Consumer Law and Games

[the_green_dragon]

I was just looking at the consumer law and fair trading stuff and a few points really hit me. Especially with digital games and all these one-use codes and micro transactions in full priced games.

Now this is from Australian Consumer Law so might not be as relevant to non-Australians but I assume every country has something similar.

"Consumer guarantees on products and services"

Since 1 January 2011, the following consumer guarantees on products.

Products must:

- come with full title and ownership

- not carry any hidden debts or extra charges

- come with undisturbed possession, so no one has a right to take the goods away or prevent you from using them

Does this mean if I buy a game digitally, the company can't ban me from accessing the game? - like being banned from Origin or something?

What does the second point mean for one-use codes and micro transactions? If I buy a game and want to use it on multiple consoles/computers does that mean they can't one-use code the hell out of me?

The third point again relates to being able to access the stuff I paid for. Consumer Law is actually very interesting and from in my opinion gamers have really been given the shaft.

 

[Albino Boo]

Look mate you have your opinion they have the opinion of highly paid lawyers, which means you lose. You forget the that origin and steam are services, just like bars and cinemas. If you go into a pub and buy a drink get banned for your behavior, you don't get to keep the drink. If you buy a cinema ticket and behave in a disruptive manner and get thrown out, you don't get to come back and watch the rest of the film. If you buy a season ticket to a sporting event and get thrown out for being drunk and offensive, they can stop you coming in again. Buying one copy of a paperback book does not entitle to you a another copy for free or give you the right to make photocopies of it.

 

[Ruley]

This is what people need to start realizing about the games industry, its going through a change and its already happened on PC. Games are no longer a product, they are a service. If you violate the TOS on Origin or Steam and they ban you, you have no legal grounds because in signing up to the service and buying games form that service you were agreeing to follow its TOS which state that you don't own any of the games. Its perfectly legal because its in the TOS that you have to agree to follow to use the service.

We're seeing the same thing happening on consoles, all be it at a slower rate.

The law hasn't been very fast in catching up with the digital age but in the current legal structure, these companies have done nothing wrong through the points you are raising. All thanks to the TOS.

first point, come with full ownership? TOS takes care of that with it being a service, follow the rules and you can use the service. break the rules, you get banned. pretty simple under current law. And because the games are steamworks games, (or origin) they can only be used on that service.

Second point, this deals with misleading extra charges, all microstransactions are pretty optional and clear cut. The only thing in the form of a hidden charge is the online pass when purchasing the game second hand. But even then that can be spelled out to the consumer.

Third point, not goods, a service. Again, at least on PC. On consoles, you could still play your games but you could get banned from the service of xbox live or PSN.

If all of this really gets to you, use gog.com for DRM free games and you can keep them on a hard drive, play them offline. you'll always be able to access them since you'll have a copy. Same again, stick with games consoles and play offline games. That way you will have no interruptions of service should you get banned from online services because you weren't using them in the first place.

A lot of companies today legally protect themselves with their Terms Of Service, which is unfortunately legal because you are entering into a contract with them, not the government.

It sucks in some places, but it will be a while before digital rights in law catches up with the modern day needs of the general public.

 

[Esotera]

Games on digital platforms are viewed more as a service as you're paying for access to the game, associated content, updates, etc. Technically I guess the company could stop you from accessing the game but if they did it to more than a couple of people without a good reason, they would have a massive shitstorm on their hands and would get their pants sued off.

It sucks but at least the odds of it happenning to you are extremely low.

 

[Norithics]

The labyrinthine legal wrangling they do in EULAs and similar documents is cartoonishly evil. What little consumer protection exists in the large print is almost completely subverted in the small. They make you agree to enormous, completely ridiculous contracts in the simple act of even buying things, sometimes. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so horrible.