GameStop to Slap DLC Warnings On Used Games, Compensate Victims

Downloadable content (DLC) has been used by games companies for a while now to discourage sales of used games, because they don’t see a cut of the sales, which they think they’re entitled to. One way they do this, is to ship a new game with a one-time redeemable code, giving access to free DLC. If that game is resold, then the DLC doesn’t follow. Now, regardless of the morals of such a practice, GameStop in California has been pricing such used games at a mere $5 less than the new versions, but without warning about the lack of DLC, netting them around $2 billion profit per year. This is effectively selling a crippled product and not disclosing the fact. Gamers have found out to their cost that, for example, used copies of Dragon Age: Origins would cost an additional $15 to obtain the “free” DLC advertised on the box, making a mockery of the $5 price reduction, since the used game now actually costs more than a new one to have it come with all the features that were originally put into it.

This has prompted a class action lawsuit against the company, which has resulted in GameStop now having to clearly display the lack of DLC on used games and also compensate qualifying purchasers of their games, with either a $10 cheque and $5 coupon, or $5 cheque or $10 coupon, depending on whether they are members of GameStop’s “PowerUp Rewards” program. The other effect of course, is a substantial price drop on the used games listed in the lawsuit. With such sharp practice by GameStop, it seems that GameStop’s slogan “Power to the players” wasn’t quite accurate then, was it? There goes their $2 billion profit…