Forcing Players to Walk the Plank: Why End User License Agreements Improperly Control Players' Rights regarding Microtransactions in Video Games
2017; Routledge; Volume: 58; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0043-5589
Autores Tópico(s)Digital Rights Management and Security
ResumoTABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. THE CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK: END USER LICENSE AGREEMENTS A. EULA History of Enforceability B. Enforceability of the League of Legends EULA Based on Current Case Law II. THE REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS DOCTRINE A. History and Development of the Reasonable Expectations Doctrine B. The Reasonable Expectations Doctrine Examined in Prior Literature Concerning Video Games. C. The Reasonable Expectations of a League of Legends Player III. RELIANCE THEORY A. History and Development of Reliance Theory and Damages B. How Scholars Have Argued Reliance Theory in Prior Video Game Literature. C. Reliance Theory and Purchases of Champions and In-Game Assets in League of Legends. CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION As of January 2014, around sixty-seven million people played the popular online game League of Legends on a monthly basis. (1) League of Legends is a free-to-play online game that falls into the genre of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA). (2) MOBAs generally consist of two teams of players where each player controls a character and various computer-controlled units that fight alongside the players to destroy the opposing team's base or main structure. (3) A team wins once the opposing side's base has been destroyed. (4) In League of Legends, players control characters called in two opposing teams consisting of five players each. (5) Players can pick from a variety of different champions to play in a League of Legends match. (6) Players can also customize these champions' appearances with purchasable vanity items called skins. (7) Following the common MOBA layout, (8) the two opposing teams battle in a match where the objective is to destroy the opposing team's base, which is called the nexus. A typical match is around forty-five minutes long, (9) and although the objective always remains the same--destroy the opposing team's nexus--each match is unique in that a player can always choose a different champion, be teamed with different players and different champion combinations, and make new decisions regarding how to play their specific champion in each match. (10) Although League of Legends purports to be a free-to-play game (11)--and it is quite possible to play League of Legends without ever spending a penny--the option to make microtransactions within the game exists. (12) A microtransaction is the ability to make a purchase within a game. (13) Generally, a microtransaction provides a player with the opportunity to purchase extra content created for a game after the game has already been released. (14) In League of Legends, microtransactions allow players to purchase a type of currency called (15) Players can use Riot Points to buy virtually everything in the store, (16) and, in fact, there are some pieces of content that can only be purchased with Riot Points. (17) One of the most important microtransactions players make in League of Legends is purchasing champions--players must have a champion in order to play the game. (18) Players can purchase champions with real money via Riot Points or with an in-game currency called Points, which players earn through actually playing the game. (19) Although Influence Points can buy champions--thus potentially eliminating the need to ever purchase Riot Points--the amount of time it would take to earn enough Influence Points to actually buy a champion is often so high that most players would rather just spend real money to obtain their desired champion. (20) Also available for purchase are the purely cosmetic skins, which change the appearance of the champions--usually by changing the champion's clothing--but offer no advantage to the way the game is actually played. (21) Players, however, can only purchase skins with real money via Riot Points. (22) There are hundreds of items and champions that players can purchase through microtransactions, but in the world of online gaming, these purchases do not give full property rights to a player. …
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