Nintendo has a long history of backward thinking when it comes to digital games and stores. Nintendo was the last company to embrace online play and digital games. Since the Switch was first released, the company has come under scrutiny for the policies of its eShop. One of those policies is the inability of players to cancel pre-orders. This policy sparked legal action in Europe and Nintendo has now been ordered to allow consumers to cancel their pre-orders.
Nintendo updated the pre-order cancellation policy in September 2020. The changes allowed players to cancel their pre-orders up to seven days before the game’s release. This was an improvement over the previous policy which didn’t allow pre-order cancellations at all. The original policy is why Nintendo ended up in court in the first place. The company may have thought that the adjustment would be enough to stave off further legal issues.
However, according to the new ruling in Germany, it seems as though the new cancellation policy might not be legal either. Refund laws for digital goods are still in their infancy and Nintendo had relied on a loophole to avoid giving refunds for pre-orders on the eShop. The German court said that since customers do not receive their game until the release date, they should be able to get a refund at any time up to that point. Essentially making the newer seven-day rule on the eShop also void.
Due to the ruling, Nintendo will have to update their eShop policies on pre-order cancellations. Although the ruling in Germany only covers the EU, it’s not impossible that eShop customers in other countries benefit from the decision. In the digital space, it’s often easier for companies to have blanket policies instead of different ones for each region. Time will tell whether only EU Switch users benefit from the new ruling.