Last Tuesday, Square Enix’s highly anticipated video game release, “Deus Ex: Human Revolution,” was set upon store shelves and gamer desktops with massive critical acclaim.
The title has achieved widespread acceptance as a worthy successor to its monolithic origins, scoring an impressive 89 on videogame ranking website Metacritic; a great start to the always jam-packed (and wallet-breaking) winter/holiday videogame season.
However, PC gamers who purchased their copy of “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” at major U.S. videogame retailer Gamestop would come find a precarious omission from their purchase as the week rolled on.
On Wednesday, an internal Gamestop memo was leaked to the press, with the subject header “Deus Ex Update,” according to Ars Technica.
The memo noted and requested the usual Gamestop protocol: noting great reviews, reminding employees to only sell this Mature title to those who are at least 17-years-old (or with an irresponsible parent) and a massive violation of consumer rights.
The memo read as follows: “Please immediately remove and discard the On Live (sic) coupon from all Regular versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Our desire is to not have this coupon go to any customers after this announcement.”
And in true Gamestop fashion, these open PC copies were then sold as new to unsuspecting customers.
The OnLive coupon entitled players to a free digital copy of the game, a $50 value, according to CNN Money.
Gamestop defended their actions in a later statement by citing the handbook of the underhanded business. They claimed they were developing their own digital “streaming service,” and that the included coupon was “for a competing service,” according to IGN.
Additionally, they claimed Square Enix had not notified them ahead of time of the coupon’s inclusion, which the publisher validated in a later press release.
As such, Gamestop began pulling all physical copies of the PC version of "Deus Ex: Human Revolution," and returned them to Square Enix, requesting for product without the competing coupon.
Finally, addressing the party most-shafted by this whole ordeal, Gamestop “assured” customers that even though they "may have been opened to remove the coupon, we fully guarantee the condition of the disc to be new,” according to CNN Money.
Fortunately, this lackluster diffusion only further fueled the growing media fire, and Gamestop relented the next day, offering a $50 gift card to the affected customers.
Ultimately, controversy over this case seems to be more out of principal than anything else.
As of today, customers have been reimbursed for the missing coupon (as long as you spend that money at your local Gamestop),
Game sales should not be heavily affected either, with the demand of physical PC copies being in the niche minority. No, most PC gamers were up and running the moment their game was unlocked on steam.
Still, one can not overlook the fact Gamestop willingly opened and altered product, then sold it to customers as if it were in new, factory condition. They deprived customers of a $50 value they were entitled to, and only admitted fault when they were caught by the press.
It makes you wonder, what other violations remain hidden from the watchful eye of the gaming blogosphere.
Reach the columnist at dsydiong@asu.edu
