Naletio na istragu Europske komisije protiv nekih proizvođača računalnih komponenti, laptopa, itd, ali najzanimljivije je da je i Steam (Valve) pod istragom zbog prakse koja zaključava keyeve na regionalne postavke ili restrikcije tipa kupio si RUS key i sada ne možeš igrati jer nisi u toj regiji...
Istražuje se i praktički diskriminirajuća praksa gdje se nekim regijama/zemljama potpuno zabranjuje kupnja određene igre ili se kupuje igra po povlaštenoj cijeni... Zašto bi netko iz Poljske mogao kupiti key za 20€, a mi ovamo za 50€.
E sad ili će odzvoniti jeftinim keyevima (što bi bila vjerojatnija opcija) ili idu spuštanja cijena za sve (barem malo)...
Ali to je tek istraga, a kada će se i ako će se nešto konkretno dogoditi...
Evo i članak koji se odnosi na video igre:
The Commission is investigating bilateral agreements concluded between Valve Corporation, owner of the Steam game distribution platform, and five PC video game publishers, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax. The investigation concerns geo-blocking practices, where companies prevent consumers from purchasing digital content, in this case PC video games, because of the consumer's location or country of residence.
After the purchase of certain PC video games users need to confirm that their copy of the game is not pirated to be able to play it. This is done with an "activation key" on Valve's game distribution platform, Steam. This system is applied for a wide range of games, including sports, simulation and action games.
The investigation focuses on whether the agreements in question require or have required the use of activation keys for the purpose of geo-blocking. In particular, an "activation key" can grant access to a purchased game only to consumers in a particular EU Member State (for example the Czech Republic or Poland). This may amount to a breach of EU competition rules by reducing cross-border competition as a result of restricting so-called "parallel trade" within the Single Market and preventing consumers from buying cheaper games that may be available in other Member States.
The Commission is carrying out this in-depth investigation on its own initiative.
Background
Article 101 TFEU prohibits agreements between undertakings and decisions of associations of undertakings that prevent, restrict or distort competition within the EU's Single Market.
The opening of formal proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. It relieves the competition authorities of EU Member States of their competence to apply EU competition rules to the practices concerned.
There is no legal deadline for bringing an antitrust investigation to an end. The duration of an investigation depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the cooperation of the companies with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.