Deus Ex Human Revolution was released yesterday and word was that the PC retail version came with a free copy of an OnLive Code to the game. The first thing that crossed my mind was "why in the world would someone need an OnLive code if they're buying the PC version?" It is an obvious promotion for the OnLive service and most people are going to just sell it off on eBay since they'll be playing it on the PC anyways with the CD/DVD they get. OnLive is a videogame streaming service. Much like NetFlix, players can buy games from the OnLive service and the game will stream as a video to the player so that players can play at the highest graphics settings and still be able to play through their PC monitors or TV.
Source: Youtube Channel OnliveFansCom
Anyways, what happened was that those who bought the PC retail version of Deus Ex HR from Gamestop ended up not having the OnLive codes inside. What happened was upper management in GameStop told every store to open up the box and take out the code as it's a promotion of their competitors and that it was implemented without their prior knowledge. It makes sense that GameStop doesn't want to help a company that could lead to their ultimate downfall, but it seems that it has caused an uproar in the community for selling a game as "new" after it was open. It's true that if a game is pre-ordered or brand new and they have a stack of the games, they'll keep it under wraps and sell it brand new. But most of the games I buy new are already several months old and so they'll have taken off the plastic wrap and taken out the game and put it behind the desk while putting up the box. I never liked the idea since the boxes get extremely dirty from everyone touching it, the booklets get bent and wrinkled, and an ugly yellow or white sticker gets stuck onto the front and side of the box. I take good care of my games and their boxes, so it pains me to see all that adhesive on the box when I try to take off the sticker (sometimes I don't even bother taking it off so I don't leave adhesive on their). But this was all done to prevent further theft of games which often happened in the past (and to prevent little kids from touch the bottom of the discs and scratching them up. So GameStop's decision to open up all the boxes, take out the OnLive code, and sell the game as new is no surprise to me. Yes it does suck since a lot of people are paying full price for an open boxed product, but at least GameStop will know that this act has hurt its reputation within the community. I miss having Play N Trade and Game Crazy around my neighborhood, but GameStop is the only store that has specific games that I'm looking for. Once in a while, I'll find a good deal at Amazon, Target, or Best Buy (more so on Amazon than anywhere else). For Deus Ex Human Revolution, I think I'll be waiting for a Steam Sale before I get it.
Sources:
-Gamasutra: GameStop Removing OnLive Vouchers From PC Human Revolution Boxes
-Joystiq: GameStop intentionally removing Deus Ex OnLive coupons from retail PC copies
-Kotaku: GameStop Policy: Open Your Games, Steal Your Codes, Sell Game Like New
No comments:
Post a Comment