BlackBuzzard
Banned
Why would i? With dlc etc it feels like you are paying for half a game any way why not pay half price on day 1 and if you like the game buy the dlc.
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[Rumor] Ubisoft is removing games from UPlay bought from unauthorized retailers
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
Why would i? With dlc etc it feels like you are paying for half a game any way why not pay half price on day 1 and if you like the game buy the dlc.
protomouse
Member
I'd like these key sites to be more transparent about the source of their keys. Is there one that is?
If they e.g. pick up a bunch of copies on sale and resell them, that's fair game.
If they straight up ripped someone off, it's obviously not.
I wouldn't mind buying from unauthorized resellers, but I don't want to support fraudulent practices.
If they e.g. pick up a bunch of copies on sale and resell them, that's fair game.
If they straight up ripped someone off, it's obviously not.
I wouldn't mind buying from unauthorized resellers, but I don't want to support fraudulent practices.
Scrub Mcgrubb
Member
For the few games I've bought on G2a there's that shield plan you can purchase for around a buck that guarantees your key.... I wonder if the people who purchased the guarantee will get their money back.
Of course as soon as I saw that shield in the checkout it became obvious the site had some shady sources for getting their keys.... so like others have said- buyer beware.
Its a unique digital key that Ubisoft itself created. This isnt the old days where a single CD key would service an entire SKU. Granted, I'm not privvy to the innerworkings of a major software distributor but it seems likely that they would be able to prove ownership pretty easily. If it is a case where legitimate keys are being denied then you totally coorect.
Khaos_Knight
Banned
First of all, fuck ubisoft, you disgusting piece of ebola infested rat shit company, if someone wants to buy those keys from the grey markets then let them. Your games are not worth more than $1.50 anyways.
Second of all, if those keys were stolen then fuck the resellers.
Second of all, if those keys were stolen then fuck the resellers.
BibiMaghoo
Member
I wonder if those who payed using Paypal could get their money back from a removed key?
Sure, but for example, perhaps they sold a key to amazon, which is then sold through G2A. They never sold that key to G2A, so do they deactivate it? This is the only issue for me, that they cannot assume every key is not legit, even though they created it. Maybe I bought that key from Amazon, decided I didn't want it, and then sold it through G2A. That key is legit, and they would have no right to remove it. They need to be bound by having to prove it before removal in my view.
Sure, but for example, perhaps they sold a key to amazon, which is then sold through G2A. They never sold that key to G2A, so do they deactivate it? This is the only issue for me, that they cannot assume every key is not legit, even though they created it. Maybe I bought that key from Amazon, decided I didn't want it, and then sold it through G2A. That key is legit, and they would have no right to remove it. They need to be bound by having to prove it before removal in my view.
Schreckstoff
Banned
Well the law expects you to 2nd guess prices that are "too much" beneath the actual value of a product.
It's debateable whether half off for instance should be cause of doubt and it'd have to be handled on an individual basis.
Also Ubisoft is most likely not acting on legal terms but on ToS ones.
It's also perfectly reasonable for Ubisoft to revoke any keys they can prove to be stolen. It'd then be in your, and my, right to pursue recompensation from wherever you purchased the key from.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
And that's exactly why they are doing this.
I agree. I've never even heard of this site, nor have I made any of these types of purchases but I'm just looking out for the customers here. Some people simply do a search, find a price, and make a purchase. How is it fair to them? They are not the ones commiting the crime yet they are the ones getting punished? At the end of the day the site still gets their money and no punishment. Only the customer suffers
Woo-Fu
Banned
If you think Ubisoft doesn't keep track of which keys go to which distribution channels you're not really thinking. They'd almost have to go out of their way to not track this.
I think in the long run it is good that one of the publishers has stepped forward and taken action on this. With physical goods the grey market has some practical limitations that keep it from entirely supplanting the official market. With digital goods those practical limitations do not exist. For regional pricing to work as intended those limits will have to be imposed somehow.
BlackBuzzard
Banned
DLC was a thing before resellers got big.
With Nvidia promotion you get Uplay Store 100% discount code that you use to buy game on UPlay so those keys they can't revoke.
Jesus Christ, calm down.
Jimmyfenix
Member
Grow the fuck up
Unless you are talking about intentionally buying stolen keys, you are crazy.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Exactly.
Bony Manifesto
Member
Wouldn't it be easy for them to tell if it was redeemed to a different account to the one that 'purchased' it?
LQX
Member
Sounds like something Dan would say.
Hip Hop
Member
This gif is out of place..buying from shady websites that are not legit retailers ubisoft is right on there part because the money doesn't go to the devs at all.
uncleniccius
Member
Wow.
This isn't Ubisoft's fault, if people researched these companies they would know the risks. You're paying half the price of what it costs for a legal key, does that not suggest something is a little dodgy about it to start with?
If you were a musician and people were finding ways to buy stolen MP3 codes and you had a way to stop them from being played would you do it?
Jimmyfenix
Member
I never heard of those sites in the OP but I do get my keys on the cheap via softwareswap on Reddit. It's usually people who got a key for a game with their graphics card and want to sell it. Does GAF have a software swap if some kind (or is everything consolidated in the buy/sell/trade thread?
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Wtf did I just read?
yeah , i forgot about that.
It can't because it will be added to the purchasing account automatically.
no money ever goes 'to the devs'.
if ubisoft wants me to hate them, then they should keep up the great work.
Really odd to see so many people, especially on Reddit, take the side of Ubi on this one. The people purchased it legitimately, if you want to crack down on someone, crack down on the way they get the keys.
I went to a market the other day to buy some Coca Cola. I guess because they weren't an authorized reseller Coke can take the soda away from me, right TotalBiscuit? Absolute Bullshit.
I went to a market the other day to buy some Coca Cola. I guess because they weren't an authorized reseller Coke can take the soda away from me, right TotalBiscuit? Absolute Bullshit.
Ethics in Gamer culture
When you buy game on UPlay it is automatically tied to your account as far as i know. So even if Ubisoft sends you Key it can;t be redeemed on other account.
Zenaku
Member
Just checked uPlay, and the only game I had on there (Unity) is gone.
I understand the reasoning, and I understand (now) that G2A isn't as legitimate as I thought it was, but it doesn't change the fact that I no longer have a game I paid money for, and the guy who actually did something wrong is sitting pretty with some of my money in their pockets.
I understand the reasoning, and I understand (now) that G2A isn't as legitimate as I thought it was, but it doesn't change the fact that I no longer have a game I paid money for, and the guy who actually did something wrong is sitting pretty with some of my money in their pockets.
Keys original (official) reseller didn't receive payment for? (Chargeback, refund, etc.)
I got a voucher from my work from dying light and now there handling it different your not getting a steam key anymore you need to login in to steam to put it in your account. And yet again this is against fraud but also reselling because this did happen before.
I dont pay full price for games that often nowadays, but do realize that if everyone had this same attitude, a lot of devs and pubs probably couldnt justify making their games the way they do now. Just like we need early adopters, we need people who will buy games at full price. Its hardly like games are really that expensive for what we get anyways. Unless you're in a shitty market, of course.
Stuff like this makes me uncomfortable about an all digital future
We had the PC version of GTA:SA patched to remove content and features, and now we have things like this, where you can lose your games because of things outside of your control
I hope anyone who has lost games gets them back somehow
We had the PC version of GTA:SA patched to remove content and features, and now we have things like this, where you can lose your games because of things outside of your control
I hope anyone who has lost games gets them back somehow
Unless they are stolen, why wouldn't Ubisoft or whatever company get the money? Don't these game key resellers buy those games in bulk from Russian and Asian territories for cheap and sell them?
Kurt Russell
Member
Everything is in the B/S/T thread.
That's how they USED to work. Now, with the advent of sites like kinguin or g2a, people buy keys with fraudulent credit cards/stolen Paypal accounts and sell them through those sites. As you can imagine, the payment gets revoked/whatever happens with those cases and then the dev doesn't get a single cent (in some cases they may lose money, because of fees, etc)
wumster3000
Member
I agree. UBI has indeed earned the reputation for being "assholish, but in this case, it seems as though the site is operating in an illegal manner.
uncleniccius
Member
I think I have thought of a good analogy.
It involves Pirates.
Pirates steal a boat. They then sell the parts of said boat to people who are after them (at a discounted rate). Is that OK?
No. Some people justify piracy as people wouldn't buy it anyway (an argument I consider weak) but in this case these people are willing to pay money for the product. That is DIRECTLY taking money out of Ubi's pocket.
So yes, Ubisoft should be defended in doing this, as should any other company.
It involves Pirates.
Pirates steal a boat. They then sell the parts of said boat to people who are after them (at a discounted rate). Is that OK?
No. Some people justify piracy as people wouldn't buy it anyway (an argument I consider weak) but in this case these people are willing to pay money for the product. That is DIRECTLY taking money out of Ubi's pocket.
So yes, Ubisoft should be defended in doing this, as should any other company.
Schreckstoff
Banned
The funny thing is unintentionally that could lead to G2A being more legitimate.
G2A has a sellers rating meaning now those that bought illegitimate keys will possibly retroactively rate them badly causeing those selling legitimate keys go up on the list.
Personally my game bought on G2A is still there
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
I get that people don't like Ubisoft right now (I certainly don't) but seriously, they have every right in the world to do this. It doesn't matter how bad or buggy their games are. This has nothing to do with that.
I guess you mean you disagree.
The few lessons in law I had tought me this: As a customer yuo have to be vigilant enough to notice obvious fraudulent signs. Classic example is buying things from a guy in an alleyway. If you buy that and the rightfull owner shows up you have to return the good without expecting any sort of payback. This is exactly the same thing.
Buying a brand new game for a fraction of the price should tip you off that something might not be right here. If your key gets revoked the only thing you can do is to contact the seller. Again: Don't get mad at Ubisoft, get mad at G2A. They sold you the key, they should be the ones responsible.
I dislike Ubisoft. I don't buy their games anymore. But this still doesn't mean that what they are doing here isn't legal.
I guess you mean you disagree.
The few lessons in law I had tought me this: As a customer yuo have to be vigilant enough to notice obvious fraudulent signs. Classic example is buying things from a guy in an alleyway. If you buy that and the rightfull owner shows up you have to return the good without expecting any sort of payback. This is exactly the same thing.
Buying a brand new game for a fraction of the price should tip you off that something might not be right here. If your key gets revoked the only thing you can do is to contact the seller. Again: Don't get mad at Ubisoft, get mad at G2A. They sold you the key, they should be the ones responsible.
I dislike Ubisoft. I don't buy their games anymore. But this still doesn't mean that what they are doing here isn't legal.
Sorry, I don't understand what you mean here. What I meant was you buying the game right now from some keyseller instead of waiting for a sale from Ubisoft is why they do this.
While this is true, Ubi are going after the people that wanted to play their games, not the sites that are selling the dodgy keys, really they should just accept those keys are gone and hope the people that used them like their games enough to want to buy more of them, while going after these websites
In that case 3rd party is gaining profit without approval from maker(in this case Ubisoft). There is probably law against that kind of behavior. If there is not why GMG, Amazon, Game and other official distributors would bother with signing contract with publishers?
Caffeine
Member
im not that mad as a friend bought it for me for christmas for $35, and I have already beat it since then, but ye I didnt realize g2a wasn't legit till today. I mean I assumed they were since A lot of twitch streams advertised them.
BibiMaghoo
Member
In that analogy, the boat owner would need to prove those parts were stolen from them before getting them returned, or the people that stole them would have to admit to selling them to each person they did. Either way, the boat owner has no right to stroll in, pick up those parts without saying anything and fuck off out the door. That would be theft from the people that paid for them.
Not to defend G2A or whatever unofficial resellers, but do you have proof that the keys they are selling are stolen, in this case, FC4 keys? If they are not stolen, but bought for cheap from Russia and other Asian territories then Ubisoft should already got their money.
People call that grey area. Not sure it's against the law, but if I go on vacation somewhere in Asia and buy a game, it's illegal, against the law?