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250°

German Court Outlaws Pre-Orders Without Specific Release Dates

Germany is cracking down on marketing gimmicks by changing the rules surrounding release dates. From now on, items up for pre-order need a release date or it's against the law.

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annoyedgamer2111d ago

Can't companies just set random dates and push keep delaying them?

getbacktogaming2111d ago

LOL ... What about kickstarter?

annoyedgamer2111d ago (Edited 2111d ago )

Not sure, maybe they wont persue kickstarter, or as is typical with these kind of broad laws, kickstarter will have to restrict its fundraising in Germany.

NecrumOddBoy2111d ago

What about Nintendo who likes to do that, "said-game is released... now!"

Aenea2111d ago

But Kickstarter is not a pre-order. You're not actually buying something, you're investing in the project and as a reward you will receive the finished product when it's done...

FinalFantasyFanatic2110d ago

Which reminds me, I think that Muv-Luv physicals got sent out from Kickstarter recently, just saying.

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Muzikguy2111d ago

This was my first thought too. Also, with it being against the law, how would this be monitored and enforced? Seems like a hard thing to do but maybe not.

Cobra9512111d ago

How would it be difficult? When taking preorder money in Germany, businesses now have to provide the buyers with definite release dates. If those dates come and go with no product delivery, the law has been broken.

Muzikguy2111d ago

Yes but would it be enforced? Here in America people get around the laws all the time for whatever reason

Cobra9512111d ago (Edited 2111d ago )

Pushing the date back after taking preorder money would constitute a breach of the law. I don't know what remedies the law provides, though. Compensation? Refunds? Fines? I should read more about it, because it is a really interesting bit of protection that I'd like to see spread worldwide.

Imagine Star Citizen in this context. Cloud Imperium Games would argue that crowdfunding is not preordering. It would then be up to the lawmakers to close or at least tighten up that loophole. I can see giving crowdfunded projects some leeway, say one extra year after their announced completion date.

Aenea2111d ago

But crowdfunding is investing in the project, getting something in return is only a reward for helping to make the project become a reality, you're not actually buying anything. That's also the risk you take with Kickstarter, if there's nothing coming out of it you just lost your money, it was investment which contains some form of risk and you lost your money. Nothing to be done about that unless they want to completely ban that sorta thing...

rainslacker2111d ago

Yeah. And it's easy enough to just delay a game I suppose. However, I suppose if publishers do that enough, then they'll aggravate the customers over time.

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Cajun Chicken2111d ago ShowReplies(2)
PapaBop2111d ago (Edited 2111d ago )

I think here in the UK we do it best, with the exception of digital preorders, retail outlets only take our money either when we go in to buy it or online they charge our cards/paypal accounts etc the day the game is to be dispatched.

NecrumOddBoy2111d ago

This is how Amazon works too. They don't charge you until shipping or release.

rainslacker2111d ago

To my knowledge, in the US, of the major companies, only GameStop charges you a fee of $5 for a game preorder. $25 for collector's editions that are over a certain amount. One is free to pay the full amount if they want. They're also free to not pre-order, or cancel their pre-order at any time.

I really don't see why there needs to be a law to prevent pre-orders. It's not like the publishers get that money until they actually ship the game, at which time, the retailers will pay for the game.

joab7772111d ago

That kinda makes sense. Who preorders a game without a release date?

SubZtx2111d ago

If I have credit somewhere with an expiration date I like having pre-orders available even if they don't know know the official date.

Razmiran2111d ago

There was that guy that preordered Duke Nukem Forever in 97

Christopher2111d ago

This law is just going to result in them changing from calling it a pre-order to calling it a reservation and then, once it's confirmed, having you come back to 'confirm' your reservation to change it to a pre-order.

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690°

Tencent to buy Crackdown and Sackboy developer Sumo in $1.3bn deal

Tencent is set to buy Sumo Group in a deal worth $1.27bn (£919m), the companies have announced.

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Darkborn1012d ago

Tencent is really buying up everything. I'm surprised everyone is selling to them like this.

Rebel_Scum1012d ago

They want/need capital I guess.

darthv721011d ago

No way they are worth that much. They are a support studio. I guess tencent decided to throw them an insane price that Sumo would be crazy to turn down.

Its like the godfather. "Im going to make you an offer you cant refuse"

UltraNova1011d ago

Always the case.

Who owns the rights to Crackdown and Sackboy IPs though?

boing11012d ago

I've heard some time ago, that they created a special unit that has a mission to search for acquirable devs all around the globe.

-Foxtrot1012d ago

Going off their business practices they seem like a cancer in this industry

1012d ago
blacktiger1012d ago

chinese currency, no limit in printing, but they are selling in USD

PrinceAli1011d ago

Maybe because they're a publisher of games with a history of success loool..?

barom1011d ago

Even Microsoft can’t compete with that kind of money.

Zeref1011d ago (Edited 1011d ago )

Uhm yes they can.. What do you mean?

Zeref1011d ago

Money talks, Besides, those developers don't need to worry about income anymore.

enkiduxiv1011d ago

I doubt anyone that matters to the actual production of the games is getting a raise. The only thing that has changed is that now they can't buy any Winnie the Poo products for their kids.

senorfartcushion1011d ago

Well they’re allowed. America and China are leading the world in toxic capitalism.

n1kki61011d ago

As publicly traded companies it's either they sell and potentially get more, or tencent initiates a hostile takeover and buys at least 51% of the shares. These companies might not even be amicable to the buy out but opt to take it because hostile takeovers are terrible.

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frostypants1011d ago (Edited 1011d ago )

Yep. A company that built itself by ripping off IP of small, innovative developers and out-marketing them. Tencent is everything wrong not just with gaming but corporate ethics in general, and the assymetric regulatory playing field we for some reason permit from the Chinese government. Egregiously corrupt companies like Tencent should be banned from the US market.

senorfartcushion1011d ago

The US market would take Tencent to dinner and have it naked on the bed by midnight if it could. America and China are as bad as each other

Lightning771011d ago

They can take Sumo those devs really aren't that great. Sack boys big adventure scored good however but Crackdown 3 wasn't great. They're 50/50 Sony will find a suitable replacement for Sack boy. MS desperately needs a suitable replacement for crackdown, if it's not already too late in terms of fanfare at this point.

Sumo to me isn't that big of a deal there are better devs out there.

senorfartcushion1011d ago

Crackdown 3 was cancelled and remade a few times. Hardly their fault.

darthv721011d ago

This is the same Sumo who made Outrun 2, 2006 Coast to Coast, Sonic Racing Transformed as well as Forza Horizon 2 on the 360. I think they are better than you give them credit for.

Wulfer1011d ago

You might want to walk this statement back. Why else do you think this game goes for over $200 now?

https://www.ebay.com/p/5144...

1012d ago Replies(1)
ScootaKuH1012d ago

I'm surprised Sumo are valued so high

solideagle1012d ago

yeah, thats what I thought. $1.3 billion is very high, Insomniac sounds like a bargain deal for Sony!

chadwarden1011d ago

And they likely bought Housmarque and Bluepoint for even less than Insomniac.

phoenixwing1011d ago

at the two above me,
it's easy to sell for less when you know you're in good hands business and culture wise. I mean sure you could scratch out some extra money elsewhere but are all the people you know going to be taken care of when you get bought out? Sony takes care of them. Basically you can tell who's a scheming money scumbag by what ceo's/execs choose to be bought by. In the end money talks but there's extras to consider sometimes.

roadkillers1012d ago

I am as well. They do not own any IPs from my understanding...

DOMination-1011d ago

Me too! After looking them up, it seems like they were the parent of other game studios: Lab42, Red Kite, Sumo India, The Chinese Room and PixelAnt Games and also have some cryptocurrency technology.

They may also still hold the IP for back when they were Gremlin Interactive.. back in the Amiga days they were really a dev of some repute.

ScootaKuH1011d ago

Gremlin. Now there's a name that takes me back. Ocean as well.

Teflon021011d ago

They're not, it's likely them just throwing money around to make sure they have no opposition. Sumo is a valuable developer as they've assisted in alot of great games. They did LBP3, Sackboy, Sonic Transformed, I believe Assisted in both ModNation Racers and LBPK, Team Sonic racing, just to name the few off the top of my head that I own.

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IRetrouk1011d ago

I honestly thought ms or Sony would have nabbed them, seeing as they have worked for both on their respective ips, colour me surprised.

Bennibop1011d ago

It's a lot of money for a group with no ips, what would they have worked on to keep so many studios and staff employed. For now at least they continue working on ips for the likes of Sony and Microsoft.

IRetrouk1011d ago

Sony and ms have more than enough ips to keep em busy, the price would have been an issue though, that I agree with, just surprised is all🤷‍♂️

frostypants1011d ago (Edited 1011d ago )

Tencent doesn't exactly pride themselves on original IP anyway. They just steal someone else's. They only need developer drones.

Sephiroushin1011d ago

They have enough to make them busy but there is no point in buying the studio that high, they could just make the developers some offers and thats it... heck every single developer could just quit the studio and with what is tensen left? no point in buying a studio with no IP you dont own the developers

IRetrouk1011d ago

I already agreed that the price was high, still don't take away that they could have been used, and be useful to either ms or sony

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80°

Xbox Cloud Gaming PC Preview/Hands on Impressions (BETA) - CG

Microsoft recently released their Xbox Cloud Gaming PC Beta which allows users the opportunity to stream Xbox games to their Windows 10 PCs or laptops. This follows on from being able to use the cloud gaming on mobile devices which works very well but is limited to the size of your screen. Having the option to play Xbox games with a larger display has its obvious benefits.

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280°

Crackdown 3 8K 60 FPS - Possible at Low-Medium Settings with an RTX 3090

CG writes: Nvidia’s claims that the RTX 3090 can render games in 8K at 60 FPS, ring true for us in this video. We put the game Crackdown 3 through its paces with some interesting results.

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bunt-custardly1288d ago

If you've ever super-sampled anything you would know why it can make things look better.

bouzebbal1288d ago

Let's talk about powahhhh of da clawwdd for a second 🤣did they give up with this thing?

bunt-custardly1288d ago

Oh right, I didn't get the joke sorry, it just clicked. Hmm, is Crackdown 3 really that bad/universally hated especially as it's on gamepass?

SullysCigar1288d ago

My attempt at humour could have been clearer, in hindsight..!

Yeah, sadly Crackdown 3 had been hyped so hard and so long by Microsoft, that when it launched as a mediocre game, it got panned. It was mainly the broken promises about the power of the cloud I think that did it. This was the 'cloud power' poster child for years and it all amounted to nothing, which is a real shame, because if they'd realised their initial vision it could have been special.

bunt-custardly1288d ago

I do remember the original vision where entire buildings could be demolished but wasn't that feature relegated to the multiplayer mode? For me, Crackdown 3 comes across quite generic. I suppose if it had the full destruction in the story mode that would have been bad-ass. If Red Faction Guerrilla can do it why not CD?

FanboySpotter1288d ago

Crackdown 3 was made for crackdown fans. Hated by non crackdown fans. Enjoyed by crackdown fans.

MadLad1288d ago

I played it on PC for a little while via gamepass. It's not nearly as terrible as people would try to make it out to be, but it's the definition of a "meh" game.
There's fun to be had if you're bored.

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andy851288d ago

It's good it's possible but who would pick this over 4K60 on ultra? It would look far better

IanTH1288d ago

100%. This is obviously just showing what can be done with the current highest end hardware, rather than what should be. And if you're splashing out for an RTX 3090 over a 3080 for gaming (small performance delta if not using that huge buffer for productivity), then I guess you'll also consider splashing out for an 8k screen. And, I mean, you'll want to be able to do *something* with it lol.

outsider16241288d ago

Let's be honest here, even with extra high settings at 8k 120fps... it'll still look like crap. Sorry.

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