reported is something like this found out.

I think there are enough Prepared haters that once this goes live the first thing they'll do is report is 1000x to be in Violation of the ToS. Doubt they will do anything though.