Retailers considering in-store game locks by 2010
- December 02, 2008 09:07 AM PST
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What if a game had to be activated at the store before you could use it? What if the discs in boxes were just shiny coasters until someone at the cash-wrap threw a switch?
Not-for-profit trade group Entertainment Merchants Association is asking those questions and others as part of its proposal for a new anti-theft system that would effectively render video games and DVDs inoperable until they've been purchased and activated by an authorized salesperson.
Don't confuse "activated" here with online authentication mechanisms, where you buy a game, take it home, install it on your PC, then connect to the publisher's servers to remove the digital handcuffs. EMA's talking about point-of-sale only, and when they say "inoperable," I'm pretty sure they mean literally unreadable and unusable. I'm also pretty sure they're talking about a physical tool that would be difficult and cost-prohibitive for ne'er-do-wells to duplicate.
The idea behind EMA's proposal is something called "benefit denial technology," which is retailer-speak for tools like those taupe-colored plastic security tags that make an inky black mess of clothing (say, Winona Ryder's) they're improperly removed from. Those tags "deny the benefit" of the product from prospective thieves.
EMA estimates retailers lost over $300 million to shrinkage in 2007, and with consumer spending down, retailers are naturally going to press harder than ever to trim unnecessary losses. Edge says EMA's system will have a pilot run in 2009, and if all goes well and publishers bite, the system could see light of day by 2010.
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- Dec 02 2008 at 09:22:47:AM PST
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Man if that happens , I'm screwed! I buy alot of my games off the back of a truck! This will make it more difficult to get my games but not impossible. There is always someone to bribe and pay under the table.
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with that money u use to bribe someone u might as well pay full price at the store
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htown4life wrote:
with that money u use to bribe someone u might as well pay full price at the store
You'd be suprised how thirsty some people are and will settle for less to nothing! I've been buying games for $40 each and the person getting them is not just getting one but a few dozen. I don't ask questions,
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I say, "More power to 'em!" I always buy my games legitimately, so this won't have much of an effect on me. I think this could only benefit gamers in the long run.
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Whatever's clever. Sad that they'll be people out there who'll be dedicated to find a way around this.
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Sounds like a great saftey system against those blasted gamers who just don't to pay for there games. Only problem I can find with it is if you get a lazy shopkeeper he might forget to activate it. Yet another hassle you would have to deal with.
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This sounds like a relatively clever idea although I wonder if this would affect online distribution too.
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Hmm, sounds like a good idea. They could just put all games (even $20 ones) behind the glass.
I remember when I was in high school, I would steal the $20 games. But yeah, I've grown up.
DON'T JUDGE ME!
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I don't see the point in this when all the games are already locked up in most of the stores I shop in. You either need a "sales associate" to unlock the glass cabinet and grab your games, or you need to bring the empty game case to the cash to get the actual game, or the games are in big plastic hard cases that need to be opened at the cash when you pay for them. The only exceptions I can think of are Best Buy and Futureshop, where the games are just sitting on the shelves for you to grab and take to the cash yourself.
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The only problem I see is getting people who are not trained properly at the point of sale. I've had a problem w/ a few XBox Live point cards where the retailer didn't activate it correctly and the card wouldn't work. Talk about a hassle and pain trying to get them to fix it.
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