Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. will refund unhappy Diablo III gamers in South Korea after its servers there prohibited thousands of players from accessing the game after its May release.
The mea culpa reverses Blizzard’s longstanding policy of prohibiting refunds for games in use.
Blizzard began taking refund requests on hard copy games June 21 and will extend the period through July 3, the company told the Business Journal. The company is accepting refunds within 14 days of purchase on digital copies.
Blizzard also announced on its South Korean website that it will give players who bought a boxed or digital version of Diablo III a free 30-day license for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. The license will expire on Aug. 12.
“The overwhelming demand for Diablo III in Asia surpassed the speed of our server-expansion and optimization efforts, and we regret that players experienced extended service instability as a result,” Blizzard Chief Executive Mike Morhaime said.
A huge response to the new game after its May 15 release led to shutdowns of Blizzard servers, which caused glitches around the world and prompted thousands of angry tweets, Facebook posts and blogs.
The policy reversal comes about a month after government officials raided Blizzard’s offices in Seoul, Korea, after the company refused to give refunds to frustrated gamers who shelled out $60 for the title.
There’s no word on whether the South Korean government plans to halt its investigation on Blizzard for violating laws on electronic commerce and commercial contracts. South Korea requires companies to give a refund to a customer within seven days of purchase if asked.
Diablo III has sold more than 5 million copies since its May 15 release, breaking numerous PC records along the way.
New Coverage
Lantronix Inc. has picked up analyst coverage from Newport Beach-based Roth Capital Partners LLC and Sidoti & Co. LLC in New York.
“We are pleased to see that analysts are beginning to recognize the recent changes and potential at Lantronix with the initiation of coverage,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Whitaker. “Ultimately, we believe the increased coverage will help broaden our investor base, improve liquidity and enhance shareholder value.”
Lantronix makes electronic devices and software that allow secure online communication with medical equipment, security devices, smart phones, motor vehicles, meters and thermostats, retail terminals and ATMs.
The company has initiated a series of restructuring moves and management changes in the last year to get back in black. It’s been on a campaign to cut costs, lower inventory, identify growth opportunities and raise capital under Chief Executive Kurt Busch, who was hired last August with a mandate to return operations to profitability.
Last month it added Paul Folino, a deeply connected technology executive in Orange County, to its board. He served as Emulex Corp.’s chief executive from May 1993 to September 2006, when he became executive chairman of the Costa Mesa-based networking electronics maker, a post he held until November 2011.
Folino also serves on the board of Aliso Viejo-based chipmaker Microsemi Corp., CoreLogic Inc., a Santa Ana data provider for lenders, large companies and government, and Costa Mesa-based Commercial Bank of California.
Grand Opening
More than 200 customers, vendors, politicians and businessmen attended the grand opening of Fujitsu Frontech North America’s Foothill Ranch headquarters earlier this month. Attendees toured the company’s 30,000-square-foot building at 27121 Towne Centre Drive, which features its line of ATMs, self-checkout equipment, image recognition devices and other point-of-sale machines. The move shed about 170,000 square feet compared with the company’s previous location, which was nearby and included large areas for warehousing and manufacturing.
It’s the second move in the past year for Fujitsu Frontech, an emerging unit of Japan-based Fujitsu Ltd. The company shifted its headquarters from Dallas to Foothill Ranch in 2011 to realign U.S. operations and draw from the region’s strong talent base of engineers and programmers, President Yoshi Masuda recently told the Business Journal.
Acquisition
A unit of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. acquired a Belleville, Mich.-based auto parts maker with close ties to Ford Motor Co. on undisclosed terms. The deal for ServoTech Engineering Inc. brings Clean Energy into the fraternity of Ford suppliers and positions it as the only natural gas specialist on the roster, according to the company. ServoTech, established in 1987, also provides auto emission services to manufacturers and the retrofit vehicle market, as well as natural gas conversions and other services.
