PC game code stripping is widespread says report

[Ironman273]

PC game code stripping is widespread says report
by Mark Tyson on 22 September 2014, 13:07

 

A report, by gaming industry magazine MCV, has revealed that Asia is another major region involved in PC code stripping. The news is backed by a previous study which established the effects of extensive PC code stripping in harming retail margins and misleading publishers about where their games are being sold.

 

MCV's most recent investigation reveals that a number of companies in Asia are stripping PC codes from boxed PC games to sell in the west. Games are often much cheaper in Asia. Boxed copies are bought, unpacked and the codes 'stripped' from them. The boxes and DVDs of these games are then dumped and the activation/download codes sold on in Western Europe, including the UK.

 

The widespread PC code stripping means that some consumers are being stung by region-locked game codes that do not work whilst publishers and retailers are losing money. These factors combine to have a negative effect on the gaming industry.

 

 

MVC reports that it was contacted by a whistleblower in Asia who sent the site numerous photos showing miles of shelving filled with boxed games. Warehouse staff are pictured unpacking PC games, and cellophane is seen strewn across the floor. The whistleblower described the Asian market as "rotten to the core" whilst handing over several contacts of businesses which are involved in distributing these cheap game codes.

 

After contacting the distributors under the guise of a prospective retail startup, MCV was able to obtain price lists for games. Examples given include; The Sims 4 Limited Edition for ?23.31 and ?18.40 for Dead Rising 3 on PC when buying over 300 copies.

 

 

"Europe has been under siege since day one, and truly I cannot understand how they have resisted the onslaught," said MCV's source. "No one in Asia has clean hands."

 

Source: Hexus

[Elliot B.]

I get cheap games from dlcompare, so I'm happy :)

[HawkMan]

cdkeys.com marks what region the keys work in, and t's either world or Europe//US so...

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

Games are certainly cheaper in Hong Kong, South Park The Stick of Truth prices as a digital download on Xbox Live:

HK - $25
US - $30
UK - ?50 ($82)

For the price we pay here in the UK you could buy the game 3 times in Hong Kong...

Put it this way as the Xbox One is region free i plan on digitally importing games from Hong Kong when the console is released there.

[madd-hatter]

Games are often much cheaper in Asia. Boxed copies are bought, unpacked and the codes 'stripped' from them. The boxes and DVDs of these games are then dumped and the activation/download codes sold on in Western Europe, including the UK.

 

People will always find a way to capitalize on currency exchange rates. It is the publisher's fault for selling a game cheaper in one region than another. They created an inevitable market.

 

Publishers should increase their price to Asian vendors. The retail price will rise, cutting the profit margin of the "strippers."

 

Herpa-a-derp. Problem solved.

 

P.S. - When Battlefield 4 came out, I simply set my region to Mexico and paid less than half price (based on U.S. retail) for the base game + Premium... It was just that easy... What do they expect?

[+Red King Subscriber²]

Correct me if I am wrong, but this wouldn't be a problem if idiot publishers didn't region lock their games.

[Ironman273]

People will always find a way to capitalize on currency exchange rates. It is the publisher's fault for selling a game cheaper in one region than another. They created an inevitable market.

 

Publishers should increase their price to Asian vendors. The retail price will rise, cutting the profit margin of the "strippers."

 

Herpa-a-derp. Problem solved.

 

P.S. - When Battlefield 4 came out, I simply set my region to Mexico and paid less than half price (based on U.S. retail) for the base game + Premium... It was just that easy... What do they expect?

It's a balancing act.  You have Low Income Markets that you price items differently in so that you don't negatively impact your sales but you have to take into account the black market that it creates.

Correct me if I am wrong, but this wouldn't be a problem if idiot publishers didn't region lock their games.

Actually, this wouldn't be a problem if they did region lock their games since the keys wouldn't work anywhere out of Asia and would therefore be worthless.

[ThisSiteHasLostItsCharm]

perhaps it's time to ditch codes.

 

what if each game had a unique id or some sort embedded in the games code and one the original disc?

 

install game > activation > something is read from the disc, matched with installed game and matched with a online database > activated.

 

for digital downloads the same happens but the download client has to match a special id with the game you have from two or more online databases.

[PGHammer]

perhaps it's time to ditch codes.

 

what if each game had a unique id or some sort embedded in the games code and one the original disc?

 

install game > activation > something is read from the disc, matched with installed game and matched with a online database > activated.

 

for digital downloads the same happens but the download client has to match a special id with the game you have from two or more online databases.

Do you REALLY think that region-locking is done at the behest of the publisher?

 

Most region-locks - software OR hardware - is done at the behest of either the distributor, or as a legal requirement for the software or hardware to be sold there.  (Those that don't comply can't sell the product there.)

 

Publishers don't benefit; manufacturers don't benefit either (hardware region-locks).  The only beneficiaries are the gray-market/black marketeers and the bureaucracies.  (And how often are we hearing about connections between the two?)

[+LogicalApex MVC]

The problem isn't the people "capitalizing" on this. The problem is with the game publishers doing this in the first place...

 

The publishers are trying to artificially price their products higher in more affluent markets in an attempt to "price discriminate". If they want to eliminate this they should price their products the same in all markets... A person in the US shouldn't pay more "because they can".

[HawkMan]

The problem isn't the people "capitalizing" on this. The problem is with the game publishers doing this in the first place...

 

The publishers are trying to artificially price their products higher in more affluent markets in an attempt to "price discriminate". If they want to eliminate this they should price their products the same in all markets... A person in the US shouldn't pay more "because they can".

 

 

Good idea except. developers and publishers can't survive by selling games everywhere at HK and east european prices, on the other side of the coin those places can't afford to buy the games at US prices. Then there's also the fact that a lot of the difference also comes from cheaper distribution. 

 

the problem is the weird price hike from US to western europe that don't make any sense 20-25% based on VAT and such ok, but 50-100% more...

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Good idea except. developers and publishers can't survive by selling games everywhere at HK and east european prices, on the other side of the coin those places can't afford to buy the games at US prices. Then there's also the fact that a lot of the difference also comes from cheaper distribution. 

 

the problem is the weird price hike from US to western europe that don't make any sense 20-25% based on VAT and such ok, but 50-100% more...

That makes no sense... If they couldn't afford to make money by selling it there then they shouldn't sell them there. They sell them there because they have made all their money back in other markets and those are added as profit padding markets. They they use price discrimination to try and keep the status quo in place built on the assumption that the user in higher priced markets won't easily be able to access the cheaper prices in other regions (or they try and force it with region locking).

[chrisj1968]

I buy my games from amazon sometimes. I have a key for my softwares in my software library. no way to upset the balance there.

 

but pricing software higher for more lucrative markets is highway robbery. this whole scheme is a shambles.

[Aergan]

There's a demand, they provide the service at a better rate than most publishers do for digital copies. If they were keen to stop it, then they would charge more sensible prices.

 

If it was cheap or accessible enough in the first place, people wouldn't have the need to dip outside of official / traditional channels.

 

I've used sites like Game Points Now or Game Keys Now before and (when cheaper) I recommend their services for titles that publishers wont embrace Valve.

[FunkyMike]

If companies can benefit from globalization and fx swaps .. why can't consumers do the same? 

[HawkMan]

That makes no sense... If they couldn't afford to make money by selling it there then they shouldn't sell them there. They sell them there because they have made all their money back in other markets and those are added as profit padding markets. They they use price discrimination to try and keep the status quo in place built on the assumption that the user in higher priced markets won't easily be able to access the cheaper prices in other regions (or they try and force it with region locking).

 

again, cheaper transport and distribution. and no they sell them there for that price because with the help of the more expensive market they WILL make their money back. 

 

As for after the game has been out 6 or so month and it's made back the money they are often rebated unless it's a very popular game, in which case the free market says you don't reduce the price. 

[+LogicalApex MVC]

again, cheaper transport and distribution. and no they sell them there for that price because with the help of the more expensive market they WILL make their money back. 

 

As for after the game has been out 6 or so month and it's made back the money they are often rebated unless it's a very popular game, in which case the free market says you don't reduce the price. 

What cheaper transport and distribution?

 

That is just hyperbole and speculation.

 

This is business. Companies move their profits around in such a way to end up in the nation of whomever charges the least taxes... They pick the venue most favorable to them and consumers can, and should, do the same. These are businesses, not charities, they don't deserve my sympathy or "paying more" out of some misguided sense of guilt.

[chrisj1968]

digital distribution seems like a way to go. less transportation costs and the product ships with the key. no need to physically ship DVD/CD's to stores. isn't this a model Xboxone and PS4 use?seems like a way of the future.

[f1ux]

Surely the real crime/problem here is that we in the west are being charged more than we should be because they think they can get away with it.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

digital distribution seems like a way to go. less transportation costs and the product ships with the key. no need to physically ship DVD/CD's to stores. isn't this a model Xboxone and PS4 use?seems like a way of the future.

Discs are practically free to manufacture. Cutting them out won't result in massive savings in games. I don't see any discount on Destiny on the PS4 online store nor do I see any for The Last of Us. Actually, the few games I picked up for my gifted PS4 were all cheaper getting them new in store on an actual disk...

 

The Last of Us: Remastered was $20 cheaper in store at Best Buy. MLB The Show was also a fair bit cheaper, but I don't remember how much cheaper.

[HawkMan]

What cheaper transport and distribution?

 

That is just hyperbole and speculation.

 

This is business. Companies move their profits around in such a way to end up in the nation of whomever charges the least taxes... They pick the venue most favorable to them and consumers can, and should, do the same. These are businesses, not charities, they don't deserve my sympathy or "paying more" out of some misguided sense of guilt.

 

Are you saying the guys who transport and work at the stores and warehouses in china and eastern europe aren't paid a quarter of what we're paid here, that fuel isn't a fraction of the cost, that warehouse sotrage isn't a fraction of the cost, heck in Asia they're practically living in top of the factory so transport distance is a lot shorter. 

 

Business may not deserve sympathy, but the money they earn is what's used to make new games. a game that makes 1:1 what it earned, is going to lead to a closed studio. a game that makes 10 times what it cost to make, leads to more games.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Are you saying the guys who transport and work at the stores and warehouses in china and eastern europe aren't paid a quarter of what we're paid here, that fuel isn't a fraction of the cost, that warehouse sotrage isn't a fraction of the cost, heck in Asia they're practically living in top of the factory so transport distance is a lot shorter. 

 

Business may not deserve sympathy, but the money they earn is what's used to make new games. a game that makes 1:1 what it earned, is going to lead to a closed studio. a game that makes 10 times what it cost to make, leads to more games.

Again, you're making a case for me to have some sort of pity for these companies which makes no sense to me.

 

Also, the cost of stores and warehouses have nothing to do with the game maker. They sell the game to the store and then it is the store's job to price their costs into the game. This is why retailers ensure they have a "margin" on everything they sell in store... This is why things may be a bit cheaper at WalMart than at Best Buy *gasp*.

 

Amazon shows that having warehouses can be very cheap... I'm sure Amazon costs for product distribution are close to, if not cheaper than, those of companies operating in places like China where wages are very low. They make heavy and extensive use of automation and it is shown in their speed and pricing.

 

I'm not going to pay anything more than I have to for games, or any product. As I said earlier, these are businesses not charity*. If they fail then I'll get another product to replace them, no biggie. When I feel the need to do things out of charity there are lots of actual charitable needs that are in need of my money and time that I can give to.

 

* Call me when they start paying their fair share of taxes in the nations they operate in... I might get a very very slight bit more empathy for them.

[xrobwx71]

The problem isn't the people "capitalizing" on this. The problem is with the game publishers doing this in the first place...

 

The publishers are trying to artificially price their products higher in more affluent markets in an attempt to "price discriminate". If they want to eliminate this they should price their products the same in all markets... A person in the US shouldn't pay more "because they can".

Best comment!  :) Totally agree!

[Luc2k]

Good idea except. developers and publishers can't survive by selling games everywhere at HK and east european prices, on the other side of the coin those places can't afford to buy the games at US prices. Then there's also the fact that a lot of the difference also comes from cheaper distribution. 

I'm from one of those Eastern European countries that gets Western Europe prices. We love the various game publishers' Linux distro releases over here.

[Raa]

Drop the prices on games to a reasonable level and this probably wouldn't happen [as much]?