Proposed EU rule could offer 2-year software guarantee

[Pendragon]

The BBC reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8044125.stm) that Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva want to expand current consumer protection regulations to include licensed software. Such a move would encompass games as well as virtually every other type of software. If this EU proposal becomes law though, European consumers stuck in either situation would be able to return the game in question without issue. According to the proposal, consumers would be guaranteed that their games would work for up to 2 years:

Consumers need good quality products - that is only reasonable - but if the legislation is too heavy-handed it could make publishers and developers very cautious... Games takes years to develop and software teams often have to predict what new technology will be in place when the game is actually finished.

If there is an onus on developers to have software that is 'near perfect' then it could stifle new ideas as people could end up just playing it safe.

Digital content is not a tangible good and should not be subject to the same liability rules as toasters.

Cut 'n Paste from here (http://www.techamok.com/)

Pendragon's comments:
I know I have a game that wont install, MoH:Airbourn. If this became law EA would have to make a fix or give everyone their money back. What of the games with DRM restriction that limit installs? They would be forced to make the game work for at least 2 years.

The EU is very happy to dish out very heavy fines to ensure that company's stick to the rules. Intel are looking down the barrel of a $1.45 Billion fine for none compliance with EU law.

[dixie]

preordered airborne and to this day never could install it. so if they could fix it, how would you patch a fix without the game present? a pre-installer maybe.

i settle for a reimbursement settlement.

[Pendragon]

In the case of MoH:Airborne a downloadable installer could be made. Run the installer and put the disk in the drive, type in the CD Key and away you go. Until they do this I'm looking at an expensive coaster. It's nice to see the box along side all of the other MoH titles but how much better would it be is I could play it. It's not a game I would play a lot but I paid for it so I would like the choice.

How many other games would benefit from a new downloadable installer? Old games that people could have a lot of fun with if only the game would install on modern computers running modern OS's. Downloadable installers could be an alternative method of patching games.

It's only an idea, and one not necessaryly connected to this potential new EU law but any software house out there that would like to breath new life in to their back catalogue.

EA recently released a box set of all of the MoH games. This is all of the games needed to be patched! Not only that some would not run properly on modern computers. How much better would have been if the box set included an installer that would have handled all of these issues.


Note: Damn I have hijacked my own thread... :o

[Herr Klugscheisser]

Yes but that box set is now $20 in stores (I forget how fast it dropped, but it was pretty quick). Do you think EA would spend any money to help the consumer when all they did was repress the old disks? If all the games came fully patched and they threw a few bonus items (and I don't mean the ones that came with the Warchest music/strategy guide) then it may have been worth it.

[Pendragon]

I have no idea how to write software, what is involved or the costs. Would it really take that much to make an installer that would fix the current MoH:A one? Not too tricky to change the few lines of code that lets the PhisiX driver pass if it's already a higher rev level installed. Got to be better than having the installer just bomb out without warning. I know that I could uninstall my nvidia drivers and the game would install but why should I have to?

How much to make one that patched the older games to roll up the state of the patches?

Some games complain about the version of Windows you have, BF:2 always complains about 64bit OS but runs just fine.

Everyone that runs Windows knows they they will have to clean install the OS every so often. When it comes to installing our games collection we have to jump through so many hoops to get them to work. Especially some of the older ones, like MoH:AA nvidia fix, telling it to use one CPU, then all of the patches... How much easer would it be to download and run a new installer?

As for the price of MoH:A, my guess is that it would be higher if the game would install on PC's running nvidia graphics cards, and not so many came back to the shops for a refund. Being a better game would also help LOL.

I still feel a grieved that I paid good money for a crap game. I have done that before but at least I can install those games and play them if I want, however crap they are.

PS Herr Klugscheisser nice forum sig LOL