Consumer Protection in Video Games

The world of video games is vast, with a multitude of genres to entertain any member of society who wishes to delve into them. This vastness, however, allows for games including violent, crude, and destructive content to be widely available. While it could be argued that this is a positive, allowing for those who wish to engage with said content to do so with ease, these games are broadly marketed and thus can fall into the hands of those not suitable to see such material (such as children). 

Additionally, the immense saturation of video games in the market forces developers to become aggressive with their marketing strategies, drawing the player’s interest in a game. There are instances where this is done through inaccurate representations of what the game truly is, to the detriment of the purchaser. 

This thus begs the question: is the video game industry growing at the expense of the consumer? If so, how can the consumer/player be protected? Or do they even need protection from the video game industry? 

Through this presentation we will delve into the world of consumer protection in the video game industry, discussing whether the methods, legislation, and case law presently available sufficiently protect the video game consumer or not.