Could the EU make games glitch-free?

Proposed changes to consumer protection laws in the European Union would hold software makers accountable for faulty products, but the game industry is arguing the rules could end up hurting creativity. The bigger issue, I think, is how it would affect bugs and patches.

Currently, the EU Sales and Guarantees Directive mandates that all physical products be guaranteed to work for a minimum of two years. Commissioners Viviane Reding and Meglena Kuneva want to extend that protection to software as well, ZDNet reports.

The video game industry has raised a stink, arguing that consumers could abuse the privilege and try to return games that they simply do not like. The result, according to Richard Wilson, head of the industry group Tiga, will be less risk taking.

"If there is an onus on developers to have software that is ‘near perfect’ then it could stifle new ideas as people could end up just playing it safe," Wilson told BBC News.

I don’t buy that argument, simply because the law could be worded to prevent subjective complaints. I’m guessing that already happens now with physical products; I doubt that someone could return a toaster oven because they wish they had purchased something that toasted more evenly or was more powerful. (Along that line, the Business Software Alliance says software in general isn’t like a toaster, because so much depends on operating conditions and uses determined by the consumer.)

But this issue does raise an interesting point that’s not being discussed: These days, it’s not unheard of for a game to ship full of bugs, only to be patched in the weeks following release. This is certainly the case with PC games, but it’s happening with console games as well. It can be difficult to snuff out every last error, especially in ambitious titles like Fallout 3. Nonetheless, consumers should expect a reasonable amount of playability when they spend money on a game.

In any case, there’s a difference between minor glitches and game-killing bugs, and a lot of gray area in between. If there’s going to be any debate, this is what should be discussed.