Subscription service: Difference between revisions

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Added tone notice. Poor definition of "subscription service" (among other tone issues)
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main - gaming as a service, software as a service
 
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==How subscriptions can impact consumer rights==
==How subscriptions can impact consumer rights==
Subscriptions differ from [[Purchase|purchases]] in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription product/service ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription; in other words a consumer temporarily controls a subscription product only <u>after a subscription has been purchased</u> while a user owns a product if they <u>purchased the product</u>. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, however, as companies may view subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period. Additionally, some companies have even [[retroactively amended purchase]]s such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".
Subscriptions differ from Purchase|purchases in that when a person purchases a product it is expected that they permanently own the product and have full control over it while a consumer's control over a subscription product/service ends when they stop paying or cancel the subscription; in other words a consumer temporarily controls a subscription product only after a subscription has been purchased while a user owns a product if they purchased the product. Subscriptions can be beneficial for consumers in that they act as a sort of "trial period" where a product or service is accessible for cheaper than it would be if they purchased it to own. Some subscription plans even guarantee their customers frequent updates that would otherwise require a secondary purchase. Subscriptions can also be negative for consumers, however, as companies may view subscriptions as a way to extract more revenue out of their customers rather than a trial period. Additionally, some companies have even [[retroactively amended purchase]]s such that consumers lose access to a product they previously "owned".


===Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services===
===Negative trends in the shift towards subscription services===
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===Gaming===
===Gaming===
{{Main|Games as a service}}


====Game Pass====
====Game Pass====
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====Nintendo Switch Online (NSO)====
====Nintendo Switch Online (NSO)====
<blockquote>Further reading: [[Nintendo Switch Online]] </blockquote>Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service that offers features that were either initially offered for free on previous [[Nintendo]] platforms, such as online play, or subscription-gates content that used to be one-time purchases, such as their emulation library. Additionally, all DLC freely obtained via the service is only accessible so long as the consumer continues to pay for the service.<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/us/switch/online/nintendo-switch-online/expansion-pack/#dlc</ref>
<blockquote>Further reading: [[Nintendo Switch Online]] </blockquote>Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service that offers features that were either initially offered for free on previous [[Nintendo]] platforms, such as online play, or subscription-gates content that used to be one-time purchases, such as their emulation library. Additionally, all DLC freely obtained via the service is only accessible so long as the consumer continues to pay for the service.<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/us/switch/online/nintendo-switch-online/expansion-pack/#dlc</ref>
=== Software as a service ===
{{Main|Software as a service}}


==References==
==References==