A class action lawsuit alleges Nintendo engaged in deceptive and illegal practices through in-game challenges in Mario Kart Tour that charge real money to underage users for a chance-based game.
The class action revolves around an in-game ‘Spotlight Pipes’ that deliver in-game rewards using undisclosed odds.
These pipes cost the players money, roughly A$4 per ‘pull’, with the various rewards appearing at random, with no odds displayed.
The suit is calling for refunds for all minors in the US who paid money to play this chance-based game.
The plaintiffs allege Nintendo acted in a way that was “immoral, unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous, and/or substantially injurious to consumers”, as well as being in violation of Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act.
An underaged user, who field the suit through his guardian, spent more than A$236 on his father’s credit card to play these games. “{The] defendant’s lootbox mechanism capitalised on and encouraged addictive behaviors akin to gambling,” the suit reads.
“Plaintiff almost never received any valuable reward from the Spotlight Pipes he had purchased during his time playing Mario Kart Tour and would not have made the amount of in-game purchases that he did had he known the true odds of his being able to obtain any reward from the Spotlight Pipe, or that he would not be allotted a refund.”
