It has been a growing concern for many years now that developers might be looking to shut down the rather massive market of 2nd-hand game sales. I mean, there are not many of us who haven’t toddled into our local gaming store with 2-3 2nd-hand games hoping to get at least £10 off the hottest title.
As far as retailers go, they love them! Buy low, sell high! It’s the mantra of big business! It seems though that Bethesda might genuinely be putting the hammer down on re-sellers as in a report via Polygon, private users have been reporting receiving legal threats from the company.
An Amazon reseller reported how when he attempted to sell his boxed (and never opened (which may have been the real issue)) copy of The Evil Within 2, he received a letter from Bethesda basically ordering him to remove the item. Based on the rather generic tone of the letter as well as a ‘telephone number’ to call, it would appear that this number has gone out to several people.
In the better Bethesda simply said that as he was not an ‘authorised reseller’ what he was doing was ‘unlawful’. The letter states: “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.”
This heavy-handed approach is certain out of the blue and if they continue this, it could backfire massively. In terms of developers, Bethesda is one of the few that actually has a really decent relationship with the community. If they start threatening legal action to people simply looking to cash in on their old or unplayed games though, it’s going to go down like a lead balloon. It’s a move that doesn’t make much sense to me!
What do you think? Is this merely a misunderstanding? Should they just leave this issue well enough alone? In addition, do you think this might be extending to retailers in the near future? – Let us know in the comments!
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