Germany has banned the ability to pre-order video games with vague release dates.
The news comes by way of German site Heise (via Eurogamer), which reports that German retailers can no longer offer pre-orders for games that do not have an explicit release date. This means that titles listed as “coming soon” cannot be pre-ordered.
The decision comes after a consumer protection group brought the issues to Munich’s Higher Regional Court after a consumer protection claim was filed against retailer Media Markt over pre-order offers for the Samsung Galaxy S6 back in 2016. The ruling applies to all products including video games and consoles.
“When consumers order goods on the internet, providers must specify by when the goods are delivered,” Wolfgang Schuldzinski, CEO of Düsseldorf Consumer, said of the decision.
The ruling means that pre-orders cannot be taken in Germany for games like The Last of Us: Part 2, Death Stranding, Halo Infinite and Metroid Prime 4.
Would you like Australia to follow suit? Why or why not?
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