Nintendo has adjusted its practice for canceling pre-orders. From now on, you can regret up to seven days before the game is launched, the company says.
According to the Consumer Council, the Japanese gaming giant must indeed go a little further before the terms are in line with the Right of Withdrawal Act and the Consumer Directive.
– Not payment due that governs the right to regret a purchase
Until now, Nintendo has considered the purchase of games as complete the moment you pre-order. The money goes out of your account, you get the game on the launch day and it is not possible to change your mind.
Now the payment only goes through seven days before the game is launched. Until then, you are free to cancel the pre-order, without any hassle. It is a step in the right direction, but Nintendo is still not quite there, says the Consumer Council’s legal senior adviser, Thomas Iversen.
– It is not the due date that governs the right to regret a purchase, but when the service is actually delivered. When you buy a digital game, it is common practice to tick off that the right of withdrawal lapses when the delivery of the game has begun, Iversen says to Gamer.no.
In our view, the consumer must have received a playable version of the digital game in order for the right of withdrawal to lapse. In this way, pre-loading, where a larger part of the game is downloaded in a non-playable version before launch, will not cause the consumer to lose his right of withdrawal.
Long fight
The Consumer Council is in the middle a long battle against Nintendo, which according to Iversen violates the right of withdrawal law. In collaboration with the German organization VZBV, the Consumer Council went to court to force changes at the gaming company, but the judge did not agree. The case has since been appealed, and Iversen hopes for further changes in the future.
– [M]With the assistance of the Consumer Council, the German consumer organization VZBV has a lawsuit against Nintendo to clarify the legal situation regarding the right of withdrawal on digital pre-order. However, this takes some time, and these new conditions are the first step on the road to a cancellation practice in line with the legislation, says Iversen.
Furthermore, Nintendo apparently has another job to do to inform about the new right to cancel. In several places it still says that purchases are binding and that you give up the right of withdrawal the moment you pre-order.
A spokesperson for Nintendo Germany tells Gamer.no that the change has been introduced on a global basis. Thus, Norwegian consumers can also pre-order games on the Nintendo Switch and change their minds – given that there are more than seven days left until the game is launched.
For the record, Gamer.no has tested the solution and had two separate pre-orders canceled without difficulty. You can read more about the process at Nintendo websites.
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