Gem store problems? (Belgian players not able to buy/redeem gems?)

[purplecoyote.6018]

@"Sidunox.2401" said:I have made a reddit post for the possible chance of reaching more Belgian players, maybe others know something we don't. xOMaybe it attracts the attention of some higher ups, like an Anet dev. :/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/9i0zn2/gem_store_problem_in_belgium/?

Oh that's great, I don't have a reddit account so I couldn't make a thread myself, so I REALLY appreciate you making one. I'll put a link to it in my original post. Thanks again, let's hope we get some answers soon.

[FilipVH.3519]

I can't really add anything to the discussion, but also as a Belgian, I can, in fact, confirm that this is the same for me.

[purplecoyote.6018]

@FilipVH.3519 said:I can't really add anything to the discussion, but also as a Belgian, I can, in fact, confirm that this is the same for me.

Thanks for letting us know, the more voices we can add to this problem, the better

[hoewhoew.4619]

I mentioned this on Reddit, not sure if it's mentioned here yet as well but;

Seems we (Belgium) have also been removed from the list of countries on the actual website, meaning we're unable to buy any expansions through ArenaNet directly.

[purplecoyote.6018]

@hoewhoew.4619 said:I mentioned this on Reddit, not sure if it's mentioned here yet as well but;

Seems we (Belgium) have also been removed from the list of countries on the actual website, meaning we're unable to buy any expansions through ArenaNet directly.

Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on the Reddit thread and I saw your post, thanks a lot for checking that and mentioning it.That's.......so.....ridiculous it almost can't be anything else than a mistake on their part. But I just wish they'd TELL us something.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

DigitalRiver is the company that handles the actual purchase of the game and gems; they are the official retailer. Has anyone checked with their website to see if this affects just GW2 or if other products they handle are affected?

~~There are all sorts of reasons that one country might be affected suddenly, but not others, especially without any statement from ANet. ~~

~~Also keep in mind that it's a weekend and most of ANet's staff aren't working. ~~

With the official word below, I withdraw my previous remarks. I think it's a shame that ANet made the change without having a public comment ready. There's nothing wrong with disabling something to eliminate the risk of breaking the law, while they retrofit a technical solution. But surely, they could have foreseen that people would be surprised.

[Fantasmo.9514]

Came back , wanted to try PoF , cant buy it … GG ( Belgium FTL)ANyone has another option?( tried mediamarkt, game mania , amazone, bol.com)

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

Great, I can't buy gems either I am from Belgium I just asked a buddy of mine he can't gems either since Thursday he says. I am gone take a look if one of our laws changed.

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

Well I can't find any new laws as of yet only gpdr one and I am pretty its for the whole eu and anet is order with that one.

[hoewhoew.4619]

@"Fantasmo.9514" said:Came back , wanted to try PoF , cant buy it … GG ( Belgium FTL)ANyone has another option?( tried mediamarkt, game mania , amazone, bol.com)

You could try DLGamer, they're an official retailer.

[hotnedbeef.9627]

Yep same here, hope it will get fixed soon.But i think that other eu country's will follow soon.So a-net has to do something cause atm they are missing out on €€€

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

SO, I went and tried buy lootboxes from overwatch and I couldn't. in conclusion it has to do with one of our stupid laws hopefully it will also pass eu and then they have to do shit about it. I am gone check skritt gamble later see if that that's disabled.

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

well nope skritt igamble is fine is fine

[Sidunox.2401]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:DigitalRiver is the company that handles the actual purchase of the game and gems; they are the official retailer. Has anyone checked with their website to see if this affects just GW2 or if other products they handle are affected?

There are all sorts of reasons that one country might be affected suddenly, but not others, especially without any statement from ANet.

Also keep in mind that it's a weekend and most of ANet's staff aren't working.

Yes, I have checked their site, but haven't noticed anything related to the issue. I guess I'll have to take a closer look.

[purplecoyote.6018]

@samanosuke asakura.6240 said:SO, I went and tried buy lootboxes from overwatch and I couldn't. in conclusion it has to do with one of our stupid laws hopefully it will also pass eu and then they have to do kitten about it. I am gone check skritt gamble later see if that that's disabled.

Yeah the Overwatch and Heroes of The Storm lootboxes have been disabled for quite a while now, a couple of weeks I think.But at least Blizz had the decency to release a statement about it.Just cutting off all gem sales, AND the ability to buy the game, in complete silence is just the strangest thing.Oh and by the way, I checked and in Heroes of The Storm you can still buy THEIR in-game currency, so there's that.

[ReaverKane.7598]

On one hand i hope it's just a coincidence, on the other i kinda hope it isn't.When they released the mount adoption licence, people complained, and a lot of us warned about the perils of the loot box mindset, especially after Battlefront put loot-boxes under the spotlight for politicians.If this is because of loot boxes, soon it won't be just Belgium. And if they keep handling things in the quiet like this, well, its not a bright future for Arena Net.

On topic: Sorry for the people unable to enjoy the game to the fullest because your country decided to protect you against predatory practices of several game developers, and Arena Net got rolled in with the problem even though their loot boxes are kinda mild, and not as exploitative as the ones that caused the issue. It sux and it's unfair, and hopefully it gets resolved sooner rather than later.

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

@purplecoyote.6018 said:

@samanosuke asakura.6240 said:SO, I went and tried buy lootboxes from overwatch and I couldn't. in conclusion it has to do with one of our stupid laws hopefully it will also pass eu and then they have to do kitten about it. I am gone check skritt gamble later see if that that's disabled.

Yeah the Overwatch and Heroes of The Storm lootboxes have been disabled for quite a while now, a couple of weeks I think.But at least Blizz had the decency to release a statement about it.Just cutting off all gem sales, AND the ability to buy the game, in complete silence is just the strangest thing.Oh and by the way, I checked and in Heroes of The Storm you can still buy THEIR in-game currency, so there's that.

yep, kept reading afterwards. its weird it might not be that at all and it might be just big coincidence. lets hope it is. in the meanwhile a vpn helped me buy those gems. and redeem a code gems I had.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Have you tried any other games/services that use Digital River? That might shed some light on the issue.

[purplecoyote.6018]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Have you tried any other games/services that use Digital River? That might shed some light on the issue.

Elder Scrolls Online also uses Digital River and I tried buying crowns (their equivalent of gems), and I can buy them just fine.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Then, it would not be a case of Digital River (the payment provider for ArenaNet) preventing certain countries from purchasing.
Again, your best bet is the contact the Billing CS Team.

Good luck.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Sidunox.2401 said:

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:DigitalRiver is the company that handles the actual purchase of the game and gems; they are the official retailer. Has anyone checked with their website to see if this affects just GW2 or if other products they handle are affected?

There are all sorts of reasons that one country might be affected suddenly, but not others, especially without any statement from ANet.

Also keep in mind that it's a weekend and most of ANet's staff aren't working.

Yes, I have checked their site, but haven't noticed anything related to the issue. I guess I'll have to take a closer look.

I looked and I don't see anything there that would even show that DR publishes anything like that. So I also checked google news feeds, but there was nothing.

Regardless, my point is that there are all sorts of reasons (including tech errors) that could lead to Digital River excluding Belgium. The speculation the Reddit thread is premature, as there's no evidence whatsoever for the idea that this is related to loot boxes. It might turn out to be, but there are easily a dozen other potential things that it could be instead, some much more plausible then expecting Belgium to immediately prosecuting companies. The law simply doesn't work that quickly.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@purplecoyote.6018 said:

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Have you tried any other games/services that use Digital River? That might shed some light on the issue.

Elder Scrolls Online also uses Digital River and I tried buying crowns (their equivalent of gems), and I can buy them just fine.

Thanks for doing that. That's a good test of whether it's something on DR's end or something on ANet's, but it still leaves plenty of possible reasons outside of the Reddit thread's favorite.

[samanosuke asakura.6240]

So did you guys have any news? i am bit impatient.

[Grinsomx.2459]

same problem here, from Belgium, dark redeem button when entering a valid code.It would be weird if this was a lootbox thing since games like Rocket League are still selling their keys here while they should be the first ones targetted by this new rule.

[purplecoyote.6018]

@samanosuke asakura.6240 said:So did you guys have any news? i am bit impatient.

Nothing yet, sorry. I'm still waiting on a reply to my support ticket as well, so.