Gamestop Sued Over Dragon Age DLC
Apr 4
A Tale of the Thrifty and the Bold
Gamestop has recently been served a lawsuit by a disgruntled purchaser of a used copy of Dragon Age: Origins. Apparently, the poor fellow bought DA:O for a whopping $5 discount (really, Gamestop? $5? The death and destruction of Darkspawn while flirting with feisty bards and half dressed witches is awesome — but $5 off, used?), and left the store under the impression that the free downloadable content advertised on the box would still be readily available to him — for free. Unfortunately for all concerned, this was not the case.
The downloadable content was already assigned to the previous owner of the game, locked in to that person’s Bioware/EA account. Now some might shake their heads and say “of course it was“, while still others might shake their fists and shout, “Gamestop should have marked that clearly on the box!“. Perhaps both groups are correct… but the purchaser (one James Collins of Hayward, California) and that person’s lawyer believe strongly in the latter.
So much so, in fact, that they are willing to take Gamestop to court over the $15 that poor gamer had to pay to purchase those extra Dragon Age goodies that were promised for free. The basic premise of the lawsuit is as follows:
“GameStop, who makes more than 20% of its revenue and nearly $2 billion from the sale of used video games, is aware of this issue, and continues to fail to alert customers that this content is not available on used games. As a result, Gamestop tricks consumers into paying more for a used game than they would if they purchased the same game and content new.”
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for a multitude of damages claims, not the least of which is fraud. It should also be mentioned that Gamestop refused to accept the game as a return, as Mr. Collins had kept it past the seven day return period.
What do you think O readers? Who’s right? Who’s wrong?
Is the emotional distress of not wearing the Blood Dragon Plate armor in the final battle enough to sue for damages? Will you writhe in agony over the terror of battle without your trusty golem? Is this a case of buyer beware, or shifty business? Will Morrigan and Sten ever get married? Tune in next time for more tales of:
The Thrifty and The Bold – Abominations and the Law
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26 comments
Comment by tim on April 4, 2010 at 3:37 am
sounds like a bunch of chicken shit bullshit to me
Comment by x2A on April 4, 2010 at 3:37 am
GS should have marked it.
Comment by Domingo Cardona on April 4, 2010 at 3:52 am
hope they take GS down, can't tell ya how pissed i was when this happened to me….power to the players? more like power FROM the players…they keep us down with shitty trade in values…-5 off used games that you sold to them for like 20 bucks even tho it just came out….preorders that sometimes dont come with the stuff you preordered it for…too much i could go on and on…all i can say is the kid has the right of way here and i hope he takes GS down…id be happier with a better GS then the shitty company they have now
Comment by thepiebaker on April 4, 2010 at 3:56 am
i too fell into this trap… if this guy gets anything from gamestop for this i should get some compensation as well
Comment by Clifford Dutka on April 4, 2010 at 4:01 am
This is actually one of the reasons I avoid games because I realize that any extra content is lost. Some other reasons I avoid used games particularly from Gamestop is they are over priced, 5 dollars off for a used game that is still in production is ridiculous. In my opinion they are at fault in this case, they did not properly advertise the product that they were selling and even though this may be 15 dollars; however there is a much bigger problem here. The government could easily use this to open an investigation against them and the court could award punitive damages. Even though there is buyer beware the law is written for the most lacking in knowledge or lowest in IQ (however you want to put it). It is not written for the average or more intellectual consumers. Which means game stop could be in a lot of trouble, frankly I am surprised it has not happened sooner.
Comment by Mike Ukrainec on April 4, 2010 at 4:04 am
gamestop is ridiculous!!! they keep pushing back a game called 'Risen', which i idiotically pre ordered from gs. it came out end of february…and everywhere else has it BUT gs. first it was pushed back till around now…now it's till like may and they won't give me my money back for the preorder so im SOL. by the time i get it from them i could have already bought it from futureshop or walmart and beaten it at least twice, if not 3 times! IT'S RIDICULOUS!!
Comment by Barry on April 4, 2010 at 4:56 am
Of course you dont get the promotional material with a used copy. Bloody fool, he's just looking for an excuse to make some dosh via a lawsuit.
Comment by @LyricalBandit on April 4, 2010 at 5:27 am
Ha, he's suing because he had to pay for Shale? I mean, she has a cool personality and all, but seriously? You can't seriously expect a one time use code to be available on a used game. C'mon now.
Comment by Nonny on April 4, 2010 at 5:42 am
There should have been a note on the box informing the customer that the advertised free content wouldn't be available, but this is the sort of thing that you talk to the store manager, or write to district/corporate over. A lawsuit is just plain ridiculous.
Comment by ryan on April 4, 2010 at 5:52 am
i agree there's more GS can do, but at the same time, the customer should be a little more wise about it. There are 15 billion explanations of the DLC conditions on bioware, here, social site, and GS's site. I'm not investing a lot of time researching this, but the only way I'd be upset with GS is if the employee personally promised the DLC was free… anything else is just miscommunication, or a new hurdle in the life of new used games… DLC and exclusive content..
Comment by chilyn on April 4, 2010 at 5:54 am
It's an interesting dilemma, really, and that's why I chose not to side with either when writing the article. Honestly, I believe they both have room for semantic argument — what sullies that for me is that I am not sure I believe either would be arguing for principles, even if this were amicably resolved.
If Gamestop were to say "sorry, honest mistake, we'll make it right and make sure it doesn't happen again", I would be inclined to think they are just trying some slick PR.
If the plaintiff were to get on a soapbox and shout about the principle of the thing and how he's "doing it for all gamers out there — and all the downtrodden too!", I would want to ask him if he is made of money. He must be to be so goodhearted as to put himself and his fortune on the line over so little — and for other people to boot.
But then again, maybe I am a bit cynical? Possibly. Either way, it is a good lesson in being careful when and where you buy — and that being thrifty may not always get you the results you hoped for.
As for the lawsuit and his chances of winning? *shrugs* If he had been a twelve year old purchasing with his paper route money, I think he'd have a better one.
Comment by dualie on April 4, 2010 at 6:01 am
People still buy boxes?
Comment by Aladisa on April 4, 2010 at 6:28 am
Well, Common sense should tell you that if it's used that the previous owner already used the codes for cryng out loud LOL
Comment by Julie on April 4, 2010 at 6:51 am
Oh God. Just… Oh God. Get over it. At least you didn't accidentally buy the DLC and didn't realize you could get it for free. Like some people. (Me.)
I don't understand why people are so sue happy.
Comment by @40Tech on April 4, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Sounds pretty simple – if GameStop is selling you something that advertises certain content, and you don't receive that content . . .
Sounds like the right thing to do is for GS to give folks a credit for the downloadable content.
I, too, did what one of the other commenters did, and paid for one of the DLC packs that was actually free in the box. Doh.
Comment by Domingo on April 4, 2010 at 7:34 pm
all in all i think they should mark those boxes to let gamers know that there isnt crap in there….
i bought san andreas one day special edition that was supposed to come with an extra CD of content only to find out that there wasnt a second CD…and then they tried to play me the fool and tell me the content was all in one CD….biggest bullcrap ever…
marking those boxes prevents young casuals from making these mistakes as well…GS needs to get with the program and change
Comment by chilyn on April 4, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I think that the end result of the media attention this has received may be that Gamestop marks the boxes, at the least. Would be a bit boneheaded of them not to. According to some of the other comments here though, boneheaded seems to be something that Gamestop does like to play at sometimes. :)
Comment by Gskurski on April 4, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I'm not super sure what the box that Gamestop sold this guy said, but my copy of Dragon Age specifically says "Includes: Downloadable character and quest. A $15 Value. . . One-time use code available with full retail purchase. Expires April 30, 2010."
If he's buying a USED copy, specifically at $5 discount, that does NOT constitute as "full retail price", so he's not entitled to the DLC even if it DID come with it. If he had lucked out and the previous owner didn't redeem the code, should Gamestop have sued him? I didn't think so. This law suit is ridiculous.
Comment by fan on April 5, 2010 at 3:29 am
It has been clearly stated by bioware that the content shipped with DAO is free only to those who buy it new, why is it this ? not sure (actually I have my thoughts but lets keep it unbiased here) but there you go.
personally I don’t like gamestop, the prices for the games suck, and selling games to them also suck (20% less if you take the sells as cash) but I don’t honestly see them liable, if the dlc card was still in there it would say something like “ONE TIME USE” and in that case this guy is just sueing them.
frivolous lawsuit is frivolous
Comment by FreshMeat on April 5, 2010 at 2:23 am
Lets face it, there are some people out there who are lacking common sense and there are also a good portion of younger players that just dont understand.
A good portion of us know that the DLC is only a one time thing and buying a used game does not constitute that one time, since after all the game has been used and so it can be assumed that all free goodies given with the game when it was NEW, are now used up.
Gamestop should however be marking the used games to inform that the free goodies are not available on used games so that younger players hopes are not dashed, and older more ignorant players are not champing at the bit for a lawsuit. But like with most business it's a learning process, you dont know that someone might come in and cut themself on the discount scissors then sue you because you didnt mark them as sharp. It's common sense, scissors are sharp, they cut things, chances are they cut you too. Some people just dont think like that though. It's like the Woman who sued Mcdonalds over there not being a 'Warning:Contents Hot' warning on her hot cup of fresh coffee she dropped on her lap.
Like Ryan said, I can agree with the lawsuit if an employee at gamestop said that the DLC was still free, however I'm doubting that is the case.
Comment by d15funkt1on on April 6, 2010 at 3:40 am
Ok so this guy has filed a lawsuit against Gamestop for not telling him that the single use serial keys in a USED game were… USED.
First of all this is not a Gamestop issue, this is an EA issue and its something they really do need to fix.
Second this is a non-issue, I also bought a used copy of DAO, my keys were used but I have the DLC on my account and I got it for free. All it takes is a phonecall to EA customer service and telling them that your keys don't work. They will quite happily put the DLC on your account and presto chango, free DLC.
Gamestop should not be held accountable because the idiot did not have the forethought to call the customer service team responsible for producing the game in the first place.
I had a similar experience with Microsoft, I got my copy of Office 2007 on release. I have upgraded my OS and bought numerous newer machines since then. I am not going to buy a new version of Office every time I change my OS or machine. One quick call to Microsoft fixed all that.
Comment by trent on April 10, 2010 at 6:22 pm
who was the idiot that returned the game, thats what I want to know. :)
Comment by smartxalex on April 15, 2010 at 1:33 am
Kinda reminds me of that woman who sued McDonalds because she spilled her coffee on herself and it was *hot*!
It's a wonder why people think they should be compensated for their own stupidity.
Comment by Matt on April 24, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Legally speaking, yes, they should have marked it (or included a notice that serial keys are single use).
Practically speaking, not everyone has extensive video game experience and knows for a fact that the keys are single use.
Ultimately what it comes down to is false advertising, the seller is responsable for the correctness of it's product and the only reason most of us think he should've known is because we're part of a group where this is the status quo, we don't realize that people who don't have experience in this wouldn't have known.
Personally, I've brought this issue up in a number of different groups, common knowledge in your group doesn't necessarily mean that it's common knowledge to most.
Comment by t.hunsi on August 25, 2011 at 9:19 pm
If the product is used then why would he get free content? it is a second hand item. The guy should have read the box. this world lacks common sense.
Comment by Shar on February 13, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Bought the ultimate edition used.
Let's compare two games, this and Resident Evil 5. They both have DLC and editions that came with the DLC. I bought both games used. On the RE5 disc, it automatically installed the DLC, since Capcom put it on the disc. Lets flip over to this game. I bought it assuming that the DLC would be on the Disc as well. It would have been nice to either have been told that or had a small message on the box mentioning that the DLC was unlocked via a code instead. Then again, this is Jewware we're talking about. Things like this turn me off from buying a dev's products, because it means I've thought I was getting a decent deal, but instead get ripped off and am told I have to pay the 90$ for the DLC if I want it, or go back to the store and see if they have it New and pay the difference. Now it would be one thing if I knew what exactly i was buying, but I've never really played a game like this before, which is why I went used.