Nintendo, Sony And Microsoft All Under Investigation Over Online gaming services!

Interesting. It doesn't seem as though the services themselves are being targeted for legal action, but rather:

The issue seems to be about automatic renewals and the ability to get a refund. Though in regard to the latter, I imagine there would have to be a refund request issued within a certain time frame after purchase. It wouldn't make sense to sell a one-month subscription and allow refunds up to a month after purchase, after all.

 

Still a step in the right direction. Maybe lead into other investigations.

 

It'd be nice, but I'm not holding my breath. The profit these services pull down is surely worth a lot more to these companies than any minor legal inconvenience they might have to fend off.

 

Hope Nintendo gets their asses handed to them, a dose of their own "legal" medicine, like they gave to roms and fangames.

 

It's nice that it's being looked into, but I doubt anything will come from it. Sincerely hope we're wrong, though.

 

unfortunately it's fruitless, EA and take-two know this and that's why they are openly smug about the efforts. whatever law gets implemented after 5 years of crusade will be adjusted by adding an additional loop to the scam flowcharts, in mere minutes and a 200kb patch. it's not a game you can get ahead of as the law, it's too slow and archaic. we STILL did not resolve the copyright thing, and that's created insane problems for over 30 years. what makes you think determining what a dangerous gameplay loop as a blanket set of rules is gonna look like if anything gets in effect.
i get that it feels good and all, thinking progress is being made and games will stop being scams, but this isn't gonna apply to reality. it doesn't work on physical goods scam industries and it is infinitely less likely it would on digital code creating rulesets that can be updated any time effortlessly.

what needs to change is the consumer needs to get their heads out of their asses and realize that pulling a lever to increase a number is not as substantial as a game mechanic. that requires understanding what a mechanic versus a bucket list of numbers is. most likely via informative and in-depth pieces from games journalists.
but as they are collectively busy crying for an easy mode in sekiro for weeks instead, as they themselves do not know what a game mechanic is, doesn't look like the cultural phenomenon of the scambox will change in the upcoming 10 years.

 

Most of that seemed fairly boring. If they are found to be being a bit predatory with the auto renews then hopefully they get slapped.

That said
" 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?"
That could be an interesting one. I don't know the legal guidelines for that and how they will phrase it (doubtless it, thinking stuff like PSN+ game library, will be deemed a free perk for members as it comes with every membership and thus a nicety rather than a sales point, though I am prepared to be wrong there).

As far as price increases I have not heard of any in the mainstream gaming world here for subs, compared to the likes of video rental services in their prime.

 

That's a pretty good joke.

 

"Our investigation will look into whether the biggest online gaming companies are being fair with their customers when they automatically renew their contracts, and whether people can easily cancel or get a refund.

Should we find that the firms aren’t treating people fairly under consumer protection law, we are fully prepared to take action."

Last year I had to sue Sony to get an unauthorized transaction refunded.

 

I get that they've been shoving these down our throats, but I never knew they were scams!