Modern Express News (reporter Wang Yi) as a long-published dress-up mobile game, the popularity of "Cloud Dress Hagoromo" gradually declined, on March 30, # Yun Pei Hagoromo suspended # on the hot search, the game once again entered the public eye. In February this year, "Cloud Dress Feather" issued a suspension announcement, triggering user rights complaints, players said that they had invested time and money in the game, and the game was more than just data for them. After the suspension and deletion of files, the character data will be cleared, and their previous investment will not be left behind. More gamers said that they had also experienced such a situation, and even some games released recharge activities before they stopped serving. Is the game account just data? Is it illegal to forcibly stop the service against the player's wishes?
The game was stopped and deleted, and the "daughter" who had been carefully "raised" for many years was gone
A few years ago, mobile games such as "Warm And Warm Tour of the World" for the female market exploded, and many game production companies have entered the game and launched a number of mobile games with similar models. In 2018, "Cloud Dress Feather" landed on the mobile phone application market, and this mobile game received great attention as soon as it was launched, and once topped the app store recommendation list. In this game, the heroine played by the player uses special abilities to travel through time and space, encountering various partners in different worlds. The gameplay is mainly to collect and change clothes, players can get costume props through plot levels, recharge and exchange channels, and then complete the task. In order to pass the level, and in order to get more beautiful clothing matches, players often need "Krypton" and "liver" to invest money and time and energy in them.
△ "Cloud Dress Feather" issued a suspension announcement
Since 2018, the mobile game market has been updated and iterated, and on February 20, 2022, Yunsheng Yuyi issued a suspension announcement, saying that because the agency agreement between Tencent and the game developer is about to expire, it will officially stop operating on April 28, shut down the game server, when users will not be able to log in to the game, and all account data, character data and other information in the game will be deleted.
△ "Cloud Dress Feather" issued a notice of suspension compensation
This move triggered the opposition of a large number of players, and subsequently, "Cloud Dress Feather" issued a compensation announcement to provide gift package return and exchange services for users who have paid in the game and recharged virtual currency in the game. This compensation failed to appease the player, who complained about it to 12315.
The Consumer Association intervened, and more gamers said they had similar encounters
On March 18, the Consumer Association said on the official Microblog "China Consumers Association": "I will pay attention to the problem of the cloud feather game reflected in the consumer message collection." Nearly half a month after the consumer association intervened, on March 30, "Yun Xie YuYi" said that it would suspend the suspension and continue to operate. The matter has also appeared on Weibo's hot search, triggering more discussions among mobile game users.
△ @ China Consumers Association official blog post, said that it has paid attention to the "cloud coat feather" game problem
" The overlord clause of the game industry really needs to pay attention to it, once the manufacturer feels that it is not profitable, it will delete the data offload, and all the money spent in the game will be adrift, and the name is that the things that the players charge money to buy have no ownership but only the right to use, which is really outrageous."
△ On March 30, "Cloud Dress Hagoromo" issued an announcement that it will suspend the suspension of service
It's not just a problem with the cloud coat, it's the problem that exists in the entire gaming industry. In this regard, I still hope that the state can pay attention to it and improve the laws and regulations. Consumers can't always create wealth for game manufacturers, but in the end, the bamboo basket is empty. "
Virtual property should also be protected, if the delisted games are handled like the cloud feather, then the player's money is like a water drift, if other game manufacturers see the same, the small games with insufficient flow are in danger, will there be a complete egg under the nest?! Players should be given a reasonable explanation, rather than replacing the so-called equivalent compensation with virtual currency..."
How is digital property protected? The fairness between the platform and the user is worth paying attention to
For many players who cultivate games, the game character is no longer a data, nor is it only a way of entertainment and recreation, many players have a "cub" mentality, operating and maintaining this small world in the mobile phone screen.
How can this phenomenon be seen from a legal point of view? Li Xiaoliang, a lawyer at Jiangsu Tongda Law Firm, believes that in the game, players buy equipment and props, to some extent, the purchase is the service provided by the game company, after the game is stopped, the service stops, then the game company should refund the player. It is unreasonable to return and exchange only the balance of the recharge, and the money invested by the player in the early stage is not refunded.
It should be noted that the recharge props in the game often do not indicate how long the use period is, so it can be regarded as the use of no term, since it is necessary to stop serving and no longer provide services, the relevant money should also be refunded. In addition, even if some players do not recharge, but through the "burst liver" and other ways, with the improvement of the game level, the game account also has a certain commodity value, for this part of the players, should also be compensated.
Li Xiaoliang mentioned that in the use of Internet applications, the platform side will often list the user service agreement, which has a lot of content, and for users, even if they have opinions on some payments, they can only use the services provided by the platform by accepting all the agreements. Regarding the responsibilities and obligations to be borne by the platform after the suspension of service, and the rights that players can enjoy, the relevant service agreements should also uphold the principle of fairness.
In Tencent's Tencent Game License and Service Agreement, only Paragraph 4.19 mentions, which reads: "When Tencent decides at its sole discretion to terminate the operation of Tencent Games or when Tencent Games terminates operations for any other reason, Tencent will handle matters related to the termination of game operations in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the state on the termination of online games operations, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of users." What the responsibilities are, what the obligations are, is not listed.
In November 2021, Apple tested the digital heritage feature, which was reported by a Modern Express reporter at the time. According to the "White Paper on the Chinese Will Bank" released in the past two years, more and more young people have included virtual properties such as Alipay, WeChat, QQ, and game accounts in their wills and treated them as part of their property. Ni Yunwei, a lecturer at the Law School of Nanjing Audit University, once said in an interview with a Modern Express reporter that the inheritance code of the Civil Code, which came into effect on January 1, 2021, has changed the scope of inheritance and expanded the scope of inheritance to "inheritance is the personal legal property left behind when a natural person dies". Legislatively, a general approach has been adopted, and as long as it is legally acquired by natural persons, it belongs to the inheritance. Digital property, including social accounts, game equipment, etc., has room to be included and interpreted. "
He believes that the key to the problem is what rights individuals have over their social accounts, game accounts, and game equipment. "Whether there is an absolute right and a right to dominate similar to the ownership of a house, and thus how can the individual dispose of such a right?" In practice, online platforms usually state in the user agreement that "the right to use xx accounts belongs only to the initial applicant registrant, and it is forbidden to donate, borrow, rent, transfer or sell." Under such terms, it is doubtful what rights individuals have over their online accounts.
On the one hand, this actually reflects the fact that online platforms use their dominant position in contracting and market forces to construct an unequal legal pattern, and it is difficult for ordinary consumers to negotiate and confront. On the other hand, such social accounts and game equipment are jointly produced by platforms and individuals, and what rights should be granted to all parties by law for similar virtual property, which also needs to be studied in depth in theory and practice.
(Edited by Chen Haijing)