The start of a new trend for Gamestop?

[isiolia]

Reported on numerous sites is the decree from Gamestop to open PC copies of Deus Ex Human Revolution and remove the OnLive coupon.

Basically, OnLive is a service for streaming games to a number of devices. They have a base package of games, but you need to pay add more. Or, in the case of the new Deus Ex, the retail package includes a coupon/code so you can play it there too.

Gamestop is preparing a competing service, so they probably don't want purchasers to go try it on a different game streaming product. That's understandable. It doesn't justify their actions though.

[noiseredux]

I don't see how that would be legal.

[o.pwuaioc]

I don't see how that would be legal.

This. That sounds all sorts of illegal. Also, who would be stupid enough to buy a defective product from GameStop? It's not like they have a monopoly on games.

[dsheinem]

Shit like this is why we shouldn't have changed the title of the "Gamestop is Evil" thread to that "Good/Bad/Ugly" nonsense. Even if they offer some good deals to gamers, I think it is pretty clear they do more harm than good to the industry.

[Inazuma]

Gamestop fucking sucks. They normally open sealed games and try to sell them as new games, but now they are removing the OnLive coupons? That's bullshit.

I hate how so many people still go to Gamestop. This company needs to fucking die already. I don't even like OnLive but it's dirty and probably illegal for Gamestop to remove all of those coupons like that.

[Gamerforlife]

Kind of makes you wonder who is more evil right now. Gamestop or Capcom

F*** both of them

[isiolia]

I don't see how that would be legal.

It's probably a grey-area thing. Consider, Gamestop guts games all the time, covers them in unholy sticker filth, and still sells them as new. I doubt it'd be unprecedented that some insert failed to make it back into the case when the game got sold.

What makes it more odd, to me at least, is that it's one of a number of retail PC titles that uses Steam for DRM (Valve titles, obviously, Fallout New Vegas, Metro 2033, etc). Gamestop also bought Impulse from Stardock...presumably to build something that'd compete with Steam. If this is how they plan to compete...yeesh.

[jfe2]

If this is true, ew.

[Runefaust]

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've never liked Gamestop an' I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks they suck.

[jfrost]

The shamelessness is breathtaking:

"Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge," said GameStop public relations representative Beth Sharum, "and we did pull and discard these coupons."