GameStop Pulls OnLive Coupons From Deus Ex: Human Revolution

[Ghengis John]

Strange, my copy still had its onlive coupon in it, maybe my gamestop didn't get the memo...or was too lazy to do it.

The memo as posted on gamespy says that the coupons were being removed as of 12:22 pm. If you picked your copy up before that then you probably missed the culling.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/deus-ex-3-unofficial-title/1190175p1.html

 

[conflictofinterests]

I have a question:

If someone bought this game new, received and kept the OnLive code, and returned the game, would they still keep the OnLive game? If so, they would get either a severely discounted or potentially FREE copy of the game.

...
Am I missing something here?

Is that a dumb idea, or am I just seeing things where they aren't?

Due to PC games being a one time use thing stores do not normally give refunds on opened copies.

Orite DRM. Sorry about that, continue x_x

 

[Corven]

The memo as posted on gamespy says that the coupons were being removed as of 12:22 pm. If you picked your copy up before that then you probably missed the culling.

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/deus-ex-3-unofficial-title/1190175p1.html

I picked mine up after 4 P.M. so...yeah. well a poster above me said that their gamestop never got any message to do so, I'm thinking my gamestop never got it either.

 

[NotSoNimble]

Lies!

My game wasn't opened at all.

Gamespot repackages games all the time. They have a plastic machine in the back room.

They have fresh bar-coded xbox seals?

No, they don't.

Xbox version doesn't come with OnLive code, only PC.
No reason to open non-PC version.

Also, troll harder.

Dude, no need to call people names, that's rude and uncalled for.

Sure there is. You missed a key detail in the story thanks to your own stupidity and then felt the need to act belligerent and call others liars. That itself was pretty rude and uncalled for.

Considering he got a warning for his post, I'm notsosure about that.

Plus, the article doesn't say PC, and not all Gamestop stores did this. I saw them open the big cardboard box with the copies in it!!!!! Plus Soberthal (a few post prior) confirmed it with a call to our local store, just like other people posting here report as well.

 

[fozzy360]

Both sides are to blame but like I said, I think Square Enix pulled the biggest dick move here.

But what Square did wasn't something that might be illegal.

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

Doesn't bother me at all.
My internet connection is far to sluggish to stream games from Onlive.


Besides. Gamestop Ireland have a really good trade in deal, trade in three games from a list of 400 or so and get Deus Ex for three quid. Cracking value. Kinda balances things out I guess.

 

[Ghengis John]

for some reason this doesn't bother me much. I've never had a bad experience with Gamestop before and I HATE onlive with every fiber of my being (that and the fact that I fail to understand the "boo-hoo the box is open gamestop is evil" thing) so i'll let this slide.

They took out something from the box that customers paid for. How does that not bother you exactly?

 

[GeorgW]

That's a dick move. Sure, SE wasn't that innocent either, but Gamestop is the big crook here. I just hope that they'll return them now that the scam's open.

 

[Atheist.]

Lies!

My game wasn't opened at all.

Gamespot repackages games all the time. They have a plastic machine in the back room.

They have fresh bar-coded xbox seals?

No, they don't.

This only applies to the PC version of the game, as it's the only version that gets OnLive.

 

[ratix2]

Wouldnt this be stealing? If it comes in the sealed boxed, and they removed it, then its stealing. Me, i buy the game new, and its opened then i wont pay full price for it. An people shouldnt buy it from Gamestop out of principle.

]maybe not stealing, but somebody could definitely make a case for product tampering.

 

[WildFire15]

I'm confused by this, who exactly does this benefit? It doesn't help the customer as a freebie put in by the publisher is taken away and it doesn't help Gamestop as it makes them look petty.

 

[Pingieking]

First off, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a former GameStop store manager. That having been said this is wholly inexcusable. Square has NO responsibility to tell Gamestop that a promotion, no doubt with extensive contracts and fees paid to Square for the advertising, exists between Square and OnLive, and while Gamestop could simply refuse to sell the game, removing the promotion and continuing to sell the game is pretty much the definition of theft. They have taken something of tangible value and sold it it the same price without the customers prior knowledge or consent. I now own a comic book store. If I removed the ads in the comics for online downloads or some of the big name competitors out there from the comics my customers would RIOT. None of the comic book companies inform me of their advertising decisions and there is no reasonable expectation that Square had any duty to inform Gamestop of theirs.

This. Of all the things that they could have done, they went with the one that gets them into the most legal shit.

If your game hasn't been played and if all of the paperwork is still present, it's new. Just because it's been opened doesn't make it less so.

Not according to Gamestop.
If I bought a game from them, opened it in the store, and wished to return it for a refund, I would not be allowed to do so. They can only offer to buy it back from me as a "Used game". Therefore, from Gamestop's own definition, what they've done is sell a bunch of "used" copies of DXHR as "new".

EDIT: Actually, I wasn't totally correct. They won't take PC games back, but the scenario still applies to console games. Also, they're not only selling an opened copy of the game, but they've also removed a part of it. So the "new" games that they're selling is about as new as a opened unused copy with no manual.

On topic: I'm pretty sure that this isn't theft. I'm not saying that it's right, but is this fundamentally different from how some stores offer store-exclusive bonuses? I'm thinking here of stuff like the Best Buy-exclusive stuff for Alpha Protocol (correct me if I'm wrong - I don't have the game) or how every store offered different preorder bonuses for Mortal Kombat 2011.

This is shady, certainly, but I don't think it's illegal. If they were taking the disk or something, that would be different.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal. See the knowledgeable person I quoted before you for more info.

 

[Ghengis John]

Considering he got a warning for his post, I'm notsosure about that.

Plus, the article doesn't say PC, and not all Gamestop stores did this. I saw them open the big cardboard box with the copies in it!!!!! Plus Soberthal (a few post prior) confirmed it with a call to our local store, just like other people posting here report as well.

If you saw them open the box with the copies in it, it's safe to say you were there before noon, yes? Also we're not talking about xbox copies and your local stores can say whatever they want can't they? It's called covering their own backsides. The order came from corporate at any rate and they've admitted to it.

As for the lack of the word PC, seems you're right. The escapist didn't report the story properly. My apologies, not your fault.
http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/deus-ex-3-unofficial-title/1190175p1.html

 

[major_chaos]

for some reason this doesn't bother me much. I've never had a bad experience with Gamestop before and I HATE onlive with every fiber of my being (that and the fact that I fail to understand the "boo-hoo the box is open gamestop is evil" thing) so i'll let this slide.

They took out something from the box that customers paid for. How does that not bother you exactly?

I don't know about you but I paid for a disc with deus ex on it to install on my computer not a freebie coupon for a service that I will never use and personally wish would die quietly in a corner. it would be one thing if they were hiding it but the fact they they have been open about it make it less of an issue. Besides you didn't "pay" for the Onlive voucher, the steam version costs the same and doesn't come with it so I would say that it was a freebie.

Allow me to explain to you why Gamestop selling opened copies as new is rather hypocritical and underhanded on their part. If I were to walk in to a Gamestop buy a copy of a new, unopened game while standing at the counter in front of the employee, remove the wrapping, then immediately decide I don't want it they are going to tell me it's a "used" copy and only offer me trade credit of about a third of what the game is worth. Now when they open a game it's a whole other story. If they open it it's fair game to sell it as new. Either an opened copy of a game is used or it's not. They shouldn't try to have it both ways.

I never said that it wasn't a double standard, its just that as long as the disc is untouched I don't care since Gamestop has always been the only place where I can shop for games hassle free

 

[lotanerve]

Some games are opened at GameStop and the boxes are put up for display (Why we don't use a dud box and cover art for this purpose is beyond me. Although that would mean we would have t do that for every single game in the store..) So if you snatch the last copy at that store, yes, your game will be open BUT BRAND NEW ANYWAY. It sucks, I know.

And yeah, I see this as a dick move. But let's analyze this: Imagine McDonalds gets a coupon for a free hamburger when you buy one of the same value. Now imagine if they printed this coupon in...I don't know, all the BK water cups. Just bear with me, please; I know it sounds redunkulous.
What would BK do? They would probably stop giving away drinks with their meals. Or they would change their cups. Some customer might say "Hey! Where's this coupon I heard of?" to what some customer might say "Sorry, we had to remove them because they promote McDonalds. :/"

Very few people are gonna stop and analyze this like that. They just hear the word Freebies and they demand stuff. No, I am not defending GameStop simply because I work there. GameStop has its major dick moves and that's the management's fault, not the employees. What I think GameStop should have done was add some sort of incentive to kinda say "Hey, you're not getting that one coupon but we're giving away something else instead". But again, that's not up to them, it's up to the developer that decides to give something away via GameStop.

I don't know. I see my beloved Square Enix pulling the biggest dick move here for not telling GameStop.
"WHOOPS! We forgot to mention that the games come with a coupon from your rival. So...too late! if you wanna sell any copies at all, you gotta sell the copies we gave you! *TROLL FACE*"

GameStop just had to do one thing, and thats take it up with Square Enix. this act however, has completely undermined any chance they were in the right. Square didnt think this would affect gamestop that much(to get the coupon, you have to buy the game, and by buying the game, youre giving gamestop money, so technically, this ad for onlive is giving gamestop money), so they forgot to mention it. what gamestop did, was infringe on IP and actually mess with what YOU are buying. this is against the law. its the same thing if they took the serial key for the game and used it, while still selling you that game. this is theft, and punishable by law. dont defend them. of all the paths they could of taken, they took the one that grants them no right of being victims and can actually cost them lawyer and lawsuit money, as well as emphasizing their image as idiots and greedy people.

I can see why both sides did what they did. OnLive obviously has some agreement with Square Enix to have them promote OnLive by including a coupon for a free copy, in their new Deus Ex game. While I'm not extactly pervy to the exact arrangement of the agreement, I'm sure it's a binding contract that Square Enix has honored. Enter Gamestop...who orders thousands of copies directly from the publisher months ahead of time, probably before OnLive and Square Enix entered into a contract together. Gamestop isn't to pleased to see that the new merchandise of Deus Ex games includes a coupon for a direct competitor. I'm guessing they ALREADY appealed to Square Enix to send them copies of games without the coupon, but were denied. Since the agreement between Square Enix and Gamestop never mentioned anything about this conflict of interests, Square Enix told them "Too bad, count this as a lesson to be learned for next time" ...Well maybe not so harshly, but I'm sure Square Enix would have to break their agreement with OnLive in order to fulfill Gamestop's new request, not to mention take a hit at all the "unopened copies" (like that would exist) that Gamestop would have sent back. So Gamestop decides to take matters in their own hands and remove the coupons. I'm interested to see what consequences come out of this strategy.

 

[Tanis]

How the FRELL is my game NEW if it has been opened already?

FREK-THAT-SHART.

You're allowed to swear here.

If you don't want to, I wonder why you're pretending to.

Because I was watching BSG and it sounded cool in my head.
Besides, ponies are cool.

 

[Ghengis John]

for some reason this doesn't bother me much. I've never had a bad experience with Gamestop before and I HATE onlive with every fiber of my being (that and the fact that I fail to understand the "boo-hoo the box is open gamestop is evil" thing) so i'll let this slide.

They took out something from the box that customers paid for. How does that not bother you exactly?

I don't know about you but I paid for a disc with deus ex on it to install on my computer not a freebie coupon for a service that I will never use and personally wish would die quietly in a corner

And they opened your box and took something out of it. Again why doesn't that bother you? Because you dislike the service? So because you don't like somebody it's okay to steal from them? I don't really understand how prejudice excuses a crime.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Its wonderful to see the gamestop hate.

Hell, I'd do it. think of it this way. If pepsi just started shipping out cubes, but unknown to them one of their suppliers was putting in coke products, pepsi would want to remove the sample. And of course the situation is vice versa.

Its on Squeenix mostly. they should tell gamestop, not just package competition off for free. But gamestop should also put up a sign saying we've removed it, because we do not wish to advertise this service as it was not told to us when we had first made the agreement. If customers have a problem, they may send their greivances to square enix.

 

[fozzy360]

for some reason this doesn't bother me much. I've never had a bad experience with Gamestop before and I HATE onlive with every fiber of my being (that and the fact that I fail to understand the "boo-hoo the box is open gamestop is evil" thing) so i'll let this slide.

They took out something from the box that customers paid for. How does that not bother you exactly?

I don't know about you but I paid for a disc with deus ex on it to install on my computer not a freebie coupon for a service that I will never use and personally wish would die quietly in a corner

And that's how it starts. They're afraid of the competition, but that doesn't give them a right to dispose of items that are going to the customer because of that fear. It's like Amazon taking the Digital Copy slips out of Blu-Rays because they want people to use their on-demand service instead of iTunes. It's a dirty practice and it screws the customer out of a nice little benefit.

Can't be complacent about stuff like this.