Users demand PS3 Black Ops refund
Petition insists it's an "inferior product."
A group of PlayStation 3 users are demanding a refund from Activision for Call of Duty: Black Ops, claiming their version is "inferior" to the Xbox 360 game.
An online petition, now boasting more than 700 signatures, has been set up, claiming the PlayStation 3 version of the Treyarch-developed shooter is marred by "sub-par graphics, buggy software and less features" than the Xbox 360 game.
"Is it fair to charge Playstation 3 owners the same price for an inferior product," the petition asks, "when the previous version (Modern Warfare 2 on PS3) looked visually better than BO looks now on PS3?"
A Eurogamer reader and one of the petitioners got in touch with us, complaining, "The Playstation version has been riddled with problems since day one.
"However, it became much worse after the developer, Treyarch, released their 1.3 update in the days after release. Players are now struggling to complete a single full match in their online multiplayer. They receive hosting errors, transmission errors, failed host migrations and interrupted connections, which boot the players back to the lobby.
"The game also freezes and it even locks the entire PS3 system at random intervals, requiring a hard reset, which is not healthy for the system."
Whether a refund is warranted is up for debate, but Digital Foundry's recent analysis certainly backs up the complaints, insisting the Xbox 360 version is "clearly the pick of the two HD console releases."
We've been in touch with Activision for comment and will update if it responds.