The video game industry opposes the rights of independent US companies to repair game consoles

Parsing the PS3 console. Source: iFixit

In the modern history of mankind, various kinds of lobbies appear quite often. The oil lobby, tobacco lobby , pharmaceutical ... In general, the term lobby usually refers to a group of people or organizations that advocate certain interests. One of these groups has been relatively recently formed in the video game industry. It is called the Entertainment Software Association and is a trading organization that includes Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and a number of publishers and developers of video games.

This organization, using the End User License Agreements , successfully limits the ability to repair video consoles in the United States and some other countries, where only so-called authorized service centers can officially repair problem devices. They receive authorization after they draw up an agreement with the manufacturer of such devices, pledging to pay license fees. The situation is similar with the repair of various Apple devices. A similar policy is pursued by the company, which is far from the world of video games - we are talking about the manufacturer of tractors and agricultural equipment John Deere.

As for gaming consoles, we can say that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have monopolized the repair market for these devices. At least in the USA. And this despite the fact that the consoles of the past generation, the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360, have several known problems, such as the “yellow fire of death” and the “red ring of death”, respectively. For the restoration of the Playstation 3, Sony takes $ 200, Microsoft replaces problematic devices for free. In this case, the problem itself is solved much faster if the user is at least a little familiar with electronics. For example, the PS3 can even be repaired by a beginner, who will use the available manual from iFixit . Independent repair centers could repair the problem device more quickly if they had the right to make such repairs.
')
As for home repairs, companies cannot prohibit the user (unlike the manufacturer of the tractors already mentioned above), although the warranty is lost if the warranty period has not yet come out. The same Sony and Microsoft use special stickers , if they are damaged, the official service center will not accept the devices for warranty repair, but will take the full cost of such repairs from the user.

But companies that repair electronics, in a number of countries, cannot repair video consoles without obtaining an official license. And the lobby of the participants of the video game market is doing everything so that it continues. If you take the same stickers, their use in the United States is illegal . But nothing changes - companies both have used this technique and continue to use it. Console manufacturers only sell spare parts to authorized service centers, getting a good increase in sales of consoles for this.

Opponents of the lobby of the video market players attempted to get rid of the inconvenient conditions of service and repair of the devices in question. For example, in a number of US states (Nebraska, New York, Minnesota, Wyoming, Tennessee, Kansas, Massachusetts and Illinois) a bill was proposed that obliges game console manufacturers to sell parts of their devices and repair tools to independent companies and users. The price should be the same as the lobby sets for authorized service centers. The authors of the bill also propose to oblige the manufacturers of video consoles to provide independent companies with software and hardware tools that allow them to flash consoles.

As a result, a real legal war unfolded, during which most of the organizations belonging to the Entertainment Software Association sent lawyers to Nebraska, where the bill is being passed. The lobby’s appeal to Senator Lydia Brasch states that the bill “threatens the safety of customers”, “is not necessary” and “obliges you to disclose proprietary information”.


Detail of the appeal of the lobby to the senator Lydia Brask

In fact, the bill does not oblige manufacturers to disclose any information that represents a commercial secret. Also, this document does not imply the transfer into the hands of third-party repair tools, more powerful than those already in possession of thousands of authorized service centers. Lawyers who participated in the development of this bill, argue that it does not violate any laws. At the same time, console manufacturers try to keep everything as it is, while continuing to receive license fees. “It’s very profitable for a manufacturer to stay where he is now, saying that he is the only one who knows what and how to fix,” says Kyle Vince, iFixit CEO. By the way, he also became the head of the team that protects the rights of farmers to repair their tractors in the case of John Deere.

He believes that any person or organization has the right to repair their property, whether it be a mechanism or an electronic device. Viens believes that the position of equipment manufacturers is simple and clear - they simply do not want to lose financial receipts in the form of licensing fees. So it's not about protecting anyone's rights, as usual, the problem is money.

It's just business, nothing personal.