This article was originally written for TheNintendoVillage.com, a website I founded and ran from 2018 to 2021.

For those out of the loop, a case has been working its way through the European courts as to whether Nintendo’s pre-order policy is illegal. Consumer groups in Norway and Germany had claimed that Switch players being unable to cancel pre-orders, before the game in question is released, violates EU and Norwegian law.

Nintendo on the other hand, argued that the contract is fulfilled once players pre-load the game, and thus those who have purchased the game lose their legal ‘right of withdrawal’. The Frankfurt Regional Court seems to have agreed, and dismissed the case.

That won’t be the end of the story though, as the German Consumer Ombudsmun - who was also ordered to pay costs - have said they will appeal the decision. That process is likely to take around 18 months.

What do you think? If the game has been downloaded have Nintendo met their half of the contract? Or do you think you should have the ability to cancel a pre-order before the software unlocks? Let us know down in the comments.

Source: Press Fire