• Bethesda blocks resale of used game
    81 replies, posted
https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/11/17661254/bethesda-sell-used-games-amazon-block Philadelphia-based Ryan Hupp recently contacted Polygon to explain how he’d been forced by Bethesda to stop selling his copy of The Evil Within 2. He bought the game but never unwrapped it, he told us. He’d been expecting to purchase a PlayStation 4, but instead spent his money upgrading a gaming PC. Hupp said he often sells used goods through Amazon Marketplace, which works in much the same way as other online trading sites, such as eBay. Bethesda’s legal firm Vorys sent Hupp a letter, which he forwarded to Polygon, warning that the game must be taken down and threatening legal action for non-compliance. In its letter, Vorys made the argument that Hupp’s sale was not “by an authorized reseller,” and was therefore “unlawful.” Bethesda also took issue with Hupp’s use of the word “new” in selling the unwrapped game, claiming that this constituted “false advertising.” Hupp complied with the demand, but in a reply to Vorys, he pointed out that the resale of used copyrighted goods — such as books, video games, DVDs — is protected in U.S. law through the First Sale Doctrine. This allows consumers to sell a used game, so long as it’s not significantly altered from its original form. Bethesda’s letter claims that Hupp’s sale is not protected by the First Sale Doctrine, because he is not selling the game in its original form, which would include a warranty. The letter says this lack of warranty renders the game “materially different from genuine products” that are sold through official channels. In theory, this argument could be used against anyone who sells a used game without specific permission from Bethesda. If taken to its logical conclusion, Bethesda’s legal move could spell the end of users selling used games — or even brand-new unopened games — via online sites like eBay and Amazon Marketplace. “Unless you remove all Bethesda products, from your storefront, stop selling any and all Bethesda products immediately and identify all sources of Bethesda products you are selling, we intend to file a lawsuit against you,” the letter reads. It goes on to state that a lawsuit would seek “disgorgement of profits, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and investigative and other costs.” When contacted by Polygon, Bethesda declined to comment on this story. We also asked for clarification on how the company’s warranties work on used goods sold through official channels. GameStop, for example, offers a blanket 30-day warranty on used games that do not work, so long as the game has not been broken by the buyers. Bethesda did not reply. Big bad Zenimax/Bethesda threatening to force someone not only pay lawyer fees to defend themselves but also pay the companies lawyer fees because he wanted to sell his own property I hope Zenimax gets screwed hard over this but that'll never happen. cunts
I wonder if the use of amazon store was the problem here. which works in much the same way as other online trading sites, such as eBay. Does it really? I know you can register a store there basically but doesn't that also change the whole private/commercial roles? On eBay everything you usually sell you do as a private person, Amazon Store is rarely private people selling a few items. I don't know the details though, that would be my guess.
I feel like this is them testing the waters to see if this will hold up in court. If it does, then the entire used game industry is gone. Gamestop is totally out of business, not that I really care about Gamestop, but I know the industry REALLY doesn't care about gamestop since they get nothing from the majority of their sales
Xbox wanted to try this, people got really pissed. Thankfully, they fucked off. These companies are just cunts. One dude can't defend himself after all.
First paid mods, Bethesda.net, Creation Club, Creation Club breaking F4SE and SKSE literally every single update, Fallout 76 being always-online, openly stating they won't license third-party Fallout spinoffs anymore, F76 being exclusive to their storefront, and now this. I think I'm gonna pass on their games from now on.
What fucking warranty Bethesda? Show me on your website where your fucking warranty for your stupid game is at. I hope it includes a clause saying that if its a buggy piece of shit I can get my money back. Whats that? You don't have one? Then it is fucking covered under First Sale Doctrine.
I'm trying to remember, was that what they were actually trying to do, or was it just a side effect of their always online service?
Been boycotting Bethesda for years, so this really gets my noggin joggin'
A warranty. Bahaha.
Pretty sure they said that games would be restricted to your account whether it was physical or not, or something like that.
Well guess who's going to buy ES6 used now
Go fuck yourself Bethesda, you can't do that.
Would anyone be surprised that it'd require an internet connection and a beth.net account to use, even on consoles? Because they're going that way and fast.
Or don't buy it at all
Or sail the high seas.
i remember buying a second hand copy of hitman 2 for the OG xbox, that introduced me to IO and the whole hitman series which led me to buy blood money, absolution(god help me)and hitman 2016. games i wouldn't have bought if not for that second hand copy years prior and im now wait on the new hitman season two coming out in the next couple of months. but y'know buying used copys is bad.
yeah, a warranty that is void the second you open the shrinkwrap
I just really hope they don't force Arkane to sell any future titles exclusively via their dumb launcher.
And when has that held in court?
Buying it used means they don't get your money
They still dont get my money
Man, ever since the massive success of Skyrim Bethesda has just been in a nosedive of fan respect.
He didn’t even open the shrink wrap though.
After what Fallout 4 was, I don't even know about TES6.
Feels like it's inevitable for every company to get shittier after a period of being the fan favorite. Will happen to CDPR sooner or later.
You say they won't license third party Fallout spinoffs, I'm assuming that includes the likes of another Fallout New Vegas (best 3D Fallout game by far holy shit Bethesda, take some lessons from Obsidian). I haven't kept up with the news on 76 but if it has always online, it can fuck right off. I hate that requirement for games. I'm paying my money for a game, don't tell me when I can play it and when I can't.
you'd think they'd know that the PR nightmare factor on this is way too high.
So basically he could just unwrap the thing and just call it a day ?
Fucking holy shit Bethesda do you even realize what kind of precedent you're trying to set? Used car sales by end consumers would halt across the board because of this. If Bethesda is attacking the First Sale Doctrine, Imma introduce Bethesda to the No Sale Doctrine, and they can join EA and Ubisoft on my shit list.
Paid mods were a mistake but seemingly were mostly pushed by Valve, not Bethesda. Nothing wrong with beth.net. The only thing that's exclusive to that specific storefront is the TGC which nobody plays to begin with, and the mod part of it allows for consoles to download mods which is good in my books. 99% of mods still find their way on the nexus or on other third party sites to begin with. Creation Club regularly puts up its content for free, none of it is so large or so well made that it's a must-have, and it exists as a means to support modders who still put out content on their own despite occasionally making stuff for bethesda. Also it has zero DRM and all of it is easily findable on the internet. Creation Club breaking F4SE/SKSE is not on purpose, and it's also more on the side of the SKSE/F4SE team for implementing a hard failsafe which literally refuses to launch the game if the version number is not exact, even if the content updates should not have any impact whatsoever on the functioning of the extenders. If you don't use CC, you can also just downgrade your game easily by just keeping a backup of a working executable and copy/pasting it every time a CC update hits. FO76 being always online is just for the one game, there's no telling if it'll be permanent, and they clarified it won't be some kind of paradigm shift. They'll do it for the one game to make an online title and then revert back to SP for everything else. They said they won't license third party devs but they're also taking all the third party devs they like and incorporating them into their own studio. They did that with a couple more dev teams just this quakecon. It doesn't mean you won't get spinoffs from other teams, just that the teams will be called Bethesda and that the development will be considered internal. FO76 won't be exclusive to their storefront because literally none of their games besides Legends is exclusive to their storefront. It'll only be there for the Beta.
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