In another victory this week, Nintendo has managed to win a court case against Germany and Norway. The gaming giant is now allowed to continue its practice of disallowing cancellation of digital pre-orders made via the Nintendo eShop in both countries. Read on below to learn more:
- Norway is a part of the European Economic Community, which means they share many EU laws.
- PressFire.no and Norway’s Consumer Rights Council tested the eShop for consumer unfriendly practices and found Nintendo does not allow cancellation of pre-orders at all, even before the game is released, which is in violation of Norwegian and EU law.
- Nintendo in their reply say they don’t agree with the council, and that they aren’t breaking any laws. They say that, because you can pre-load the game instantly after pre-ordering, the “performance has begun” (which is the wording of the law), and the sales contract is fulfilled.
- The Council however, says you can’t claim “performance has begun” until the game is playable, even though you’ve pre-loaded it.
- Nintendo was promptly reported to the Norwegian authorities, who formally made an “enforcement request” to Germany, as Nintendo of Europe is based there. Germany dragged Nintendo to court to make them abide by the laws.
- The trial hearings started in November, and a verdict was made before christmas – however due to the closed door approach it wasn’t known until earlier this month.
Source: Reddit.com
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