French Court Judgment Forces Steam to Allow Resale of Digital Games

Lysander on 27/09/2019 - 15:20
Last edited 27/09/2019 - 15:25

Pretty important and almost sensational judgment by a French court as it could also have repercussions for all other game stores and in other areas for digital goods such as music, movies, and books!

https://www.windowscentral.com/what-does-french-ruling-again…

It was high time for a judgment like this.

If allowed to stand a golden age of a marketplace for used digital goods might commence soon.
Of course, this is not final and a lot of things can change and Steam could try to wiggle its way out of it by only giving users a temporary license ( I would hope courts see through that though and in the case of software that does not matter sometimes anyway) but at least this is a start and will initiate discussion around the topic in the legal circles!

Enjoy!

Gaming

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Comments

  • FlipCrank on 27/09/2019 - 15:33
    +3

    I don't see this working, digital goods are the exact same new or used. Companies are just going to start selling starter packs games and lock progress behind microtransactions which are bound to accounts.

    • Lysander on 27/09/2019 - 15:39
      +1

      But they are also digital goods - then Steam would have to ensure I can sell the outfit etc. as well.
      Essentially still the same.

      • FlipCrank on 27/09/2019 - 15:54

        There's not enough information on it to make a solid judgement but there probably loopholes - i.e. digital in-game currency. I also assumed Steam isn't forced to create anything it just can't stop users from selling it.

        • Lysander on 27/09/2019 - 16:38
          +1

          They do not have to support it but they can also not make it impossible.

    • Diji1 on 27/09/2019 - 20:03
      +1

      start selling starter packs games and lock progress behind microtransactions

      Maybe you didn't notice but they started doing that already in 2014.

  • Zazer on 27/09/2019 - 15:54
    +5

    I can't see this having a positive effect. Developers would try to get around it by having the game being "Freemium", and the actual cost of the game be free, with all important gameplay locked behind in-app purchase paywalls instead of being the actual cost of the game.

    Or worse, monetise with P2W mechanics instead, as an alternate way of making money.

    Plus, did you see the fine that they were charging Valve for every day they don't implement it?

    3,000 Euros per day for up to six months

    That's just $500,000. They would literally lose less money by not doing this over time, than they would by paying the fine. What the (profanity)?

    Just seems like a really stupid ruling in multiple ways to me. I don't think they understand the video game industry enough, and just decided to rule on Valve because they're Valve, without thinking about how it would actually work. Plus, this would have a trickle down effect to other stores as well. Even things like Humble Bundle and key sellers, how would they deal with the millions of extra copies of games on the market?

    How would the industry as a whole deal with it?

    This is going to get really messy.

    • Lysander on 27/09/2019 - 16:43

      The fine is ridiculous. I would have added another 3 zeros if I had been the judge.

      Other digital good such as micro-transaction stuff would also be caught however so that would not save them.

      I am curious to see what happens in the appeal.

      It is not more messy than the used market for physical goods (CDs, DVDs, Books) etc. I think. Initially it will be a shock due to oversupply but then the market will get used to it.
      I mean there are still people that buy games on physical media at EB games for $50 and then they still need Steam when they could have bought the digital version for a tenth of such price. In other words, even with a market for used games, there will always be people who prefer to buy new from stores even though there is no difference in the product.

    • Diji1 on 27/09/2019 - 20:06

      The video game industry only has itself to blame, they've been left alone for far too long and have failed to regulate themselves appropriately.

      So now you get to face the consequences in a jurisdiction that isn't controlled by lobbying like Australia is.

  • whooah1979 on 27/09/2019 - 17:44

    They could change the pay structure to same as blizzard entertainment.

  • qwerty on 27/09/2019 - 19:49
    +1

    These days digital games - especially AAA titles cost the same physical or digital so why shouldn't digital be traceable especially when you dont get anything extra for the price .

  • wannagrababargain on 30/09/2019 - 12:43
    +1

    It's a start but this is small fish and 5 years behind real issues. The issue these days is that for most games we are at the mercy of the game dev literally 'keeping the lights on.' What happens when the login server / always on cloud based DRM goes offline / out of business for the game you supposedly "bought"?

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