Leading specialist retailer GameStop has admitted to a company-wide policy of removing OnLive vouchers for free, streaming copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution from the boxed PC version of the game sold in its stores.
News of the policy came to light after a number of consumers began complaining that their retail copies of the game didn’t include a coupon, as promised by OnLive earlier this week. An alleged GameStop memo leaked to GameSpy, in which management instructed staff to remove the promotional codes, seemingly confirmed the practice. To put the value of the offer in context, OnLive is selling Deus Ex: Human Revolution through its online platform for $49.99.
GameStop subsequently said in a statement that it opposes competitors using its distribution channels to reach their audience without prior consent.
"Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons," the retailer said. "We pulled the coupons because, like all retailers, we prefer not to promote our competitors and their competing offerings and services in our stores.”
GameStop doesn't offer its own streaming service, but it did acquire streaming technology firm Spawn Labs in April with a long-term view to offering games on demand through internet-enabled devices. It also owns digital distribution platform Impulse, which currently offers a downloadable edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
An OnLive representative said the company was not prepared to release a statement on the matter when contacted by GameSpy, while Square Enix has yet to return its request for comment.
Check out Edge’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution review here.
Source: GameSpy
Comments
6Jesus. The games industry is so juvenile. Oh noes! Copies of a game have a free coupon for a competitor! Quick, let's remove them and decrease the value of the product that our consumer is buying. God guys, grow up and get some balls. I'm surprised they're stocking it at all given it's a Steamworks title.
Agreed. If game retailers are struggling as the last year or two suggests from sales and news reports, surely this isn't enticing their customers back when they sabotage your purchase experience? If you have been promised something then you have the right to expect it.
I may sound really stupid here but I simply don't understand this article at all. If you buy Deus Ex for PC you get a free downloadable version for Deus Ex? on PC? the article says "OnLive vouchers for 'FREE', streaming copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution " then "To put the value of the offer in context, OnLive is selling Deus Ex: Human Revolution through its online platform for $49.99. " Make up your mind. Is it free or being sold? I'm sorry but someone is going to have to explain this one to me slowly cause i'm clearly not getting it.
The way I read it (which I believe is how it is), is that they gave away a voucher which made Deus Ex free, but normally it's 50 bucks. In the same way that Valve gave away a free copy of Portal 2 for the PC (which they sell for 30 quid) when you bought a new copy of Portal 2 for the PS3.
I might be wrong but I understood it as when you purchase Deus Ex:HR on PC, within the box is a OnLive voucher. This voucher allows you to download the game and play it through the OnLive service, similar to Steam.
OnLive is a subscription service (i think) so this deal with Deus Ex:HR means subscribers to OnLive get a fantastic game from launch, and might tempt general gamers to see what OnLive is about.
With OnLive being a service from another company, this is seen as competition and the game stores don't like it.
In some cases customer redeems the mobile coupon at store; some retailers forward the redemption to a clearinghouse for final processing.This is often determined by who sponsors the coupon. If the coupon is issued by the retailer, the product was never offered at the original price and the coupon represents a reduction in the amount paid and the tax.
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