Can't resell Steamworks games purchased at retail

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eddieck

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I bought MW2 for PC on release day from Best Buy. I've got the physical media obviously. I played the SP and enjoyed it but could not say the same of the MP, and so I haven't played the game much for months. I'd like to sell it.

That shouldn't be a problem as I have the physical media, right? (This is why I try not to use digital distribution for games.) Wrong. Since this is a Steamworks game it is permanently linked to my Steam account and cannot be sold. This is complete and utter bullshit. I bought the game at retail and was forced to use Steam. I would not have linked it to my Steam account had I not been required to do so to install and play the game.

Once again, the paying customers get fucked.

My conversation thus far to Valve:

Me

I purchased Modern Warfare 2 on release date from Best Buy and so I've got the physical PC copy. It's a Steamworks game, however, so I am wondering if it is possible to "uninstall" or somehow unattach it from my Steam account so I can sell it.
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Steam Support

Hello Eddie,

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

Steam game subscriptions and CD keys are non-transferable and cannot be reset or moved between Steam accounts.

We will be unable to transfer this game to another account. You must be logged in to the original account it was registered to in order to play the game.

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
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Me (this email has not had a response yet; will update when it does)

That is ridiculous. It's the reason I tend not to purchase my games through Steam as I like to have the option of reselling them. In this case, though, I did not purchase it through Steam - I purchased it from Best Buy and have the physical media - but was forced to use Steam because this is a Steamworks game.

There has to be some way to just remove it from my Steam account and uninstall it from my computer allowing someone else to install it on their account. I bought the physical copy - I should be able to sell that physical copy.
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Now you understand what DRM is for: fighting used games sales. You'll get nothing from them, because in their eyes, you are the criminal that wants to steal a sale from them, and that money you wanted to get back from selling the game is THEIR money, not yours.
 
LOL, come on. You are talking about a MP game. Why would I want to buy a used MP game and risk that you have been banned, etc. while playing that copy? I can see the value in buying used SP games but personally give me a 50 yardstick for anyone trying to sell a MP game.
 
Are you really surprised?

Didn't even know anyone sold used PC games really anyways. Never been worth the effort to me, but then I rarely pay more that half price for them new.
 
Luthorcrow said:
LOL, come on. You are talking about a MP game. Why would I want to buy a used MP game and risk that you have been banned, etc. while playing that copy? I can see the value in buying used SP games but personally give me a 50 yardstick for anyone trying to sell a MP game.
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What would that have to do with the game? Sure that would apply to an Xbox, however it's your account that would get banned. You can't ban someone's game lol.

Can't resell Steam games. Why? Because you could sell it, and then use their download to get it back right away, and as someone else mentioned, it steals sales.
 
evilsofa said:
Now you understand what DRM is for: fighting used games sales. You'll get nothing from them, because in their eyes, you are the criminal that wants to steal a sale from them, and that money you wanted to get back from selling the game is THEIR money, not yours.
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True, but it's just annoying to not be able to do something that should be considered a basic consumer right. I guess next time I'll pirate any Steamworks games (or games using similar DRM) and buy it if I like the MP and want to play on non-cracked servers (not applicable in the case of MW2 obviously).

Luthorcrow said:
LOL, come on. You are talking about a MP game. Why would I want to buy a used MP game and risk that you have been banned, etc. while playing that copy? I can see the value in buying used SP games but personally give me a 50 yardstick for anyone trying to sell a MP game.
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I haven't been banned and I would guarantee that in the terms of the sale - that the MP account is fine and has not been used for any cheats. (I have a pair; I play with skill.)

Besides, I'm sure someone would gladly pay $15 or $20 even for only the SP campaign.

Danny Bui said:
JWF and SOL
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What does JWF mean? First time I've seen that one! Googled it but can't find any relevant answer.
 
eh, sorry, no real sympathy here. As DRM goes steam is the least intrusive. True, it does shut down the used game market. But what does a game cost? at most the same as taking a girl out on a date to the movie theater. You get a couple hours pleasure (and maybe more later if you are lucky) and thats it. What you can't do is say the movie sucked and get your money back. Nor can you resell your seat and popcorn to some other couple to do the same.
 
It's pretty common knowledge that you can't resell Steam games. Don't throw a hissy fit because you didn't read their terms of service. Also who buys used multiplayer PC games? NO ONE.
 
eddieck said:
What does JWF mean? First time I've seen that one! Googled it but can't find any relevant answer.
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Never watched George Carlin, eh? It's "Jolly Well Fucked" as Nanoha showed.

Also, that's pretty childish saying "next time I'll pirate any Steamworks games".
 
jiminator said:
eh, sorry, no real sympathy here. As DRM goes steam is the least intrusive. True, it does shut down the used game market. But what does a game cost? at most the same as taking a girl out on a date to the movie theater. You get a couple hours pleasure (and maybe more later if you are lucky) and thats it. What you can't do is say the movie sucked and get your money back. Nor can you resell your seat and popcorn to some other couple to do the same.
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A flawed analogy IMO. A movie theater ticket is a ticket to watch a film. A game is software that you can play whenever you want. And I am not trying to get my money back - I enjoyed the single player campaign and have no reason to want my money back. But I would certainly like to make a quick $15 by letting someone else enjoy the game.

Nanoha said:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jwf
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I can't believe I didn't check UD. Thanks for the link. :)
 
Danny Bui said:
Never watched George Carlin, eh? It's "Jolly Well Fucked" as Nanoha showed.
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Nope. :)

Danny Bui said:
Also, that's pretty childish saying "next time I'll pirate any Steamworks games".
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Maybe but IMO if the game developers use this DRM they're asking for it. Like I said this should be a basic consumer right, to sell a physical product I've purchased. Quite honestly I don't think I intend on buying any DRM games anymore, Steam included.

BC2 would be a good example. They've got a great game and they don't use any lame DRM. I paid my $50 for that game (and don't intend on selling it as it actually has a decent multiplayer).
 
If you're smarter with your money you won't buy games at full retail price and you'll wait till they get really cheap through steam sales or other outlets, and then buy them

then you'd have no real incentive to resell the game because you got it so cheap
 
Fail said:
If you're smarter with your money you won't buy games at full retail price and you'll wait till they get really cheap through steam sales or other outlets, and then buy them

then you'd have no real incentive to resell the game because you got it so cheap
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I agree to a point, but with multiplayer games if you wait too long, everyone else becomes too good, or stops playing. I mean I would still be waiting to get COD4 as it sells for $39.99. :(

Sales are the way to go, only pay full if you really want it. DAO and ME2 (still only payed 37 at release) come to mind. ;)
 
If you want used games, go consoles. I doubt you'll even be able to get used games on the next-gen consoles, though. The publishers hate used games.
 
King Icewind said:
I agree to a point, but with multiplayer games if you wait too long, everyone else becomes too good, or stops playing. I mean I would still be waiting to get COD4 as it sells for $39.99. :(

Sales are the way to go, only pay full if you really want it. DAO and ME2 (still only payed 37 at release) come to mind. ;)
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Well obviously I don't mean ALL games, of course there's going to be games you want release day, I'm meaning more for the majority of games you buy, it's better to wait for sales

doesn't everyone have a 50+ game backlog?
 
eddieck said:
Nope. :)



Maybe but IMO if the game developers use this DRM they're asking for it. Like I said this should be a basic consumer right, to sell a physical product I've purchased. Quite honestly I don't think I intend on buying any DRM games anymore, Steam included.

BC2 would be a good example. They've got a great game and they don't use any lame DRM. I paid my $50 for that game (and don't intend on selling it as it actually has a decent multiplayer).
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No its a bullshit excuse. Sorry, but there is no law saying you have the right to sell a game you buy. The god damn EULA of most games out right says you should not sell the games. Been like that for a long time. You don't have to like it, but don't piss and moan because you bought the game and if you didn't know about this before hand you're the idiot that didn't do his research correctly. If you don't like it vote with your wallet don't be a douche and pirate.
 
Pretty sure the Terms of Agreement say something about about the game is non-transferable from your acct or something.

Either way this is how companies are protecting their games from used market so yea :/
PC games sorta suck for game resellers.
 
SixtyWattMan said:
It's pretty common knowledge that you can't resell Steam games. Don't throw a hissy fit because you didn't read their terms of service. Also who buys used multiplayer PC games? NO ONE.
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I didn't buy the game from Steam. I bought a RETAIL COPY. As in, I'm holding the thing in my hand right now.

Danny Bui said:
BC2 does have DRM:
http://blogs.battlefield.ea.com/bat...ve/2010/01/26/BFBC2-PC-Copy-Protection.aspx##
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I read that and their DRM seems pretty reasonable - far more reasonable than Steam's. They use SecuROM and you can either activate online (10 activations) and can deactivate, OR stick the media in the drive without going online at all.

Fail said:
If you're smarter with your money you won't buy games at full retail price and you'll wait till they get really cheap through steam sales or other outlets, and then buy them

then you'd have no real incentive to resell the game because you got it so cheap
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MW2 for PC is still $60 at Best Buy (I had some gift cards there anyway so that was my retailer of choice) and the cheapest price I can find is $47 at Amazon. So yes, even if I would've waited 5 months and assuming I was paying cash, I would've saved $13...

It's not about being smart with your money. I wanted the game and I knew I was going to have to pay $60 for it so I did. I don't have any complaints about the pricing.

Einhanderkiller said:
If you want used games, go consoles. I doubt you'll even be able to get used games on the next-gen consoles, though. The publishers hate used games.
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Nah. I don't like consoles at all. Mouse aiming just totally owns any thumb wheel. I'd rather not have used games and get better graphics and better controls by sticking with the ultimate gaming platform.

Derangel said:
Sorry, but there is no law saying you have the right to sell a game you buy.
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It's an implied right. You buy a physical item and you can sell it at a later date.

Derangel said:
The god damn EULA of most games out right says you should not sell the games. Been like that for a long time. You don't have to like it, but don't piss and moan because you bought the game and if you didn't know about this before hand you're the idiot that didn't do his research correctly. If you don't like it vote with your wallet don't be a douche and pirate.
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I really don't give two shits what the EULA says. If they're going to sell me a physical product then damn right I'm going to sell it if I want to (provided I uninstall it first). They are selling me a license to use the product on one computer (or an unlimited number of computers owned by myself, but either way). If I remove the product from my computer(s) and sell the product to another party then as far as I'm concerned I'm in the right.
 
A small note about EA + BC2. The only guarantee electronic downloads for a year. So those of us that ordered from their store are wondering what happens then....
 
Derangel said:
No its a bullshit excuse. Sorry, but there is no law saying you have the right to sell a game you buy. The god damn EULA of most games out right says you should not sell the games. Been like that for a long time. You don't have to like it, but don't piss and moan because you bought the game and if you didn't know about this before hand you're the idiot that didn't do his research correctly. If you don't like it vote with your wallet don't be a douche and pirate.
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I believe this is what they are referring to. There's more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright that was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1908 (see Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus) and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 109. The doctrine allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e., sell or give away) a particular lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. This means that the copyright holder's rights to control the change of ownership of a particular copy end once that copy is sold, as long as no additional copies are made. This doctrine is also referred to as the "first sale rule" or "exhaustion rule."

I think it's pretty interesting really. Most consumers would say they are "buying a copy of" and not "buying a limited license to". Silk screening on the CD/DVD, original packaging, unique CD Key, and media checking for original media all would aid in proving it's not a copy and therefore under the First Sale Doctrine could be sold again without the copyright holder being able to stop it. But.........it has been stopped. And if you read the wikipedia page they claim that EULAs at first didn't contradict First Sale Doctrine, and more recently say it does over rule it when you click Agree or I Agree....leading to EULAs.

EULAs are kinda a way for them to blow you off, but I would say in court that a lot of EULA terms would not hold up if challenged properly. But what they are saying is you entered in a license agreement with them, but an agreement in most situations is a point where both parties can bargain and come to an agreement. Where EULAs are not even printed on the box or on paper for pre-purchase decisions. You have to open the box and begin installation or even install it to get to the EULA....at which point you can't return the product. If they wanted to handle it properly, you would agree first then pay.... Plus in an agreement I think most people would expect timely patches and a definitive support contract. IE you aren't licensing something that can be non-functional a week from now.

The way it's done today, they behave like a sale took place but legally want the protection of sales a licensing agreement gives......without the actual negotiation or expectations that a tradition licensing agreement would entail. They get all of the benefits of both systems and none of the drawbacks....which is a little too convenient in my eyes.

I look at the landlord/tenant rights and see how they protect the tenant from a lot of potential abuse by landlords, but allow tenants to abuse those same protections. Not pay rent, have to be evicted, done through a slow court system...screw the landlord out of at least a months rent whether they signed a lease or not. And landlord bears the brunt of all legal costs to recoup money, which is most cases is going to cost more than they are owed. It's similar to this with computer games/software now....game companies have all the protections to prevent abuse...but use them to abuse the rights of the consumer. Consumers could fight it, but in reality they can either accept it or not participate in it at all because there's just no way Average Joe can afford to correct the unfairness. Generally the laws should be designed to the protect the little guy (tenant) from big guy (landlord, whose not always all that big).......and it just ain't happening like that probably because it's entertainment and doesn't result in possible homelessness all too often but it's still a injustice to us all for it to be such a grey area to muddle through.

Wish I could afford to go put myself through school for this kind of stuff because it's interesting, but also because it doesn't seem to be improving for anyone but the money makers.
 
veterator said:
I believe this is what they are referring to. There's more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright that was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1908 (see Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus) and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 109. The doctrine allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e., sell or give away) a particular lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. This means that the copyright holder's rights to control the change of ownership of a particular copy end once that copy is sold, as long as no additional copies are made. This doctrine is also referred to as the "first sale rule" or "exhaustion rule."

I think it's pretty interesting really. Most consumers would say they are "buying a copy of" and not "buying a limited license to". Silk screening on the CD/DVD, original packaging, unique CD Key, and media checking for original media all would aid in proving it's not a copy and therefore under the First Sale Doctrine could be sold again without the copyright holder being able to stop it. But.........it has been stopped. And if you read the wikipedia page they claim that EULAs at first didn't contradict First Sale Doctrine, and more recently say it does over rule it when you click Agree or I Agree....leading to EULAs.

EULAs are kinda a way for them to blow you off, but I would say in court that a lot of EULA terms would not hold up if challenged properly. But what they are saying is you entered in a license agreement with them, but an agreement in most situations is a point where both parties can bargain and come to an agreement. Where EULAs are not even printed on the box or on paper for pre-purchase decisions. You have to open the box and begin installation or even install it to get to the EULA....at which point you can't return the product. If they wanted to handle it properly, you would agree first then pay.... Plus in an agreement I think most people would expect timely patches and a definitive support contract. IE you aren't licensing something that can be non-functional a week from now.

The way it's done today, they behave like a sale took place but legally want the protection of sales a licensing agreement gives......without the actual negotiation or expectations that a tradition licensing agreement would entail. They get all of the benefits of both systems and none of the drawbacks....which is a little too convenient in my eyes.

I look at the landlord/tenant rights and see how they protect the tenant from a lot of potential abuse by landlords, but allow tenants to abuse those same protections. Not pay rent, have to be evicted, done through a slow court system...screw the landlord out of at least a months rent whether they signed a lease or not. And landlord bears the brunt of all legal costs to recoup money, which is most cases is going to cost more than they are owed. It's similar to this with computer games/software now....game companies have all the protections to prevent abuse...but use them to abuse the rights of the consumer. Consumers could fight it, but in reality they can either accept it or not participate in it at all because there's just no way Average Joe can afford to correct the unfairness. Generally the laws should be designed to the protect the little guy (tenant) from big guy (landlord, whose not always all that big).......and it just ain't happening like that probably because it's entertainment and doesn't result in possible homelessness all too often but it's still a injustice to us all for it to be such a grey area to muddle through.

Wish I could afford to go put myself through school for this kind of stuff because it's interesting, but also because it doesn't seem to be improving for anyone but the money makers.
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DRM and the DMCA kind of kills that kind of stuff. Technically you're not even supposed to resell movies, but the MPAA does have the time, money, or ability to fight used movie sales. Either way, game developers have the ability to do so. And unless some judge says otherwise its perfectly legal for them to do so. I'd love to see someone with a lot of money hire an army of lawyers to fight practices that limit our ability to use games how we want, but until that happens we can either vote with our wallets or deal with it. I love PC gaming too much to not buy and support developers and games I enjoy so when it comes to most types of DRM I'll deal with it and since I don't really buy physical copies of new games anymore I have no interest in reselling them. I'd rather have the ability to get a refund on games that are shit personally.
 
did the op read the fine print?
it WILL say on the box that a steam account is REQUIRED to play this game, he already knows that steam games are tied to the account and cannot be on-sold.. I have no sympathy. He had to go through all the crap with integrating it to his steam account, surely alarm bells would have gone off as soon as he saw something pop up even mentioning steam. as soon as he saw this he should have canceled the install and taken it back to the shop asking asking for a refund because he refused the EULA T's and C's
 
eddieck said:
I read that and their DRM seems pretty reasonable - far more reasonable than Steam's. They use SecuROM and you can either activate online (10 activations) and can deactivate, OR stick the media in the drive without going online at all.
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I'd rather have Steam's version since I can download the game however many times I want. Since BC2 is pretty much an multi-player game, more than likely there will be an internet connection. In addition, you can use Steam in offline mode.
 
I give up

some people just don't understand the value of bargain hunting, especially if you have a large gaming backlog

you can pay $60 and get one shitty game like MW2, or you can spend $60 and get 3 Greatest Hit PS3 games like I did.
 
It seems to me like you're addressing the wrong people. Valve is the company that makes the DRM. Activision is the one that decided to utilize steam as their DRM for retail boxed copies.

You can buy BC2 on steam, but if you buy a retail copy, it's not linked to steam. I'm not sure if they link EA accounts to CD-Keys, but basically, if you have a problems with the DRM used in a game, you should talk to the publisher.
 
Fail said:
I give up

some people just don't understand the value of bargain hunting, especially if you have a large gaming backlog

you can pay $60 and get one shitty game like MW2, or you can spend $60 and get 3 Greatest Hit PS3 games like I did.
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Or you could buy about 10 games on the next Steam sale. :D A game has to be pretty crappy before you regret a $5 purchase.
 
I don't see the problem, he wants the game let him buy it at a venue where the creators get money for their work. If you are that reliant on the sale of your own used games, get a job, beg for more allowance, do something, it's not that big a deal.
 
Danny Bui said:
I'd rather have Steam's version since I can download the game however many times I want. Since BC2 is pretty much an multi-player game, more than likely there will be an internet connection. In addition, you can use Steam in offline mode.
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But with a physical copy of BC2 there's no need to redownload. That is, assuming you're responsible in taking care of the discs.

tybert7 said:
I don't see the problem, he wants the game let him buy it at a venue where the creators get money for their work. If you are that reliant on the sale of your own used games, get a job, beg for more allowance, do something, it's not that big a deal.
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That's not what it's about. Quite frankly at this point I think I'm going to toss the discs away and uninstall the game, and not use Steam again. I can do without $20 - sure. I'm not going to die without it. I don't need it. But I should have the right to resell an item I purchased, don't you think?

The developers (or more accurately, Activision since they're not paying royalties to the developers) got my money for a single license. If I decide to uninstall the game (which I shall be doing shortly) then that license is not being used, and I should be able to sell it to someone else who will use it.
 
So, while still technically against the TOS, if you want to retain the ability to resell a Steam game, have a look at the things that are hard-bound to Steam, and thus, the game - your Steam ID, and the email address tied to it. Both are free and unrestricted WRT multiple creations. So, when you get your new game, go to gmail and register [email protected] or something, then use it to create the steam user steamMW2game and register only MW2 to that account. Then, if you ever decide to resell the game, state that they will get everything - the original game/discs/media/whatever, the steam user id (you can link them the public profile before hand so they can see that it is a standalone account for that game), and the email address used to register the account (password resets and whatnot). Sure you'll have to manage multiple Steam logins to play your different games, but that should be merely an annoyance compared to the ability to sell an individual Steam game (besides, realistically, how many DIFFERENT games do most people play simultaneously?).

 
eddieck said:
I didn't buy the game from Steam. I bought a RETAIL COPY. As in, I'm holding the thing in my hand right now.
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Activison is responsible for this, not steam. Activision doesn't have their own account system so they made you go with steam because they don't want you to resell the game. You will be seeing more and more games like this in the future as a main goal of publishers is to kill the used game market. They do this by linking games to your accounts, even for console games with linking to xbox live accounts, etc.. That you bought a boxed copy doesn't mean anything. You have no real ownership. If you read the End User Liscense Agreement that comes up when you install (most people don't read and just press okay), you are agreeing you just have a liscense to play the game. You have no rights to sell it and you clicked yes to that contract. That exists for every game, boxed or otherwise, just in the past you would be able to sell your CD key along with the game, etc.

spydermonkey said:
It seems to me like you're addressing the wrong people. Valve is the company that makes the DRM. Activision is the one that decided to utilize steam as their DRM for retail boxed copies.

You can buy BC2 on steam, but if you buy a retail copy, it's not linked to steam. I'm not sure if they link EA accounts to CD-Keys, but basically, if you have a problems with the DRM used in a game, you should talk to the publisher.
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Yes, BC2 does this too. CD Keys are linked to EA Accounts. You also cannot resell BC2 if you have already used your online cdkey. More and more games are going to be like this in the future unless someone rewrites DCMA copyright laws.
 
uzor said:
So, while still technically against the TOS, if you want to retain the ability to resell a Steam game, have a look at the things that are hard-bound to Steam, and thus, the game - your Steam ID, and the email address tied to it. Both are free and unrestricted WRT multiple creations. So, when you get your new game, go to gmail and register [email protected] or something, then use it to create the steam user steamMW2game and register only MW2 to that account. Then, if you ever decide to resell the game, state that they will get everything - the original game/discs/media/whatever, the steam user id (you can link them the public profile before hand so they can see that it is a standalone account for that game), and the email address used to register the account (password resets and whatnot). Sure you'll have to manage multiple Steam logins to play your different games, but that should be merely an annoyance compared to the ability to sell an individual Steam game (besides, realistically, how many DIFFERENT games do most people play simultaneously?).

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Thx for this idea, while I am pretty new to steam, I dont' think I would have thought of this on my own. I'll def keep this in mind if I do purchase an expensive game strictly from/for steam use. Uptil your post I was just going to say he doesn't need to think of this as not being able to sell a single game but as a way of increasing his steam accounts value if he ever decides to sell it in it's entirety.
 
Derangel said:
DRM and the DMCA kind of kills that kind of stuff. Technically you're not even supposed to resell movies, but the MPAA does have the time, money, or ability to fight used movie sales. Either way, game developers have the ability to do so. And unless some judge says otherwise its perfectly legal for them to do so. I'd love to see someone with a lot of money hire an army of lawyers to fight practices that limit our ability to use games how we want, but until that happens we can either vote with our wallets or deal with it. I love PC gaming too much to not buy and support developers and games I enjoy so when it comes to most types of DRM I'll deal with it and since I don't really buy physical copies of new games anymore I have no interest in reselling them. I'd rather have the ability to get a refund on games that are shit personally.
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Wrong. There is absolutely nothing that "technically" prevents anyone from reselling movies. It is completely within the law to resell movies, and there is absolutely nothing the MPAA can do about it. Blockbuster sells a ton of used movies not because the MPAA doesn't want to go after them, but because they can't go after them.The same goes for used CDs and most other things with a copyright. The first sale doctrine is well established.

The reason PC games are a gray area are because of online components that require a EULA and DRM that restricts the ability to use the software on other computers.
 
spydermonkey said:
It seems to me like you're addressing the wrong people. Valve is the company that makes the DRM. Activision is the one that decided to utilize steam as their DRM for retail boxed copies.

You can buy BC2 on steam, but if you buy a retail copy, it's not linked to steam. I'm not sure if they link EA accounts to CD-Keys, but basically, if you have a problems with the DRM used in a game, you should talk to the publisher.
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If I remember correctly, BC2 is linked to your EA account when you play Multiplayer or if you choose online activation without needing the DVD to play.

BF2 and 2142 were also linked to your EA account if you played online.
 
Its kinda sad people now accept you can't resell something you bought retail (hard copy). Corporations winning (brainwashing) the younger generation every day. This was 100% unacceptable 10 years ago. So why is it ok now? Because the company makes AAA titles that you love?

While I get and accept the situation if I buy it from Steam. If I buy a physical copy/item of any product from a retail store I should have the right to resell it.
 
samduhman said:
Its kinda sad people now accept you can't resell something you bought retail (hard copy). Corporations winning (brainwashing) the younger generation every day. This was 100% unacceptable 10 years ago. So why is it ok now? Because the company makes AAA titles that you love?

While I get and accept the situation if I buy it from Steam. If I buy a physical copy/item of any product from a retail store I should have the right to resell it.
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I'm not saying that it's acceptable, I'm just saying that's the way things are and are going to be in the future as all publishers are all doing their best to research how to kill the secondary market as it's a priority for them on consoles and PC.

I don't agree with this practice. That's why I will not pay full retail price for a PC game that I cannot resell. I have not bought a single game for more than 50% MSRP in the past 5 years. It's all buyer beware. Unforunately, the OP didn't know about the steam requirement when he bought it and is under the assumption that he has an unalienable right to resell anything that he has paid for. Unfortunately, there is no much that can be done unless you hire a lawyer.
 
There is nothing preventing you from reselling everything thing that came in your retail box - it's perfectly legal.

There is nothing preventing the publisher from only allowing one activation per physical copy - it's perfectly legal.

Go ahead and resell on ebay, but unless you want your rating to get tanked I'd be very explicit that the game won't be playable.
 
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