Gray-Market CD-Keys.

[SlappyMcGee]

http://kotaku.com/5409642/valve-bans-gr ... are-2-keys

Basically, some Asian companies buy games from distributors like Activision at bulk prices and then sell the keys internationally at reduced cost. Valve and Activision have decided to block those keys from being able to use the game.


Isn't this completely fucking bullshit? How can you deny a consumer the right to play a game just because he paid less for it legitimately?

It should be noted that this practice is not technically illegal

[blackson]

How is this any different than someone who owns a general store going out and buying a bulk amount of items and selling it in their store?

[Aldaric]

This is dumb. That is a dick move Activision pulled. They shouldn't go after the customer, they should go after the companies that are buying in bulk prices.

[blackson]

They shouldn't go after the customer, they should go after the companies that are buying in bulk prices.

The companies /are/ the customer. They are as much of a customer as the people who bought the games from them.

[乳头的早餐谷物]

Retard-o-tron. Like attempts made to stop resale and region locking and such things.

[PALEMOON]

This makes absolutely no sense. It figures Activision would be the one to pull something as retarded as this.

[T3chno]

Activision joins EA in group o' idiots.

[otters~1]

That's complete crap. Activision lets the bulk buyers have their product, then negates it after it's moved past the middle-man stage. What the fuck?

[Kablizzy]

Ah, capitalism. If only you worked.

[aids]

Ah, capitalism. If only you worked.

I guess he lost his job in the recession.

[otters~1]

Ah, capitalism. If only you worked.

I guess he lost his job in the recession.

Another bitter transient.

[Vyacheslav]

Just trying to have more control over their own products... Stupid.

[Kablizzy]

Just trying to have more control over their own products... Stupid.

I know! How dare they exert control over something they themselves and no one else worked hard on. Sheesh. *People*, right?

[乳头的早餐谷物]

Just trying to have more control over their own products... Stupid.

I know! How dare they exert control over something they themselves and no one else worked hard on. Sheesh. *People*, right?

I know! How dare consumers ask for the slighest amount of control over something they themselves worked hard to pay for. Sheesh. *People*, right?

[SkyPanda]

The article isn't very clear on whether or not the companies are legit, does anybody know?

If the asian companies aren't authorised retailers, then Activision is doing the best thing for themselves and their customers and we should support them.

Wanting right of resale to be out of the hands of producers is a strange position to take. There's problems of liability, warranty and various other exciting legal issues. Most importantly, a lack of control on the part of the producer can be crippling for business. Producers should be able to control distribution in a way that benefits their business, lest they go out of it.

Ooh, yet another reason why producers should be able to control resale- it limits the ability of scammers and those who try to exploit the system. Example - footy tickets. People always try to buy up tickets and flog them at extraordinary prices, kind of the opposite to this game situation.

[SlappyMcGee]

I believe the producers have enough control over their product at initial sale. They are selling these keys to a company, and then saying they aren't valuable later. Control at resale seems silly. If you sold me a wheel, and then I sold the wheel to a dude, you couldn't take the wheel back.

[SkyPanda]

I believe the producers have enough control over their product at initial sale. They are selling these keys to a company, and then saying they aren't valuable later. Control at resale seems silly. If you sold me a wheel, and then I sold the wheel to a dude, you couldn't take the wheel back.

Yeah, you're right. Activision are super un-defendable here, the bastards. ;P

[Tunco]

I believe the producers have enough control over their product at initial sale. They are selling these keys to a company, and then saying they aren't valuable later. Control at resale seems silly. If you sold me a wheel, and then I sold the wheel to a dude, you couldn't take the wheel back.

Though, once you sell the wheel to someone, the wheel is not yours anymore. My point is Activision has no right to want the Asion companies to deactivate the CD-keys. Btw, once they sold the keys to the Asian companies, why did they let such a thing to happen at the first place?

Suppose that Activision is right about this, what would happen if they deactivate the product codes- the Asian companies. What about customer rights? What about millions of people, and their money, and Activision's useless products? Will they collect these products eventhough that the Asian companies accept to deactivate the CD-keys? And they will repay the money to their customers?


----- Capitalism.

[SlappyMcGee]

I believe the producers have enough control over their product at initial sale. They are selling these keys to a company, and then saying they aren't valuable later. Control at resale seems silly. If you sold me a wheel, and then I sold the wheel to a dude, you couldn't take the wheel back.

Though, once you sell the wheel to someone, the wheel is not yours anymore. My point is Activision has no right to want the Asion companies to deactivate the CD-keys. Btw, once they sold the keys to the Asian companies, why did they let such a thing to happen at the first place?

Suppose that Activision is right about this, what would happen if they deactivate the product codes- the Asian companies. What about customer rights? What about millions of people, and their money, and Activision's useless products? Will they collect these products even though that the Asian companies accept to deactivate the CD-keys? And they will repay the money to their customers?


----- Capitalism.

You vicious agreement person, you.

[Amadeus]

How is this any different than someone who owns a general store going out and buying a bulk amount of items and selling it in their store?

[scythe]

If they don't want people to buy CD-Keys at bulk prices, they should just not sell them at bulk prices. Is that so hard?

[jean-luc]

How is this any different than someone who owns a general store going out and buying a bulk amount of items and selling it in their store?

In much of the world, matters of possession are handled much differently for physical items (such as our proverbial general store sells) and intellectual property. Primarily, physical items are sold, and intellectual property is licensed.
When you buy a physical item, you virtually always are purchasing the item itself with no restrictions on its usage. You can do whatever you want with it (except as restricted by very specific laws, e.g. you can't manufacture and sell your own if the item is protected by patent), including reselling it at whatever price you choose. Intellectual property, however, items like music recordings, software, bodies of text, &c. are not distributed as physical items (because they are not) - they exist in infinite quantity, so if they were sold as physical items the laws of supply and demand (the economics of scarcity) would drive the price to nil. As an item in infinite quantity, in order for the economics of scarcity to work, scarcity must be artificially produced[1]. This is done through licensing. When you purchase software, you purchase a license to use it. The body of this license is generally referred to as the End User License Agreement (EULA), although it may also be referred to as the Terms of Use or Terms of Service for service products. The manufacturer reserves the right through this license to restrict how, when, and where you will use the software, and at present they can revoke your right to resell.

[1] Note that this is only necessary to uphold the scarcity model of economics. the 'economics of abundance' is a model that allows for the monetization of abundant (infinite supply) items through indirect and voluntary monetization, and the production of related scarce (typically physical) items. Michael Masnick writes extensively about this.

[jinxed_07]

I believe the producers have enough control over their product at initial sale. They are selling these keys to a company, and then saying they aren't valuable later. Control at resale seems silly. If you sold me a wheel, and then I sold the wheel to a dude, you couldn't take the wheel back.

Yeah, you're right. Activision are super undefend-able here, the bastards. ;P

But if companies go around and sale there products at low@$$ prices, then that would lower the market value of their product, forcing them to lower their prices.
I beg to differ that Activision isn't _completely_ un-defendable .

[Mute Monk]

But if companies go around and sale there products at low prices, then that would lower the market value of their product, forcing them to lower their prices.
I beg to differ that Activision isn't _completely_ un-defendable .

Except Activision has already received the money from the initial sale of the CD-keys. It's not as if new keys are being created by non-Activision companies and being sold at lower prices...that would be illegal. The only (legal) source for the keys is Activision, so they still get their profit.

[Rhekatou]

WTF? It's like selling a used game. Hell, gamestop rips me off when they buy mine, and sell the once $10.99 game for $19.99.
That's not illegal, is it?