TRACY KING / SCEPTICAL ANALYSIS
OPINION
Gamer and science enthusiast Tracy King dissects the evidence and statistics behind popular media stories surrounding tech and gaming @tkingdot
T
he news that a French courthasruledinfavourofthe
consumer right to resellgamesis likelytochangethe
way we buy and play gamesforever.BecauseI have,
like all of us, historically enjoyed thelegalrighttoresellthings
I own, I’ve always only grudginglyacceptedthenewnormal
of downloadable media.
When I buy a digital game (I meannon-physical,foranyone
about to remind me that gamediscsaredigital),I’llnever
recoup any money from it, but if Ibuythesamegameboxed,I
can resell it for whatever the marketiswillingtopay,orpass
it on to a friend. I can’t do that withmySteamgames.
It’s this inconsistency that led toa Frenchconsumerrights
group, UFC Quo Chosier, to challenge
Valve’s terms and conditions forSteam
users as being unlawful under EU
law. The law states that ‘all goodssold
within the EU must be able to beresold
without permission from the personwho
originally sold them’.
It’s easy to see why there’s aclash.
Downloadable media isn’t ‘goods’ in the same way as physical
media. The latter degrades, eventually becoming unusable.
It has a shelf life of usability, which partly dictates its resale
value. That’s also why publishers release ‘limited edition’
boxed games, and collectors will happily pay for them along
with merchandise. You’re buying a product that others might
want, but can’t get, unless you choose to resell it.
That isn’t true of digital downloads, which can be infinitely
duplicated by the rights owner without the constraints of
factory manufacturing, materials cost, distribution and
unsold stock issues. But does the consumer, the gamer, see
thedifference,especiallywhen they’re being charged the same
priceforboxedgamesasfor digital? When downloading a
gameinreturnformoney,we expect the transaction to be
coveredbyourstatutoryconsumer rights – for example, if the
game’sadvertisingismisleading. Why shouldn’t our right to
resellalsoapply?
TheFrenchcourtsthinkit should, ruling against Valve and
infavourofgamersbeingable to resell digital downloads, as
wedowithdiscs.Valveisappealing the ruling, and it will be
hugenewsif it sticks.However, I’m not sure that it’s good news.
Theindustrysimplywon’ttake the hit, making it likely to move
awayfromsellinggamesindividually to using a subscription
modelthat doesn’t run afoul of EU law.
Subscription models – as we see with
filmand TV platforms – are becoming
increasingly competitive, with big media
companies such as Disney launching
theirown subscription services rather
thancontinuing to license their films and
showsto Netflix and so on. In response,
Netflix is making or buying its own films and shows. Anyone
who wants access to it all will have to buy multiple subscriptions.
That’s bad for consumers, who will have to pay through the nose
for the choice and diversity to which we’ve become accustomed.
Imagine games going the same way. Apple Arcade just
launched, and while most of the games aren’t exclusives, once
the service is established as popular, that situation will likely
change, especially if the French ruling holds. Apple may just go
Arcade-only, rather than let consumers resell the games they
‘bought’ individually. Gaming consumers might be winning at
the moment, but we may ultimately lose out in the long run.RESALE VALUE
A French court has ruled that consumers
have a right to resell their Steam games.
Tracy King analyses the implicationsIt’s easy to see why there’s a
clash. Downloadable media
isn’t ‘goods’inthesameway
asphysical media