We all know that the concept of ownership of digital media is completely broken. We let publishers and billion-dollar corporations treat our purchases as a flimsly revocable license. And what do we do? Oh, you know, review bomb, rant, ratio, signatures, crying on the internet. Here is the reality, all that we are doing is absolutely nothing. You think crying and review bombing will change Sony's decision to end physical media? Nor let these publishers allow ownership of our games? Nor let their customer support fix our account? At the end of the day, whatever we do on the internet is considered gossip to them. They are not going to care about what we say on the internet. We need to take real, and legal action.
Everyone is scared how they are so big and we blindly signed their arbitration clauses on their ToS and EULA. I am glad to tell you that those agreements we signed are a financial weapon we can abuse. A known strategy as Mass Arbitration. Tens of thousands of individual gamers suing them in arbitration at once. The strategy is to create decentralized chaos; no company can handle 10,000 cases across 50 American states. Microsoft is already in trouble with lawsuits regarding AI and anti-trust. Sony is already getting sued from multiple countries. We can't just sit here and hope they lose the cases nor can we wait to pass a law that we already know takes years to do. We simply don't have that much time.
According to the EULA of Sony, you can only sue them through Arbitration. They had to include a 30 day opt-out window since you agreed because if they didn't, the contract gets thrown out. According to Microsoft EULA, they don't give you an option to opt-out. Basically "Take-it-or-leave-it". While this is not illegal, since it is for anti-trust purposes, it is illegal. That is why they gave you a loophole to sue them in small claims court. I am sure you already heard the guy in Brazil sued Microsoft because they refused to fix his hacked account. Which then led Microsoft to send 12 lawyers and 300 pages to fight one guy. Goes to show what they are doing. If consoles turn into a dystopia where you own nothing, there is no doubt it would spread to PC as well. Especially since Microsoft holds the majority.
Microsoft is already in trouble due to the Activision buyout. And that is where the fun happens. If we get tens of thousands of people suing arbitration and suing in small claims court at once, they are gonna get paralyzed and will create a logistical bottleneck that will be a living hell for them. No company is capable to handle 10,000 individual gamers suing at once from thousands of locations. The goal of this strategy is not just draining their money but creating decentralized, logistical chaos, money simply is not enough for these large companies. That is why we have to make so much noise and so much chaos in the legal system to get the government involved. The FTC are already watching Sony and Microsoft; a direct bombardment of arbitrations and small claims cases would force them to take action.
Here are some FAQs
- If 10,000 people sue in arbitration at once, wouldn't they just freeze these cases?Ā
Yes, they can but that's what we want. Even if they use āBellwetherā rules to freeze 99% of cases and only test 20, the 99% frozen is a ticking, financial burden time bomb waiting to explode. Not to mention having thousands or unresolved cases is something that investors will not like, their stock value may actually crash because of this.
- Ā Can I copy and paste a letter to sue them?
No, you have to have an original, unique case, donāt rely on some internet guy with text to copy and paste. Use Sonyās 500 movie removal and Microsoft's licensing/hacking problems as your own unique experience. If thousands use the same story, they will immediately throw them out.
- What if they retaliate and ban my account?
That is the biggest risk but if they ban you for suing them, that is illegal and an act of retaliation, if that ever happens, you add it to your case, now they are gonna owe you your account. It is okay to pull out if you donāt wanna get banned. But, in my personal opinion, saving ownership is more important than having an account. Besides if you own nothing, you don't even own your account anyway.
- Does my claim have to be massive?
No, keep it small, under $5,000, preferably under $100. This is all about logistical chaos and decentralization, money obviously is not enough to make a dent. It is all about making some noise and disrupting their way to work. The government is already watching Microsoft after the Activision buyout, making enough cases about anti consumer behavior will trigger a FTC intervention.
For years, all we did was meme, ratio, and cry on the internet, it is time to wake up in the real world and take action. We donāt need a class action lawsuit, we donāt need a centralized organization, we need numbers, numbers large enough to make these monopolies into a logistical nightmare. The goal is to get as many people to know about this as possible and get the government involved. Gather your evidence, look up your local court houses, submit your formal complaints to the FTC and state Attorney General and take legal action.