It's been a bit since SOCOM 3 players started complaining about the need to use a credit card to play clan games. Instead of letting those complains go by the wayside, Zipper defended the police in a blog posting Thursday.
In a SOCOMBLOG entry, they point out that more than 100,000 players log into the game everyday and that they hate cheater and exploiters. To try and keep a lid on the trouble-makers, they say, they decided to require verified accounts for players who want to play ranked games and clan challenges.
The main reason SOCOM 3 verifies accounts through a credit card is to encourage unique accounts and fair play (no cheating or exploits) in ranked games and clan challenges.It is important to note that supplying a credit card is not necessary to play online. However if you choose to use the advanced online features such as participating in clans, leaderboards/rankings, friends lists, clan challenges, etc., a credit card is used to verify the SOCOM 3 online account. The credit card is not charged; it is used for verification purposes only.
With SOCOM 3 account verification, we are providing to players a more secure online environment while still keeping the online play free. This is a very important goal for the SOCOM 3 team and with more than 100,000 verified accounts, it seems to be working.
We've received a lot of very positive feedback from people who have verified their account. They've already noticed that the environment is much friendlier than in past SOCOM games
I'm still not a big fan of this concept, but to be fair I will point out that Xbox Live requires a credit card as well for online play. The difference, in my mind, is that you know that going into the process. I think what angered so many gamers is that they didn't realize when the bought the game that they would need a credit card to use certain features. Maybe that's something that publishers should start slapping on the back of games.
The most important thing to note here is Zipper's willingness to talk about the complaints instead of just ignoring their fan base. Keep up the open dialogue guys.
SOCOM 3 No Cheaters Allowed [SOCOMBLOG]
