Microsoft improves subscriptions as pointed out by British authorities Will eventually "forget to cancel" disappear in Japan?
Microsoft seems to relax the terms and conditions of its game subscription services, Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, in the UK, as pointed out by British regulators. [Image] Popular game hardware "Xbox Series S" that was released in 2020 and is still difficult to obtain Microsoft's game-related subscription service is now a major business that holds the key to the company's game division. With the Xbox Game Pass, which currently boasts 25 million users, you can play more than 100 games including the latest titles such as "Back 4 Blood" and "Halo Infinite" for 1100 yen (Ultimate plan) per month on Xbox Series X / S. It can be downloaded and played on a Windows PC, and it can also be played through device terminals such as tablets and smartphones using cloud services, and it has become a big topic in Japan since its announcement due to its high cost performance. According to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), "we have made an improvement promise with Microsoft" to prevent users from suffering any disadvantages when renewing their subscription services. An example seems to be:・ Communicate the contract conditions to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. For example, specify that the contract is an automatic renewal, the fee and renewal timing, and if you accidentally renew, the refund procedure method.・ To enable cancellation in the middle of the annual contract. For users who have already signed an annual contract, we will accept cancellations on the way and notify you that we will refund on a daily basis. -Implement automatic cancellation of dormant users. If you notify the user who has not used the service for a long time about the cancellation method and still do not use the service, Microsoft will automatically stop the billing.・ Notify in an easy-to-understand manner about the increase in service charges. When raising the service charge, notify the user in an easy-to-understand manner and thoroughly inform the user of how to stop the charge. In addition, in a CMA announcement, the agency's Michael Grenfell said, "Gamers should be informed when subscribing to these subscription services. Microsoft is fair in response to CMA's efforts. I am very pleased to have promised to offer a certain contract. " "Other companies that offer these subscription services should reassess whether their contracts are fair," he said, hoping that other companies will follow suit. is. A Microsoft spokesman has issued a statement saying that these changes will be implemented not only in the UK but around the world in the near future, and it seems that they will be implemented in Japan soon. Even in Japan, "forgetting to cancel the subscription" is often talked about, and if this measure is actually realized in Japan, there is no doubt that users will welcome it. The company has recently reached an agreement with Activision Blizzard for about 8 trillion yen, offering popular titles such as the "Call of Duty" series, "Diablo" series, and "Overwatch" on the Xbox Game Pass. Announced that it is also planning. We would like to continue to pay attention to the possibility that such relaxation of contract conditions will be a factor in increasing the number of users. · Source https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/27/22904713/microsoft-xbox-subscriptions-changes-uk-cma-regulator https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-secures-changes -to-xbox-subscription-practices https://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/xbox-game-pass/
Kota Misawa