Welcome to the publisher abusing the "you can't return that because you might have pirated it" rule!

Wow, shovelware that manages to twist the knife just a little bit more than usual by giving you a completely different crappy game than the crappy game you thought you were getting.
Are we sure it's not "SOS Games"? That seems more appropriate.

Guess you could call this the old bait and switch. I bet they did that on porpoise.

HAHAHA LOL. Thank you! I needed a good laugh!

@Bluth_Cornballer: Yeah, something is definitely fishy. Jess paid too many clams to be treated like chum.

Has Jess contacted the retailer that she bought the game from? If all else fails, chargeback.

@Bluth_Cornballer: Of course, if Jess just turned around and sold the game to someone else, she'd be a flipper.

@SteveBMD: She should have saved her money and bought a Shamu-Wow.

This is like my horrible disappointment with the Bunnyz game. I knew it would be a training game but menu had these incredibly cute bunnies and same with the picking out what bunny you wanted.

When you get in game its this hideous 3D bunny and you could play with it... or teach it to talk to you.

It sounds like she took all of the right steps in trying to resolve the issue, and that she can't do anything else. I hope she paid with a credit card. If so, her best course of action is simply to file a chargeback. When she does, she should simply state to the credit card issuer that the product she purchased was sold under false pretenses (false advertising, bait and switch, and bad faith with both the store and the manufacturer), and that she did not receive te product that she paid for. While the game title is technically correct, the product description and the actual product offering differ in very significant ways.

This sucks for the store, because it's not their fault. It's the manufacturer's fault. But if they won't help and the manufacturer is non-responsive, a chargeback is her only recourse. It'll get the store's attention, and in turn, force the store to deal with the manufacturer to get their money, rather than the customer.

When doing this, it's important to state that the store offered a product who's description was significantly different from the product she received. She should not mention her interaction with the company, because the credit card company will only care about the merchant that made the charge against her account. She must not claim that she didn't receive the product; only that it was not what she was promised. If the store sends a copy of the receipt, it doesn't matter; the issue wasn't that she signed it. If the store points to a return policy that doesn't allow open-box returns, it doesn't matter; it's not a question of like vs. dislike.

The real issue is that the store advertised a product in such a way that would mislead a consumer; in this case, the OP. It doesn't matter that the store used materials that were provided by the manufacturer. That will only matter if the store chooses to pursue legal action against the manufacturer, and the chargeback shouldn't consider the manufacturer when investigating the claim. All that matters is that the store chose to market a product using materials that were false, regardless of who created them. If I try to sell my car using a sign my friend creates that claims the car can do 0-60 in 3.5 seconds (and it's a Saturn :-P), it doesn't matter that I didn't make the sign. I would still have used it to try to sell something under false pretenses. And that is what has happened here, regardless of whether or not the store meant to. They still did, so they're liable.

I would recommend that anyone interested in a video game purchase read some online reviews. They give a good idea of what to expect, and whether it's worth the considerable amount of money you'd be spending on it. For a quick summary of a game's (perceived) worth, check out metacritic.com.

I'm not saying that this person didn't get screwed, because she did. But reviews can help sort out what a developer has promised on the box and what is actually delivered in the gameplay.

Keep this in mind when you buy a video game as a gift for someone, too!

@eskimo81: Doesn't really work with DS carts.

Ahh, the DS. Shovelware haven. leave it to one of those titles with a bad publisher to completely mess up their own information.

@Bluth_Cornballer: @alarmpro: @SteveBMD: @SteveBMD: I'm gonna go ahead and give you guys a collective "GROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAN"... although, most of the time I read the "groan" ones, I laugh.

Plus, love your nick Bluth_Cornballer.

I feel kind of bad for a person who would want to play a game even like the one advertised on a box... it seems like "crushed childhood dreams" level sad.

@VOIDMunashii: The above-mentioned Jess here! Your comment sums it up precisely: I knew "Dolphin Discovery" was going to be bad, but I expected a different kind of bad than what I got. I'm all about cheesy video games, but I expected "Nintendogs"-cheesy, not "Ecco Jr."-cheesy, and that's a big difference.

@Megalomania: As a person who was considering buying a DS solely to play "Hamsterz," I would like to take this opportunity to say: :-P

@Ratty: Why not? They are just as easily pirated as discs.
[www.destructoid.com]

@Megalomania: I'm the Jess from this post -- is it better or worse that I used to work with real dolphins at a well-known marine life park? =)

@Ratty: Are you being serious? The DS is probably the MOST pirated system at this current time. since you can get a cheap hack cart for say $30 then put upto a 8GB sd card (i think) and load it with multiple games.

I get the whole "Its open so you made a copy" but it ceased being needed 5+ years ago since most games need a serial code (when it gets returned kill the code and issue a new code you lazy publishers). Or just cant be used online (xbox live bans).

My bigger issue is with gamestop opening games before their sold then not allowing returns. If your gonna preopen you better accept anything or not open them.

@fantomesq: Cash. I've learned a hard lesson: when buying video games that you know for a fact are going to be cheesy (ain't no shame in my game), use your credit card in case said games are a different/worse kind of cheesy than you expected.

Now, if the surprise twist was that inside, it was an island-bound baby ZOMBIE dolphin, the world would rejoice.
As is, someone needs to deliver a dead fish to the company's doorstep.

@Bluth_Cornballer: She needs to whale on the distributor - just knock him off his hoititoiti perch.

What I would personally suggest if the developer/producer fails to respond, contact Nintendo directly. They are well known to provide above and beyond customer service, and in this case will not likely not ignore your claims.

@Mike8813: Problem with this is, this wasn't exactly "BioShock" or something well-known, you know? At the time I purchased the game, there weren't really any reviews for "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" out there (try doing a search on Metacritic -- even now, it's not listed), and video game sites like IGN stuck with the inaccurate descriptions from the company's website and the game's packaging.

I thought I *was* researching "Dolphin Discovery" as best I could by reading reviews on Amazon.co.uk for what should've been the UK equivalent, "My Pet Dolphin." I knew what to expect, but I didn't take into account the possibility that 505 Games was going to pull a switcharoo on me.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely a fan of researching games -- and pretty much anything else -- pre-purchase, but even doing that wouldn't have made much of a difference in this case. "Dolphin Discovery" is not a widely-reviewed game, and everything available online suggested an experience entirely different from what was delivered.

I can't say I'm horribly surprised that this has happened - 3rd party Nintendo products are almost as a rule totally junk, barring some titles from a few of the real big names. It's an absolute crapflood kind of situation, for both the DS and for Wii. It's one of the biggest disappointments of modern Nintendo - they'll let anyone pump out the worst POS possible. They're throwaway games made to go right into the bargain bin.

I've been burned a few times by similar hijinks(some aquatic-themed games, too - fantasy aquarium, i'm looking at you) and have learned to just be extremely picky about what I buy, since Nintendo isn't going to be picky about what they allow on their platforms.

@the bends: I think that's pretty much the only thing left to do at this point, unfortunately. :\ I copied and pasted my original letter to 505 Games into a contact form on Nintendo's website and tweaked some things... before I hit "submit," how's this look? (Besides "really long," that is. Being concise has never been my strong suit, and this is kind of a confusing situation to explain.)

-----

Hi there!

I'm hoping you can help me with an issue I've found with 505 Games' "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery," a title currently available for the Nintendo DS. I believe the promotional materials, packaging, and websites describing this game to be an example of false advertising.

I purchased "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" for my DS on May 2nd, 2009, looking forward to the experience described on the back of the box: "Play with and train your new pet dolphin, master a huge selection of tricks and routines, then take your show in front of a live audience! Use your DS Stylus to teach your dolphin tricks and routines. Realistic scenery and time changes: blue sky - sunset - night views. Perform dazzling routines that wow the crowd and reward you with new dolphins to train."

Instead, upon starting up the game, I find myself on a tropical island, seeing the ocean from the point of view of a baby dolphin as I explore the sea, finding treasure and helping marine life in need with the option to take part in several mini-games. There's no audience, no behaviors to train, and I've yet to see the ability to play with different dolphins. The in-game graphics do not match the screenshots on the back of the box; it appears as though there's supposed to be a theme park or aquarium in "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery," but the game I received takes place on an island. The included instruction manual supports the latter scenario, noting, "In 'Dolphin Discovery,' you'll enjoy a trip to a small island in the southern sea. During this holiday you can spend time together with your dolphin friend, explore the sea depths, and take pictures or collect hidden treasures." This is totally different than what is described on the box and on the game's website.

If I'm not mistaken, "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" seems to be advertised on the box and the DiscoveryKidsGames.com website as the UK game "My Pet Dolphin," when, in fact, it is "My Pet Dolphin 2."

"Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" is cute, but I was expecting to play a much different game -- one with training and shows, and much more direct interaction with the virtual dolphins. Is there any way that I can exchange this game for what was advertised on both the website and the game's box itself? In other words, is it possible to have the UK's "My Pet Dolphin" rather than "My Pet Dolphin 2" here in the US?

I've attempted to get in touch with 505 Games both through support@505games.com and via Bender/Helper Impact, the promotional company handling their account. 505 Games never replied; Elizabeth S------ at Bender/Helper Impact wrote back to tell me that she'd forwarded my letter to "the appropriate people" at 505 Games, but that was back on May 10th and I've yet to hear anything more. In an effort to gain exposure and bring the problem to 505 Games' attention -- since emailing them didn't seem to make a difference -- I submitted my ordeal to www.consumerist.com, a website dedicated to helping consumers. There, it was suggested that I contact Nintendo directly, since Nintendo is known for providing exemplary customer service.

Although I wanted to give 505 Games a chance to respond, it's been nearly a month now and I feel that involving Nintendo is my only recourse at this time. I hope that you can help me resolve this disappointing and frustrating case of false advertising.

Thank you for your time and your assistance!
Jess A----

@Zenatrul: I'm picturing the rabbit from Donnie Darko, and it's quite humorous.

@glater: It's not a big leap to develop games for the Wii, most shovelware games don't use much for the motion sensing aspects of the controler (except for racing games) and instead stick to treating the remote like a nes controler. The pointer tracks like a mouse, and it's easy to port the SDL library so anyone who has developed for the PC can make the switch.

There's a lot of PC game programmers out there that get scooped up by these no-name companies and put to work as cheap labour on wii-shovelware development. I had a couple of friends offered jobs like that straight out of university, but they declined. One is now working for EA (sure they don't have a great reputation but it looks good on a resume if you can stay there for more than 2 years) and the other has a government job.

@jesspark: here is what you were looking for:
[www.gamespot.com]
...both of them.

But may I suggest, that if you wanted a "good dolphin game" (by way of reviews) that you instead check out the release, "Petz Wild Animals: Dolphinz"
[www.gamespot.com]
Im not sure if that is available outside of the USA but ordering online should get this title to wherever you want it to go.

There is also a titled named, "Dolphin Island" - not as good, since you are playing as a trainer and performing multiple minigames.

I hope this can help

There have been times that I've bought an awful game and I ended up eating the price of it and learning my lesson. This was pretty deceitful though, may I suggest submitting this to Kotaku too since they have more of an influence on the game community?

My only suggestion to jesspark would be to Google for reviews next time. It doesn't matter how bad the game is, there's usually someone who has written a review. If there's no demo available, I usually cruise to one or 5 sites depending on the game before making a decision.

I 100% support simply pirating the game you were promised, along with any other games from said publisher. They want to screw the customer, give it right back to them.

Metacritic.com is your friend. The combine reviews from multiple sources. Great place to go if you don't want to visit multiple sites.

@Ratty: As much as I love the great games on my DS, for every one of those there are ten that are cobbled together with a "z" on the end to try and sell it to kids. During my last stint in retail I had to talk many, many people out of buying that crap for their kids on the basis that it's not what it looks like, and the wee ones may very well have killed their parents in their sleep as retaliation.

Video games should never be impulse buys. Always research before you make a purchase, just like any other product.

@SnowingCookies: Thanks, SnowingCookies! The problem is, those reviews are still for "My Pet Dolphin" and "My Pet Dolphin 2" -- I'd read up on the UK equivalents and was led to believe that "Dolphin Discovery" was the US version of the former when it was really the latter. If I'd known "Dolphin Discovery" was actually "My Pet Dolphin 2," I wouldn't have purchased it; the sequel didn't sound interesting to me.

@kyle4: Haha, Kotaku would eat me alive and spit out the pieces. ;D

As for researching, as I said to Mike8813 above, this wasn't exactly "BioShock" or something well-known, you know? At the time I purchased the game, there weren't really any reviews for "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" out there (try doing a search on Metacritic -- even now, it's not listed), and video game sites like IGN stuck with the inaccurate descriptions from the company's website and the game's packaging.

I thought I *was* researching "Dolphin Discovery" as best I could by reading reviews on Amazon.co.uk for what should've been the UK equivalent, "My Pet Dolphin." I knew what to expect, but I didn't take into account the possibility that 505 Games was going to pull a switcharoo on me.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely a fan of researching games -- and pretty much anything else -- pre-purchase, but even doing that wouldn't have made much of a difference in this case. "Dolphin Discovery" is not a widely-reviewed game, and everything available online suggested an experience entirely different from what was delivered.

@Cyco: As I said to Mike 8813 and Kyle4 above, this wasn't exactly "BioShock" or something well-known, you know? At the time I purchased the game, there weren't really any reviews for "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" out there (try doing a search on Metacritic -- even now, it's not listed), and video game sites like IGN stuck with the inaccurate descriptions from the company's website and the game's packaging.

I thought I *was* researching "Dolphin Discovery" as best I could by reading reviews on Amazon.co.uk for what should've been the UK equivalent, "My Pet Dolphin." I knew what to expect, but I didn't take into account the possibility that 505 Games was going to pull a switcharoo on me.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely a fan of researching games -- and pretty much anything else -- pre-purchase, but even doing that wouldn't have made much of a difference in this case. "Dolphin Discovery" is not a widely-reviewed game, and everything available online suggested an experience entirely different from what was delivered.

@shadydentist: As I said to Mike8813, Kyle4, and Cyco above... this wasn't exactly "BioShock" or something well-known, you know? At the time I purchased the game, there weren't really any reviews for "Discovery Kids: Dolphin Discovery" out there (try doing a search on Metacritic -- even now, it's not listed), and video game sites like IGN stuck with the inaccurate descriptions from the company's website and the game's packaging.

I thought I *was* researching "Dolphin Discovery" as best I could by reading reviews on Amazon.co.uk for what should've been the UK equivalent, "My Pet Dolphin." I knew what to expect, but I didn't take into account the possibility that 505 Games was going to pull a switcharoo on me.

So, yeah, I'm absolutely a fan of researching games -- and pretty much anything else -- pre-purchase, but even doing that wouldn't have made much of a difference in this case. "Dolphin Discovery" is not a widely-reviewed game, and everything available online suggested an experience entirely different from what was delivered.

What would you have done differently in this situation?

@jesspark: There might be a *little* shame in your game, jess, but good for you - telling the whole internet you love cheesy dolphin games must not have been easy.

Not being a console gamer and having never purchased a handheld since the gameboy (original) I had no idea that shovelware actually existed on console systems.

@SnowingCookies: Also! Forgot to add: I totally own "Dolphinz," too, and it's not bad -- it's better than a title ending in "z" ought to be, at least. =) Gameplay-wise, I'd say it's more "Zoo Tycoon" than "Nintendogs," though; I was hoping for more of a pet sim with "Dolphin Discovery."

@JPropaganda: The first step is admitting that you have a problem.

@GTB: Yeah, it is everywhere now. It seems to me that 80% of Wii and DS games you see at a store are pretty much shovelware.

@jesspark: It's a bit long, so what I would do is put a SUMMARY at the beginning, not more than a short paragraph, then invite them to keep reading for more information. You don't want them to skip reading it altogether.

@jesspark: You can always go for the best Dolphin game ever made (if you haven't already):

Ecco the Dolphin

Just too bad they have ported it to the DS yet.

@GTB: The Nintendo DS and Wii have been magnets for shovel ware because

1) Their respective markets target casual gamers who wouldn't know a good game if it stubbed their toe

2) Development costs are much much lower than for the X360 and PS3. So it's easier to just throw something together in a Eastern European gulag and publish it for cheap, yet still make some money without having to sell a few million copies.

@undefined: @Joewithay: Oh-ho-ho! I have "Ecco: Defender of the Future" (best bad game title ever) in both Dreamcast and PS2 flavors; the original Sega Genesis classic, its sequel, and "Ecco Jr." as ported to the PS2 in "Sega Genesis Collection"; *and* the horrible Game Gear version. :D

I do love me some Ecco, but the difficulty level has always been a little high for my lack of madd gaming skillz. Regardless, I'd really like to see the original game released on the DS! Although I don't own it, I believe "Ecco the Dolphin" was released as part of a Sega pack for the GBA many moons ago. As I recall from reviews, they screwed up on the music big-time when they ported it over, though (looping one song over and over, I think), and I'd really miss that crazy New Age MIDI goodness.

This may be what the OP was looking for.

I'm a professional Japanese translator who specializes in video games. One of my clients has been a pretty steady source of these "z" and "Imagine" titles. Some of them I purchase and play; most I don't get around to buying. And it's one of the few times I don't mind not getting a shoutout in the manual/game credits. ;)