Nintendo and Sony Forced to Make Critical Changes to In-Demand Subscription Services

The modern era can be generally defined as subscription-driven. Simply because most of the giants are now rolling out their own content-based services and they all have a simple motive behind this approach; to make the most out of their user base.

However, the new age model of offering such services has come under the scanner lately. That’s because of the way they are being operated by their respective providers. There have been instances where users have been charged for a particular membership despite them not using it for an extensive period of time. Simply put, there has been a problem with auto-renewal payments made for the subscriptions.

But earlier this year, Microsoft decided to bring more transparency to this issue. Now it presents all the necessary information to the users while joining the service. The Xbox Game Pass guidelines have been updated to present clarity on how the subscribers can cancel or manage their memberships. Especially for the situations when they don’t use it for a long time.

Now it seems like more companies are following this essential approach.

Sony and Nintendo agree to update guidelines for subscription services

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently investigated cases involving users getting charged without any usage of a service. This was in relation to the auto-renewal practices by the providers. Following the investigation, Sony and Nintendo have now decided to update their own service guidelines.

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According to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony will bring new measures for its PS Plus subscribers. It will involve contacting the long-term users who haven’t used the service for a while, in order to remind them how they can cancel the subscription. In case they don’t cancel it but are also not actively using it, Sony will stop charging them.

Similarly, Nintendo has made a change in its business model. From now on, the Nintendo Switch Online service won’t include auto-renewal as a default option. Users will get a separate option to turn it on and that, too, only after signing up.

Meanwhile, CMA’s executive director Michael Grenfell acknowledged these recent changes made by the companies.

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“As a result of our investigations, a number of changes have been made across this sector to protect customers and help tackle concerns about auto-renewing subscriptions,” he said.

Overall, it’s a great step towards more transparency for the users who use many services these days while gaming. Such changes will be beneficial to them for sure.