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The German Consumer Protection Authority (VZBV) is taking Nintendo to court over Nintendo's digital preorder policies, specifically over the strict rule that eShop preorders cannot be canceled.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

December 18, 2018

1 Min Read

The German Consumer Protection Authority (VZBV) is taking Nintendo to court over Nintendo’s digital preorder policies, specifically over the strict policy that eShop preorders cannot be canceled.

Eurogamer spotted a report from the Norwegian site PressFire that says the VZBV is well on its way to starting formal proceedings and has moved the entire case.

The whole affair kicked off earlier this year in Norway, and the Norwegian consumer body behind that complaint has since been in communication with the VZBV in order to get this current case started in Nintendo of Europe's home country of Germany.

Originally, the Norwegian Consumer Council accused Nintendo of violating the European Union’s Consumer Rights Direction that rules that customers in the EU and European Economic Area have the right to withdraw from a purchase if the product has yet to be distributed.

Nintendo’s terms affirm that all sales made on the eShop are final, including those made for games that have yet to release. PressFire says that, in response to the earlier complaint, Nintendo claims that the ability to preload games following a preorder means that distribution has, in a sense, begun after preorder, despite those games not yet being playable. 

About the Author(s)

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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