Germany bans vague release dates for pre-orders
If video game pre-orders were any more complicated, they would probably be standalone industries. That’s not likely to change anytime soon, but German regulators just made an important caveat: if you’re offering a pre-order, it must have a fixed release date.
As reported by Eurogamer, a consumer protection group noticed the issue when retailer Media Markt neglected to offer a release date for its Samsung Galaxy S6 pre-order. Not only did the Higher Court of Munich rule against this practice, it applied it to all products across the country – including video games.
“When consumers order goods on the internet, providers must specify by when the goods are delivered,” Wolfgang Schuldzinski, CEO of Düsseldorf Consumer said in a statement.
This ruling technically only applies to Germany, while the UK and US currently have no such regulations. That said, unless game companies withhold German pre-orders entirely, UK customers are likely to figure out local release dates from German websites. It also raises the question of what happens when a publisher needs to delay a launch for any reason, or how the ruling might apply to crowdfunded projects.
All the same, having more specific release dates is a good principle when money is changing hands.
Posted:
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion
Source: https://www.vg247.com/2018/07/16/germany-bans-vague-release-dates-pre-orders/
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Comments
SagePosted:
Xaldin Good, still hoping to ban in game purchases for games that are still in "beta", becoming a thing to call a completed game a beta for years so if it breaks its ok.
Yeah, why cant we go back to the days where we didnt have to buy early access games just so they can grab money early on in the dev stage and not wait for a full game release. :(
XaldinPosted:
Good, still hoping to ban in game purchases for games that are still in "beta", becoming a thing to call a completed game a beta for years so if it breaks its ok.
MazePosted:
Seems like a damn good rule. Especially when companies just use pre orders to make more money.
lbreadsticklPosted:
I love it. Straight to the point, no room for bull. I hope they do it in the US as well
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