|
|
Post by Evie ❤✿ on Aug 13, 2011 14:59:30 GMT -5
Though I tried to import DD from Amazon (as recent as Dec 2010) but couldn't and would love to play it. For some reason Amazon.com won't ship video games outside the US. I'm not sure why, I buy DVDs and books from them all the time without any problems. Luckily somebody on Amazon.co.uk was selling copies of Drill Dozer, so I go one that way. It's probably the whole 'buying import games is illegal' thing. If you read the back of any Japan or North American GBA or DS game there should be a notice that says "for sale and use in Japan only", or similar. Sony of America in particular are pretty strict about it. They sued Lik-Sang, and they no longer exist after a number of legal claims from Sony in particular. Play-Asia aren't actually allowed to ship Japanese PS3s to Europe anymore. They argue that by allowing importing, they don't have control over their own market. Other reasons for why it is 'illegal' are because of things like voltage differences (for home consoles) and foreign revisions of games not being rated overseas, where a foreign rating like CERO A is not applicable abroad. There is also the controversial argument that when you buy the game, you only buy the license to play the software, and thus all second-hand games are unlicensed. I personally believe we the consumers should have the liberty of what we want with our games once we purchase them. I don't think the whole it's dangerous to use foreign home consoles thing is relevant because the buyer should have responsibility for what they are buying, and as long as the seller clarifies such things in thefirst place I don't feel there should be any problem. I would love to see Drill Dozer available for us Europeans on 3DS Virtual Console one day! There are also a few Japan-only Game Boy games I'd be interested in seeing to everyone but many are text-heavy... |
|
|
|
Post by kirbychu on Aug 13, 2011 15:34:39 GMT -5
Sony of America in particular are pretty strict about it. They sued Lik-Sang, and they no longer exist after a number of legal claims from Sony in particular. Play-Asia aren't actually allowed to ship Japanese PS3s to Europe anymore. They argue that by allowing importing, they don't have control over their own market. Makes you wonder why they used "region-free" as a selling point for the PS3. But I can't say I've ever understood Sony's marketing people. |
|
|
|
Post by Fryguy64 on Aug 17, 2011 3:14:32 GMT -5
Videogame company lawyers have been trying really really hard to find loopholes to justify their purchases, even if means coming up with really questionable claims regarding ownership, licensing or even free market. They also seem to be seriously abusing some laws put in place to protect consumers in order to protect their asses.
I understand, when I pay £40 for a videogame, I am not buying the copyrights to all the content. Therefore, duplicating and selling/distributing that content without the say-so of the copyright holder is against the law. But this one copy is mine, and it's no different to selling any of the rest of my crap.
But then if I bought all the copies of a game and sold them at a markup, is that OK? Well, it's anti-competitive, so no. One videogame retailer in the UK tried this with the 3DS... Bought them from a supermarket special offer and sold them at their own expensive prices. And you wonder why 3DS isn't doing so well!
The problem publishers have is not being reimbursed for a "lost sale" where somebody buys a game without any of the profits returning to them. FUNNILY ENOUGH they only really mind this with new games. You don't often see people crying over the PSX libraries...
Which is why I think they should instigate a system of date-based returns. The retailer can't sell preowned copies of a game during the initial launch period, then sell them after a set time with a percentage of the profits returning to the publisher based on how old the game is.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koopaul on Aug 17, 2011 3:25:59 GMT -5
They could also just freaking localize the games that there is a demand for.
|
|
|
|
Post by nocturnal YL on Aug 17, 2011 9:07:17 GMT -5
I'd compare this with stuff like books and software. Those stuff can be resold as you like, and that isn't really a problem since new versions of those keep coming out. Want to sell those at a different price? Feel free to. You'd either end up not selling it or selling it at a lower price, both of which are losses. By the time the original version loses its value, new ones would come up and normal publishers won't care about what you do with the old version - to them those old stuff are useless, and sometimes vendors would even give these old stuff for free (like the software TruSpace, which when its publisher was selling version 7, they launched a campaign to give away versions 2 and 3 for free... I think).
I'd say the same principle should apply to games. If it really is that new, you can't really resell them with much profit to make. Maybe except when a game is not available in a region at all... by then it's actually the publishers' responsibility to localize them. Or just screw it with the whole region thing. We've never heard of region-locked PCs (maybe except the DVD part), and there shouldn't really be region-locked game consoles either.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fryguy64 on Aug 17, 2011 12:07:09 GMT -5
The main issue isn't people selling at a profit, but freely distributing games. This is why publishers keep coming up with these screwy protection clauses. The lost sales from preowned software doesn't help... But the market is unwilling to give and take. £40 is too much for most games, compared to the enjoyment derived from them, but to get that game cheaper, you either have to steal it or buy it preowned.
Then there's the issue of try-before-you-buy... Most of us don't get a chance with most console games, even though downloads on demand are possible on them all. We used to get demo discs on magazines... Now we don't.
I understand the plight of the publishers, but I am also a consumer who spends more than most on games and hardware. How much of that gets back to the publisher? Probably not a lot! But what are my options? When the stock of a game is gone, will the publisher sell me the game direct at a markdown due to the title's age? Nah, of course not. So i'll buy it preowned.
|
|
|
|
Post by kirbychu on Aug 17, 2011 15:26:14 GMT -5
Then there's the issue of try-before-you-buy... Most of us don't get a chance with most console games, even though downloads on demand are possible on them all. We used to get demo discs on magazines... Now we don't. Actually, that's only really a problem on Nintendo consoles these days... and I don't remember Nintendo ever giving away demo discs anyway. I can download a demo of pretty much any 360 game I want at the press of a button. Most of these games aren't even available any more, but the demos are still up. Whenever I go through a rough patch financially and can't afford any new games, I just survive on demos.  |
|
|
|
Post by TV Eye on Aug 17, 2011 23:50:32 GMT -5
We used to get demo discs on magazines... Ah, the good ol' days. I still have all the PSOne demo compilations that I spent so much time on... |
|
|
|
Post by nocturnal YL on Aug 18, 2011 7:05:27 GMT -5
Actually, that's only really a problem on Nintendo consoles these days... and I don't remember Nintendo ever giving away demo discs anyway. I think that MKDD bonus disc thingy back then was the closest thing. And how long has that been? There are WiiWare trial verisons and those Nintendo Channel DS downloads (that you can't keep); but those aren't anywhere close to being a compilation. |
|
|
|
Post by 8bitretroshit on Aug 18, 2011 11:04:39 GMT -5
Ah, the good ol' days. I still have all the PSOne demo compilations that I spent so much time on... It's too bad my brother threw 'em out, 'cause those PSX demo compilations were the best 3D T-Rex model viewer HELL YEAH |
|
|
|
Post by parrothead on Aug 18, 2011 17:07:29 GMT -5
That's odd. I preordered a Nintendo 3DS on its release date at a Toys "R" Us on a day the Pokemon Egg's Download Event was active, updated its system and connected it at Club Nintendo before this announcement started, but I don't see the "Ambassador" section in the Nintendo eShop, but I see its news.
|
|
|
|
Post by Koopaul on Aug 18, 2011 17:52:09 GMT -5
I think the Ambassador's section will be on September 1st. I only see the news too.
Right? Nobody here has something we don't have?
|
|
|
|
Post by parrothead on Aug 18, 2011 20:06:25 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Leon on Aug 19, 2011 0:28:16 GMT -5
The message on the shop has changed after the deadline passed. In the coming days, Nintendo of America will put up a webpage for people to verify their status through their 3DS serial number. Don't worry about it until you check that.
|
|
|
|
Post by Fryguy64 on Aug 19, 2011 6:02:02 GMT -5
As far as I can gather, it won't just be Nintendo of America, but anyone will be able to check their serial number against the website to find out if they're an ambassador.
I understand some American folk received a confirmation message, but this wasn't shared worldwide.
Essentially, all you had to do was buy a 3DS before the cut-off date and use the eShop at some point. I did that, and I can prove I did that with my purchase history, so I'm sure I'll be fine, even though I have no confirmation message.
|
|
