The big three gaming titans, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, are currently under scrutiny of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) branch, with an investigation having been opened in regards to the policies of their online services. According to the official press release, the CMA believes that the three aforementioned companies must be investigated to ensure that UK consumers are protected, and that the subscription services are legal within the country. Though there is no proof at this time that any laws have been broken, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are required to respond to the UK government with information on their respective contracts, so that the CMA can research that the terms are fair. What they appear to be looking for are incidents where customers have had trouble cancelling the services, dealt with numerous price hikes, or were forced into having to turn on auto-renew. Once the investigation concludes, a decision will be made, and either nothing will occur, or the offending party will have action taken against them.

The CMA has written to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox requesting information about their online gaming contracts to help better understand their practices. It is also calling on customers who use these services to get in touch with the CMA and share their experiences in order to assist the investigation, which will examine several issues, including:

• are the contract terms unfair? - do the companies’ terms give them wide discretion to change the quality of the deal, for example, by reducing the number of games included or increasing the price?
  
  
• how easy it is to cancel or obtain a refund? - are there any factors that make it difficult for people to cancel their contract or get their money back?
  
  
• how fair is the auto-renewal process? - are customers clearly told that their membership will be rolled over, are they regularly reminded that they are on a roll-over contract before further payments are taken, and is auto-renewal set as the default option?
  

Source

 

[RPG_FAN128]

GBATemp is awesome. No matter how bad life is you can escape to GBATemp where so many people are living in fantasy land where server costs are like a non-issue, they should be free, you shouldn't have to pay because "the companies" make money elsewhere, SHOOT -- the games themselves should be free. Yeah, let's all use escapism together!

I think I shouldn't have to pay for gasoline when I fill up my car because you know it's way expensive and multi-million dollar gas companies make money elsewhere. I think my Amazon Prime membership should be free because that billion-dollar company sells enough to make money. I should be able to send packages in the mail without buying postage because think of the millions USPS makes selling stamps to collectors! I could go on for hours but I should call it quits...for now.

I'll be back later to check out people's escapism strategies.

 

[SG854]

I stopped playing any videogames 3 years ago, now I just take LSD and go to 2 week long raves, much better gfx and gameplay, lol...

IMO you pay enough for the console and games to warrant any 'server costs', and if they want to charge as much as they do for online, lower the cost of the consoles and games.. fucking simple economics, people these days are poor as fuck and can't barely afford to pay the rent and eat healthy.

Margins say:
Make the audience wider by not outpricing people, and you get more people paying money in the end.

They also have to worry about R&D costs in addition to production costs. They can’t lower the costs easily without taking a hit. If they take a huge hit and loose lots of money they’ll cease as a company.



2017 Fisical Year R&D Costs - $527 million

Yearly R&D Costs
2012 - $642 Million
2013 - $568 Million
2014 - $692 Million
2015 - $527 Million
2016 - $610 million

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/58424/nintendo-spent-527m-research-development-last-year/index.html

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/160202e.pdf


Switch build Cost $257

Not only they have to make up for the Switch Build costs they also have to make up for the billions they spend on R&D developing the Switch and Games, with every Console and Games they sell.

$300 has to pay for R&D, Marketing/PR, the middle men (GameStop, Bestbuy, some other VG store), publishing, phsyical copy production of games, server costs, government permits/lincenses, trademarks, and..... This all has to get paid. If they are just breaking even all the time, then they won’t have money to afford food and will shut down.

 

[IwearHelmet4Bed]

They should be investigating Amazon too.. remember when Prime first started the amount of people who had trouble cancelling it was unreal

 

[Deleted_413010]

i think britain is far better than greece.. ninty has shit.. i i got a game. i don't want it.. no refund policy.. and you need to use the game.. insane

Well Nintendo is already under huge shit with not Britain but the entire EU. The EU filed a case against Nintendo of Europe for not allowing refunds once so ever. Apparently its against consumer laws or some shit like that in the EU. I never heard how it ended but if it ends well then all of Nintendo may add a refund policy.

 

[pohaxsf]

Well Nintendo is already under huge shit with not Britain but the entire EU. The EU filed a case against Nintendo of Europe for not allowing refunds once so ever. Apparently its against consumer laws or some shit like that in the EU. I never heard how it ended but if it ends well then all of Nintendo may add a refund policy.

well.this is not as priority as the north Macedonia name issue.. people disagree with it.. since we will have elections on mayors and meps on European parliament in may 26 they might put greek parliament mep then.. but they say in october.. every mep supported article 13 except a nazi group.. keep in mind we are in a "far leftist" govt that hasn't gave us a penny.. my family pays 30k in taxes.. Sales tax is 24%, then insurance for hospitals which if you go have old machinery and expired pharmacy.. then we pay because we have a business.. i pay since I was 14 because I owned and apt.. And I pay 30k and make 40k.. to sum up greece won't do anything

 

[SG854]

I wonder if Europe wants any business to do anything. Pretty soon Europe is just going to go back to the stone ages because no one can be fucked to deal with their retarded laws anymore.

It just got more retarded.

Spoiler

Not related to thread topic but related to your point. Their laws are getting more retarded by the day. With censorship, restricting internet access, everything is racist.

Waitrose apologises for selling 'racist' chocolate ducklings after criticism

It’s apparently racist calling it ugly because it’s dark chocolate and not because it has red splotches. The U.K. has lost. And they can’t do anything business wise. They give in to 1 complaint from some rando no one cares about.


In America too
You apparently can’t call America-Chinese food too salty and too oily, making you feel icky and bloated, because that is seen as racist now.

What’s more ridiculous is that Chinese food in America is Americanized versions of Chinese food and not how they taste in China. Americans love greasy unhealthy food. So someone trying to open a healthy Chinese restaurant is now seen racist and furthering stereo types of Chinese food.

New NYC Chinese Restaurant Draws Swift Backlash to Racist Language

 

[Deleted_413010]

It just got more retarded.

I think Europe has been retarded since the EU was founded. Honestly the only country in Europe that's retarded is the UK. Germany seems more stable than America even.

 

[pohaxsf]

I think Europe has been retarded since the EU was founded. Honestly the only country in Europe that's retarded is the UK. Germany seems more stable than America even.

re.. andreas papandreou wanted us out .. then simitis put us in eurozone.. only Germany controlls

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re.. andreas papandreou wanted us out .. then simitis put us in eurozone.. only Germany controlls

germany will collapse because vw is dumb.. they are late to the party of electrecification.. their cars are shit.. my navara is an 04 and it revs good. i had a focus, it lasted 500k kilometers. this shitty 13 astra always needs service.. and my fiesta has Bluetooth costs 9k, astra 17k and no Bluetooth!!!

 

[Reecey]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me without a valid reason for myself that is unacceptable!

 

[pohaxsf]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me that is unacceptable!

you ran cfw? it's against tos that we all agreed on. even though we shouldn't, imagine a veto happening

 

[KingVamp]

I forgot to mention.

And yes, most of the above points are most likely also true for Steam. And thats why i guess that we are seeing an increase in Season Passes - because PC Gamers don't have to pay for an online subscription while the server costs are still there and only rising (in this time and age nearly every game has at least some sort of online interaction).

You can *still* play for free but all publishers are trying realy hard to push you into regular payments, disguised as "Season Passes".

As if they wouldn't be pushing season passes, even if PC had paid online.

 

[Deleted_413010]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me without a valid reason for myself that is unacceptable!

Lol i run a company and even i know that's bullshit

 

[the_randomizer]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me without a valid reason for myself that is unacceptable!

If you run CFW, you should know the risks. Nintendo owes you nothing if something goes wrong or get banned for running CFW while going online.

 

[DANTENDO]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me without a valid reason for myself that is unacceptable!

hav you thought about going to citizen advice bureau

 

[Shadow_The_Hedgehog82]

lol
Have you heard of server costs?
The amount is debatable though.

there are barely any server costs though, the companies who own the games host their own servers microsoft, sony and ninty just act as a middle man in connecting you, afaik all first party ninty games use p23p instead of dedicated servers so even then you aren't paying for server costs. The subscription fee is literally a scam. Imagine having to pay a website 60 dollars a year just to store your login details

 

[Gimzie]

What does being a multi million dollar company have to do with anything? Servers still cost money to use, why the fuck would any business want to pay for that out of their own pocket? I mean, you are aware businesses are out here to, y'know, make money? It's exactly why Nintendo started their paid online, because they realized that gosh, paying for servers out of their own pocket is fucking dumb, so let's get consumers to do it!

Except, I'm not aware of Nintendo actually utilizing servers in any of their current online multiplayer titles on the Nintendo Switch.

 

[lordelan]

there are barely any server costs though, the companies who own the games host their own servers microsoft, sony and ninty just act as a middle man in connecting you, afaik all first party ninty games use p23p instead of dedicated servers so even then you aren't paying for server costs. The subscription fee is literally a scam. Imagine having to pay a website 60 dollars a year just to store your login details

Although you're completely right I have to add, that websites are using ads to earn money.

 

[Bladexdsl]

I also think uk Nintendo should be under investigation over there banning policies because mine was a prime example Nintendo could not and still cannot tell me as too why my switch was automatically banned through the system but there pathetic answer to it is there is nothing they can do sorry you will have to buy another. Now to me without a valid reason for myself that is unacceptable!

you hacked your switch, you went online. so if Nintendo catches you they can do whatever the fuck they want!

 

[PawsofHorror]

they should ban everything online related and sell full games in stores again fuck dlc and multiplayer, i own everyone so online games are BORING and why do i have to go to a fucking store in another country to get myself a mew? lame!

 

[SlashofaSword]

I get that online services cost a lot to run, and I get why they charge for them, but I still think if I'm paying for the console and the game I shouldn't have to pay to use them.

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