Nintendo's approach to consumer rights in the eShop has always sparked a bit of debate, in particular its approach to pre-orders and refunds. In Europe the policy of not allowing refunds on eShop pre-orders led to legal action, a case that Nintendo won pending appeal. Now, however, the German court of appeal has reversed that decision following work by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV) and The Norwegian Consumer Council.
Nintendo had already changed its policy slightly in September 2020, allowing pre-orders more than 7 days ahead of a game's release to be cancelled directly on the eShop or via Nintendo Account pages. For example when we tested this today, selecting a pre-order for a game out in less than 7 days showed 'pre-order and purchase', making clear that there would be no right to an immediate 'voluntary right to cancel'. When you select a game more than 7 days from release you get a lengthy page explaining your right to cancel up to that point, with payment and pre-loading also held off until a week before release. This customer page explains the process for cancelling, too.
This process, in place for over a year, may need further adjustments following the result of the court case, in which Nintendo has apparently accepted the result. Below is a summary of the case and the latest outcome (translated from German).
Nintendo had already offered video games for download in its e-shop before the official release date. The download usually included a software-comprehensive "pre-load" of the game as well as an icon displayed on the game console. The unlocking of the game took place via update only on the official start date. Such online purchases can usually be revoked within 14 days without giving reasons.
However, Nintendo had excluded the right of withdrawal and relied on a legal exception. However, the prerequisites for the right of revocation were not met, as the download made available after the pre-order did not yet contain any usable game. Until the release date, the game is worthless for the buyers and the contract of Nintendo is not fulfilled in any way.
...The Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main had dismissed the vzbv's action at first instance. With their appeal to the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt, the consumer advocates have now been successful. At the hearing, after discussing the legal situation, the judges had advised Nintendo to recognise the vzbv's claim for injunctive relief as justified. The company complied with this. In the acknowledgment judgment, the court upheld the vzbv's action in its entirety. As is customary in such judgments, the acknowledgment judgment does not contain any grounds for decision.
Currently, the eShop still has you withdraw your statutory right to cancel on pre-orders within seven days of release, but this concept of the service / product being delivered with a pre-load is part of what has been overturned. As a result it's possible that the eShop will be updated to change this policy soon, we'll keep an eye out for changes.
Ultimately, cases like this aim to ensure that digital / download products have the same consumer rights as physical goods; this court result sets us up for potential positive progress in that area for EU Switch owners.
[source vzbv.de, via pressfire.no]
Comments 46
seeing pocket rumble in the header image is a trip! never been able to play that with anyone
Now we just need Nintendo to lose some more of these cases...
A short explanation here: In Germany (and probably EU), everything you order online (or by other means over a distance) can be cancelled within 14 days without giving any reasons. Now for digital things like games, there exist exceptions because you may want to play the game immediately and not wait 14 days after purchasing. However, in the case of preordering a game, the exception does not apply because you are not able to use the game immediately. This is what the court explained to Nintendo and they agreed.
Great news! Well done, Germany.
Good. Nintendo and Sony’s terrible refund policy need to change.
Good. I hope Nintendo also loses the case for the joycon drift lawsuit too.
Good. I also hope Nintendo will extend this on its own so that we can return games if we've played it for instance less than 30 mins. Make it at least a bit similar as to what steam is doing. https://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/
I wish Nintendo would allow customers up to 3 refunds a year within an hour of downloading.
While most will take a risk on cheaper games, the fact that there is no way of getting my money back certainly puts me off taking a chance on many full price games.
I am sure they would end up selling more with this policy.
I see nothing wrong with any of Nintendos business practices. You can’t ask for your money back after watching a sporting event and no one complains. NSO is a luxury priced dream for retro fans who value 20 year old Nintendo seal of quality games over AAA games from 2019 and who cares about online games being laggy. Online is for predators and call of duty players. And as for joy con drift. You broke it you bought it. Nintendo has been my best friend I never had since 1985 and anyone who says anything remotely negative is a troll, basement dweller, hater and should be banned from this site. Thank you for understanding.
It will be interesting to see whether Nintendo just stops pre-loading altogether, reduces a preload to 1 day before, or actually allows refunds after a preload 7 days out ...
It is funny that one of the worst (and now totally unnecessary) aspects of physical ownership carried over in the digital world.
There is no such thing as limited copies of digital games. No shortages, no limited supply, no "the delivery was late", no I sold your copy to my friend, no nothing. Just purchase and download.
Although I am sure that companies would love to go 100% digital and totally get rid of having to make anything physical, I guess they do not mind carrying over a relic of a marketing tool from that era to keep the pressure on to buy something.
Digital content is a two way street. Digital content changed many of the benefits from physical ownership simply by being digital, the companies should not have it both ways too.
Good now we need the joy con law suites to win and Nintendos anti consumer ass has to pay up
Good thing.
A pre-order shouldn't be treated as a purchase.
Although, I am still quite unsure why anyone would ever feel the need for pre-ordering an unlimited digital release in the first place.
But I thought Nintendo was the pure and good company who are a gamers bestest friend? Nothing like the evil Sony and Microsoft!
So there is still at least some understanding of how a deal works, in the higher courts at least. This is actually good news. Not as in "Wow humanity is so awesome, I love being part of it", but as in "Perhaps they really aren't all in on all the conspiracies, and some people still at least believe in a notion of rights, even after getting all the way up in there.".
@IpwnedU123 Now we just need Nintendo to lose some more of these cases
Shortsightness in full view. And those supporting that has no clue about the cost to host such Online games. But for PrePaid not released that's different as there is no full product and that should be permitted to cancel before release date-even the day before release as your not getting a fully function product. Just imagine if buying a Home or Car was this same deal. Would you or anyone else fall for that-most likely there be a RIOT because of that. In case of PreOrder but now Purchased orders that is Buyers ReMorse-the internet is full of Reviews and testers that one can find unless the games was so niched you couldn't find one review or tester review of it. Physicals buyers can also return a unopened game for refund value but if you opened it-it becomes used value but heck you at least can return it without issues. Only time is if the physical game release was damaged internally then you get recourse to get a refund but most places once you open a Physical game there is no return but to take it to a game reseller/used shop to recoup some funds back.
@sixrings I see nothing wrong with any of Nintendos business practices.
This is also the same with xbox, sony eGames so no different. It's Ninitendo the flavor of the day.
@sixrings NSO is a luxury priced dream for retro fans who value 20 year old Nintendo seal of quality games over AAA games from 2019 and who cares about online games being laggy.
That's undervaluing the price NSO value without it no one would Experienced truly Portable game and Nintendo hasn't looked back. And Streaming/Cloud, don't even start there. First off you have to pay high priced in the USA ISP Subscription if you can't get it for BroadBand. So there is a cost people whom talks how fast their Cloud but forget to tell the rest you have to Pay to Play Twice.
@sixrings Nintendo has been my best friend I never had since 1985 and anyone who says anything remotely negative is a troll, basement dweller, hater and should be banned from this site.
@Vexx234 But I thought Nintendo was the pure and good company who are a gamers bestest friend? Nothing like the evil Sony and Microsoft!
Their in the business to make and sell both Consoles and Games then later to us the gaming experience that comes much later. Using Friend is a "Nice" word to say the least.
@sixrings And as for joy con drift. You broke it you bought it.
There's truth to this issue as well the majority is you broke it you bought it. There are cases of hardware defect but when asked to document the defect and repairs there not much coming. So there is something to be said about this. Just like broken vents or rails from dropping or just plain user Abuse. If anyone thinks this doesn't happen then they are hiding otherwise.
Good to see Nintendo actually held accountable for their awful practices sometimes.
@Kyranosaurus Good to see Nintendo actually held accountable for their awful practices sometimes.
Notice to all xbox, psx isn't mentioned in this statement. As well as other various Game Developers whom based their business on this as well that sell Digital games.
Never understood the purchase of pre-ordering a digital product, but good I guess.
Hopefully, Nintendo just makes digital pre-orders cancelable up until the moment the game is released and be done with this.
@Zeldawakening Yeah, this will simply be the end of pre-purchase in the EU. They are not required by any law to offer pre-purchase, but if it costs them money / legal issues they would just remove the feature.
Pre purchase allowes you to download a large game before it's release, so you don't have to wait on the day of release. With this ruling that would be illegal. Since when you download a game onto your Switch (playable or not) it's license is bound to your Nintendo account. That license can't be revoked without actually updating the license file. And I don't see Nintendo doing that for every single pre-order that is canceled.
Yeap now that Nintendo loses had them send out more coupons to the winning customers so they could use em to buy more Nintendo only games 😁 In this time and age, there's no such thing as refund anymore. You either get store credit, a coupon to use and buy more of your defendants products or extra points to your account to buy more of your defendants products. They'll get your money one way or the other, long story short once you buy you ain't seeing a dime back.
I'd love if Nintendo copies Steam's 2hr policy.
@Axecon Well given Nintendo's rate of moving one step at a time while the rest of worlds already 10 steps ahead, I reckon we will get such a policy in about 10 or 20 years.
At first glance, I thought this was about Nintendo's appeal to un-ban Goldeneye 007 in Germany and was upset they lost. I'm glad Nintendo lost now though, lol.
This is music to my ears.
Now they will be forced to be more consumer friendly.
But the fact that a court needs to force them to be consumer friendly is nothing short of an embarrassment.
We need this in US. Now that the framework is there, it's just common decency to implement it for the biggest audience.
Another round between Germany and Japan lol
@Specter_of-the_OLED that's still better than nothing, but people should really learn to stop preordering. Sure u get a few extra outfits for whatever game, but still not worth the times you get stuck with crap, unfinished games.
@Hikingguy the only reason they haven't went full digital is because of the retailers. If the console manufacturers strip this ability to get people in the retailers' storefronts (whether B&M or digital), & occasional profit, the retailers will refuse to sell & advertise the consoles needed to run these games. That's also why they don't make the digital copies cheaper (the retailers protest, or at least that's what's claimed. Possibly to make retailers look bad, because once all that exists are digital games, do we really think they would lower prices?).
The consumer protection laws here in Germany are probably the best in the world, something what big wig companies hate a lot! I love it. ❤️
The problems with the e-shop reach far beyond pre-orders.
If I buy a physical game (in the UK at least) it's the law that I can return the game within 14 days and get a full refund (providing it is 'unused'). Most retailers offer considerably more than this; Game offer 28 days for example.
On the e-shop I can't get a refund for a change of mind at all- even an hour after the purchase as far as I am aware. You essentially waive your consumer rights entirely as part of the terms of sale on the e-shop.
Based on my own personal experience, Nintendo's attitude to its consumers is pretty awful by any measure.
Just let Nintendo set their little traps for your money, they can’t help it. It’s just in their nature to crank the money magnet to 11 and jam the controls
If they’re confident with their security I see no reason for Nintendo to offer something to exchange digital games for balance for a digital game no longer wanted or offer refunds on games digitally. They update the switch all the time and it’s hardware locked right now to prevent hacking. I don’t see why the needs of the many are shunned because a couple people will hack their switch and get free stuff regardless. Fun fact most switch piracy happens OFF the switch. So step it up. Getting sick of Nintendo lately. Refunding 60 dollars isn’t going to break them.
@Ocaz Funny thing is piracy hasn't effected anything. Metroid Dread came out with strong sells despite being available on pirated websites no soon after it's release.
@SwitchForce PSX and XBox have been dealt with in seperate cases. This is a Nintendo article, I'm not sure what you're getting at.
If digital goods creators are going to insist that copying something that results in no loss of inventory is "theft", then yes, they should also offer full refunds if you "return" a copyable product.
@Fangleman32 dread was online like a week before it’s release actually and yup it still does NOTHING!
This is not really gonna mean much especially with how easily Nintendo just accepted the ruling with a pretty much “alright cool”. This ruling doesn’t force Nintendo to suddenly give generous refund windows on games. All it means is they have to change/remove what is currently Implemented for Europe
Europe likely just lose digital purchase pre-load features all together because Nintendo won’t take the chance of people exploiting refunds like people already do with Steam with overly generous refund windows
nice, Nintendo need a leson how to treat well it customers.
@sixrings
I see what you did there and I approve.
@sanderev
It will be not the End.
Good Products still will be bought and enjoyed, the Publishers will get Money earlier for it.
But if a Product is absolutly Trash, than you should be allowed to refund it.
Look at the recent GTA Trilogy Releasen, who in the right Mind could have been known, that it will be such a brutally buggy Mess?
There was no Review Material before.
Thats why this Law exists in the first Place, to hinder Shops to sell Trash.
A Picture in a Shop isn't the same as the Product you'll have in Hand.
@twztid13 Very true.
The funny thing is most of the time my local retailers have physical games (even Nintendo games) for less than the digital copy. Most of the time $10 or more off the price.
I have pre-ordered exactly 2 games in the mid-90's. Only because my local retailers told me they were no longer getting new games for that console and I knew it was going to be a limited production run. So if I wanted the new games I had to pre-order them from a more specialized retailer farther away. So I did.
But I have never pre-ordered a digital game. Pre-ordering is a relic from the past. What necessitated it is no longer relevant with digital sales. Yet that one horrible aspect is still carried over. Why people still buy games blindly is beyond me. Companies release way too many unfinished or just plain bad games and I have learned that most games drop drastically in price in a short time. For example, no way was I going to pay $40 for Contra: Rouge Corps, but I will pay $4. However, I did pay $9.99 for Contra Anniversary Collection. Later I saw Konami would have accepted $4.99, so now I know to wait for a better price on the Castlevania Advance Collection.
I have more than enough games to keep me happy until prices come to where I want to pay. And with websites like Deku Deal and others, I can see the historical lowest price a company is willing accept for their products.
But what I just said is not always true. When I go on the Wii U eShop, Nintendo is still selling their digital games for full price. That is just crazy.
Like I said before, if companies are going to insist on digital being the future, it is a two way street. I want my games to follow my account not my console.
They stood no chance with Germany as they're very strict with consumer rights.
I'm very glad that the law protects consumers against Nintendo's abusive business practices.
Last I checked, modders and hackers were another part of this equation that makes this whole case all the more complicated. Aside from wanting money from the customers, I would suspect this is another reason why Nintendo didn't want to offer refunds.
Nintendough is way too greedy with their eShop. No refunds, no nothing. A bit scammy actually. Would have refunded MK11 almost instantly if they had normal business practices.
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