EA Changes Origin Terms of Services, Forbids Class Action Lawsuits

[kingmob]

If people permit me to make this issue a bit broader. To be frank, it even shouldn't be a big problem to sue a company on your own instead of a group if you had sufficient reason. The fact that you can be right but it is so ridiculously expensive to be proven right that it'll never happen surely has to be a sign that society is rotten?
Also, waiving basic rights in a Eula for software that you don't even really want but are forced to use if you want to play a game? This REALLY has your supreme court's blessing? Exactly how corrupt is this system?

 

[Orange Monkey]

So us Europeans can still sue EA if we want to? But, do we, ever sue anything? I thought that was like an american hobby or something

 

[rsvp42]

Whatever. What the hell do I care? Even if I use Origin, I'm probably never going to need to be a part of a class action lawsuit. My password leaks due to hacks? I change it. They try to take something I paid for? I complain like every American consumer until they give in because it's easier. Seriously, people are acting like THIS is the last straw? I don't know, maybe it's late, maybe I don't know all the issues, but I've never in my 24 years needed that kind of legal recourse and I doubt your average gamer has either. Even the Sony fiasco was just about making a point. Well, message received: we can't do class action stuff anymore.

Think about it: Sony took a huge PR hit because of the mess surrounding the PSN hack. The damage was done in those weeks of outage and the news stories about the losses. The class action lawsuit was an afterthought in terms of their reputation. That was a kick when they were already down. Now imagine something like that happens to EA. They will pay you back and make it up to you because anything less could ruin them completely (at least in terms of their digital sales strategy). The threat of a class action lawsuit won't make that happen any better or faster.

 

[winter2]

EA wtf? You almost had me convinced to just go ahead and get bf3 via Origin. Now I will not get either. I swear, it's like you hate my money or something.

 

[acer840]

Is this still a legally binding agreement now? I thought that basic rights cannot be waved by a single mouse click. First they give themselves the right to snoop through your computer, next they make you play in their playground by 'waving the right to sue by trial of jury or class action'. Any other time someone puts this in your face it would be shot down and laughed at in seconds, but to play Battlefield 3, you have to agree to wave basic legal rights.

I don't get it. The EULA itself should be looked at again by governments to make sure these are not one sided. I can understand protecting their interests and IP's but to the point of treating Customers as possible thieves is crazy. Damn EA, your aiming that gun at your foot again, and you lost a customer on this one.

 

[Denamic]

By accepting this brick through your window, you waive all your rights to pursue legal action against the thrower of this brick.

 

[Strazdas]

first they made outrageous claims in their TOS. they got them retracted. now they make more. Frankly, how often do you see a guy sueing a company for breaking of TOS? I personally see that like never.

makes me wonder about all those thousands of hellish-lenght TOS i skipped though. i understand when its something like 2 page TOS, thats fine, but when you could use the space to write a book and still have some left over, and it doesn't say anything more than the one with 2 pages lenght, its really life-wasting experience to read.

On the other hand, Go EU. I still got my sueing rights.

QUESTION: Do I need an origin account to play EA games on xbox360 and ps3?

Answer: you need origin to paly BF3 on any form of gaming device. Other games - no, not yet.

 

[qeinar]

Seems a bit incongruous for a company who's tagline is challenge everything

haha nice one.

Also this isn't going to stop me from playing bf3, it's not like i'm planning to sue anyways. : p

 

[Sephychu]

This is illegal in the UK.

Yay me!

 

[Twad]

Right.. just because they write it down on their OTS doesnt make them above the law. Stupid EA.

 

[Siege_TF]

Capitalism at the expence of individual capitolists is a long-standing tradition in North America, and has to be beaten down with blood, sweat, and bribery. 'Let The Buyer Beware' was legally enforceable in both countries when consumers bought anything at all dangerous until quite recently when a stove exploded and killed a small family. Or maybe it was just one or two of them. I only vaguely recall it from my criminology class years ago.

It continues today, though it's your rights (hello, patriot act) rather than you're saftey you need to beware of.

 

[Freeze_L]

you know, i am not sure if you can give up your constitutional rights. I mean you can choose not to use them ya, but you can't sign them away like that. I mean, you can't decide to sell yourself into slavery by making a legal document and signing it, that would be illegal and not held up anywhere in the US. So why would you be able to waive another constitutional right in the same manner?

Am I right? is there someone on these forums with actual knowledge of the law who could explain to me how in the hell this is legal?

 

[kebab4you]

As if I didnt have enough reasons already not to use it...

Is EA trying to go bankrupt?

QUESTION: Do I need an origin account to play EA games on xbox360 and ps3?

I wouldn't think so but it wouldn't surprise me if they updated those EULAs also to say the same thing.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Not trying to pull the AA guns and hatred my way as I soar high above this one, but my current stance is this:

I've played shitty EA games back in the days when they were still ECA and the most powerful home computer gaming system was the C=64. Did I ever feel like sueing them for screwing me over or selling me sugar-coated crap? Certainly. Then again, playing video games has always been but a pastime activity to me (the occasional tournaments excluded), and so I age away thinking this: I want EA, Sony, Activision and the whole lot to put the money where my cravings are, and I want them to sell me games, and I want them to keep the servers running, and I want them to thwart any and all lulzy asshattery, no questions asked.

If it's about "We, the People" against some megalomaniac entertainment consortium selling us Soylent Green for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I'm all for it. If, however, more and more well-fertilized moldy grassroots "No you won't! Yes we can! Blockheads unite!" movements eat away at everything I enjoy, wanting to have decisive power over anything and everything they don't know jack about, binding capital and manpower to countering, rebutting and fighting their looney ends, hey, I'm all for new kickass EULA/EUALA/LALA.

After all, I usually buy a certain game title to point, click, drive, shoot away, and I don't fancy much of this "life is so harsh, corporations are evil" shtick. Do I fancy EA going all Origins on me now? No, I don't. Do I fancy Sony taking away Linux from the PS3? No, I don't. Then again, I got Steam installed, Desura and that darned Win some, Lose some LIVE! - and I certainly don't like the idea of installing more and more "marketplaces" and "distribution channels" on my gaming rig, but I really don't get the proper purpose of this whiney, fear-mongering anti-capitalist stance except that it poops diarrhea all over my sweet cherry pie. Take that Klassenkampf elsewhere, please. Try next galaxy, maybe.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I really wouldn't mind seeing Anonymous do some "talking" with EA.
Maybe they could show to EA that they are doing something bad.


Oh well, I already decided I wouldn't buy any games that require Origin.

 

[warfjm]

Sorry EA, you wont be getting my money any more. This has crossed the line with me as a consumer. If I give you my information and you somehow lose it, I should be able to sue you for damages.

The same goes with Sony.

 

[Atmos Duality]

First sony, then EA. Great, pretty soon every mother fucker and their dog will be doing this.

You know what, fine. If they can put in a clause that stops them from getting sued. Then we should do the same. I won't fucking sue you guys if you don't sue me. Mutual unfucking sueingness.

Somehow I don't see this gits giving up that right.

"You understand that by this provision, you and EA are foregoing the right to sue in court and have a trial by jury." Furthermore, "You and EA agree that each may bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding."

They do say that actually.
And it's not that the company and consumer can't sue each other, it's that a class action lawsuit is forbidden.
As an individual you can still sue the company.

So.... yea. Some people either aren't reading the article, or don't understand it.

It stands to reason that as the provider, EA has less to lose than the customer does in the short term.
They can just take your money and then...they are no longer legally obligated to give you shit since they set the terms in the agreement and you can't sue them no matter how flagrantly they violate those terms.
Of course, one could argue that they won't do this often, or they will quickly get put down as word-of-mouth of their scam kills business. And that's where the customer's only logical response remains: DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH EA UNDER THESE TERMS.

In this case, the laws of economics can force EA to change their terms when legal laws fail.
They are still a for-profit business, so you can guess which law they absolutely MUST obey if they want to remain profitable.

 

[theblackmonk90]

Quite frankly i'm disgusted that the Supreme Court has stated this kind of corporate bullsh*t is enforceable. Thank God I live in the UK.

The Supreme Court has always favoured Corporate Interest over the rights of the common man. What, did you think they voted against California's anti-games bill because of consumer rights?

No your right. The rights of Man were written by Martin Luther after all. Lets just say that I am very glad I do not live in the USA. Lol and you rebelled against us because of so called tyranny...

 

[Mekado]

Well, crap. Looks like EA hates my money. I was even thinking about buying Battlefield 3, but alas.

Why would you be worried about that ? it dosen't hold in Quebec...

They're still a-holes for doing this, but they can't touch us (yet! )

 

[AngryFrenchCanadian]

Well, crap. Looks like EA hates my money. I was even thinking about buying Battlefield 3, but alas.

Why would you be worried about that ? it dosen't hold in Quebec...

They're still a-holes for doing this, but they can't touch us (yet! )

Yeah, I just saw it a few days ago, and since I've been playing the Open Beta, the game is just so good that, even knowing what Origin might do to my computer, I'm reconsidering buying the damn thing.

I have a weak resolve.