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Good start, but too mild for my taste. Aren't there laws against overpricing/price gouging? The price of in-game purchases quite often bears no relation to the

by tgv 2y ago

Good start, but too mild for my taste. Aren't there laws against overpricing/price gouging? The price of in-game purchases quite often bears no relation to the cost of production.

Ferret7446 2y ago
I wasn't aware of any laws that required products or services to be priced based on the cost of production, especially for luxury goods such as entertainment.
- allendoerfer 2y ago
  In Germany there is § 138 BGB [0], forbidding a "conspicious misproportion" of price and service. I assume other countries must have similar laws. [0]: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__138.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__138.html
  - jncfhnb 2y ago
    This law is more so for cases where a standard price exists
  - _trampeltier 2y ago
    I guess most countrys have something like this. Just is there any case, where a judgment was ruled on this anywhere?
cube2222 2y ago
What does overpricing mean? That sounds a bit like wanting to forbid having profits (what level of relation is allowed, when is it not). With most games with in-game currencies it’s free to play with paid cosmetics. Both the game’s price bears no relation to the production (it’s free) nor the skins’ (as they are subsidizing the free game). I think that model is actually quite excellent (allowing people without money to still enjoy the game, while giving something to those who are happy to throw money at it, everybody being able to easily play with each other). I am totally in favor of getting rid of in-game currencies, though. If anything, it should be like in steam, where you have an in-app wallet with a balance in your local currency.
sandworm101 2y ago
Where such laws exist they are to prevent abuse in one-sided transactions such as a power company jacking up prices over christmas when there is nobody in the office to process service cancelations, or a cellphone company charging triple during a hurricane evac when everyone is on the move. I cannot see how a video game would rise to that level. One can always just play a different game.
doctorpangloss 2y ago
What do you do for a living?

by tgv 2y ago

Good start, but too mild for my taste. Aren't there laws against overpricing/price gouging? The price of in-game purchases quite often bears no relation to the cost of production.

Ferret7446 2y ago

I wasn't aware of any laws that required products or services to be priced based on the cost of production, especially for luxury goods such as entertainment.

allendoerfer 2y ago
In Germany there is § 138 BGB [0], forbidding a "conspicious misproportion" of price and service. I assume other countries must have similar laws. [0]: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__138.html https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/__138.html
- jncfhnb 2y ago
  This law is more so for cases where a standard price exists
- _trampeltier 2y ago
  I guess most countrys have something like this. Just is there any case, where a judgment was ruled on this anywhere?

cube2222 2y ago

What does overpricing mean? That sounds a bit like wanting to forbid having profits (what level of relation is allowed, when is it not). With most games with in-game currencies it’s free to play with paid cosmetics. Both the game’s price bears no relation to the production (it’s free) nor the skins’ (as they are subsidizing the free game). I think that model is actually quite excellent (allowing people without money to still enjoy the game, while giving something to those who are happy to throw money at it, everybody being able to easily play with each other). I am totally in favor of getting rid of in-game currencies, though. If anything, it should be like in steam, where you have an in-app wallet with a balance in your local currency.

sandworm101 2y ago

Where such laws exist they are to prevent abuse in one-sided transactions such as a power company jacking up prices over christmas when there is nobody in the office to process service cancelations, or a cellphone company charging triple during a hurricane evac when everyone is on the move. I cannot see how a video game would rise to that level. One can always just play a different game.

doctorpangloss 2y ago

What do you do for a living?