Belgium Bans Game Rentals

[DoctorFinger]

The government of Belgium, at the urging of video game publishers, has banned the rental of all video games within that nation. The law bans the purchase of any new title for the purposes of rental immediately, and ends rentals altogether on December 1st.

The rental ban is seen as a way to prop up floundering game retailers, who have always claimed that game rentals harmed their business.

Source - GI.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/belgium-bans-videogame-rentals).

UPDATE - The Belgian Entertainment Association (http://www.edge-online.com/news/belgium-not-%E2%80%9Cbanning%E2%80%9D-game-rental) refutes reports that they've banned game rentals. They say they've simply required that rental stores must stop buying games at retail and begin buying them wholesale from the publishers. This would require rental sites get approval from the publishers, a process similar to how movie rentals are done in most of the world.

[Johan]

Well, isn't that awesome? :confused: Movies next? :confused:

[Sandman]

They have Gamestops in Belgium don't they? Just buy a game used and return it with the receipt and say you didn't like it or something....it's not technically rental.

[menage]

Same here in Holland, Shit is ridiculous.

Really, like I'll buy your crappy 2 hour game because I can't rent it.

[Psykoboy2]

Guess we know another reason for Slippy coming to the states. Good reason too.

[Doctor Setebos]

Belgium says it's not true (http://www.edge-online.com/news/belgium-not-%E2%80%9Cbanning%E2%80%9D-game-rental).

Following reports that Belgium will call an outright ban on videogame rentals from December 1, the Belgian Entertainment Association has told Edge that it is "simply doing what all other countries do."

"The point is that stores can still put out rental copies. They just have to get permission to do so. In most countries a rental point must get permission for renting out. We are no longer any different to this system, but that doesn’t mean we are 'banning' game rentals."

[KingGorilla]

Welcome to the official make Sl1pstream sad week.

[Karmakin]

Forcing them to get permission is about the same as banning game rentals. At the very least it'll reduce the selection to a point where most stores won't carry anything, and that's the point.

That said, game rentals do considerable harm to the industry. Every rental is a lost sale, after all. (I'm just kidding on this. Kinda. I just think that their piracy rhetoric is overblown when every big rental store around here is renting out 20+ copies of Fable 2 on launch day)

[JayVe]

The problem with game sales is that they are simply too damn expensive. I've switched almost entirely to rentals myself as it gives me much more value for my dollar. Either prices need to change, or people need to start getting more value for their purchase. 8-hour games aren't gonna cut it any longer.

[Ancalagon]

I thought you needed to buy special rental versions anyway? Hasnt that always been the case? ie, the dvds and games you get from video stores arent what you would buy from the stores, they are different versions exclusively for rental?

Actually, come to think of it, you should be able to rent out anything. Heck, I should be able to rent out my kettle - once I bought it, I can do what I like.

This is what the game companies really want - no resales or rentals. I'm surprised console games have been re-sellable for as long as they have.

[Mike Kelehan]

Competition hurts my business too. Can it be illegal? Please?

[KingGorilla]

I thought you needed to buy special rental versions anyway? Hasnt that always been the case? ie, the dvds and games you get from video stores arent what you would buy from the stores, they are different versions exclusively for rental?


Nope, the games industry is run by dipshits. They would rather bitch about rentals than monetize them and culture them. Like those geniuses in LA figured out almost 30 years ago. They just now figured out.
, Wait not them but Gamestop Corp, the portion buyback on unsold games to slash prices rather than refunded send backs, how DVD and VHS has worked for ages.

[Johan]

The problem with game sales is that they are simply too damn expensive....Either prices need to change, or people need to start getting more value for their purchase. 8-hour games aren't gonna cut it any longer.

I agree, I agree, and I agree again!

I've stopped buying full-price titles. I buy the vast majority of my games "new" at retail, but "old" in terms of price...when they hit $20 or less, typically. Most games do, eventually, and my lack of interest in multiplayer means I miss nothing of substance by waiting and actually gain a lot, including extra content, patches, user-mods, free DLC, and on and on...

[Norse]

How much do the game publishers get from game rentals? I imagine gamefly and other get too much of the money the publishers and developers should get.

[menage]

The problem with game sales is that they are simply too damn expensive. I've switched almost entirely to rentals myself as it gives me much more value for my dollar. Either prices need to change, or people need to start getting more value for their purchase. 8-hour games aren't gonna cut it any longer.

I don't think the length of the game automatically defines the quality. I'd rather have 8 hours of godlike entertainment than 45 mediocre ones. It's also kinda nice to blow through a game in a weekend sometimes, most of the time I don't finish em at all or 6 months later during dry spells.

Quality is key though

Sometimes you really like stuff the first few hours, and then get bored. That's where I would like a rental system. For all the Creeds and Mirrors edges in this world. Ultimate rentals.

[roboninja]

How much do the game publishers get from game rentals? I imagine gamefly and other get too much of the money the publishers and developers should get.

I would assume the publisher/devs get nothing. The rental company buys the game, and then rents it out.

[Schnoogs]

This is the future anyways...good luck renting out Steam or XBLA games.

Once physical media goes away so do rentals.

[Wolvie]

Next up they will ban chewing gum and walking at the same time. Because it also poses as much risk to your person. Then Walking will be banned, because god forbid you should turn your ankle.

Hey, it's for your own good, free choice sucks anyways.

[Schnoogs]

Next up they will ban chewing gum and walking at the same time. Because it also poses as much risk to your person. Then Walking will be banned, because god forbid you should turn your ankle.

Hey, it's for your own good, free choice sucks anyways.

They call that european progress

[Sl1pstream]

They have Gamestops in Belgium don't they? Just buy a game used and return it with the receipt and say you didn't like it or something....it's not technically rental.

We don't.

I only know one store chain that even offers rentals to be honest, so I doubt that it's that big of a deal. Still sucks, even though it's been years since I personally rented a game.

EDIT: After looking at today's newspaper, there was already a law against game rentals for years. All that's changing now is that they're actually going to follow that law, instead of looking the other way.

Just found a letter from BEA (Belgian Entertainment Association) that someone got in May about this. It's not something that happened overnight.
Apparently they couldn't add new titles to their rentals since June, the ban starts on the first of December.

[quidmonkey]

Renting is a legalized form of file-sharing.

[Sl1pstream]

Okay, so apparently certain stores are offering rentals without a license. The games they're offering as rentals are the exact same copies they should be selling. For one of those chains, rentals are good for 10% of their profits.

They can still get a license, it's just going to cost them some money now. As the license fee goes straight to the members of BEA (which consists of game publishers), I only see this as a good thing for the games industry.

[biosc1]

I thought, as well, that in Canada at least, there is a need for a license to rent out movies and videogames...of course, people don't always follow the rules...

Edit: Nope, I seem to be incorrect...I thought there was at one point because I remember the threat being that if you lost a VHS tape (back in the day) the cost of replacement was close to $100 because it was a "rental tape".

[LongStepMantis]

I've personally banned Belgium.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it! ;)

[GunnyMo]

The rental ban is seen as a way to prop up floundering game retailers, who have always claimed that game rentals harmed their business.
.

Wow. Video game retailers and publishers are the whiniest, greediest bunch of morons. Banning rentals because sales are floundering? Don't like the competition? Grow up.

So, movies are next then, I suppose. Oh, and libraries. Shit, libraries give their stuff away for free! Those bastards!

Next it will be illegal to loan a copy to a friend.

[Sl1pstream]

Wow. Video game retailers and publishers are the whiniest, greediest bunch of morons. Banning rentals because sales are floundering? Don't like the competition? Grow up.

So, movies are next then, I suppose. Oh, and libraries. Shit, libraries give their stuff away for free! Those bastards!

Next it will be illegal to loan a copy to a friend.

Movies are different. There's a difference between the price of a copy that's just for rental and a copy that's for sale. Videogames don't have that difference, which is where the license comes in. If they're too greedy to get that license, they deserve this imo.

[Esquilax1138]

This will just drive things underground to more shady places, and thats fine with me, maybe I can rent a game at the same time I'm renting a hooker.

And libraries are socialist havens, need to close those down for sure, one near me even loans out 360 games for free, fucking hippies. :rolleyes:

[Purple Santa]

This is the future anyways...good luck renting out Steam or XBLA games.

Once physical media goes away so do rentals.

But how much will the games cost once physical media go away?

[Narradisall]

They call that european progress

On the plus side, we've now learnt we can sue for it all from American progress :D

[Restlessavenger]

Wait not them but Gamestop Corp, the portion buyback on unsold games to slash prices rather than refunded send backs, how DVD and VHS has worked for ages.

The video market changed substantially when DVD came about. Pretty much up until DVD hit there were still a number of studios that would use "Rental Pricing" on their VHS releases. They would release the video at around $100 or more for six months to a year and then would drop to a more reasonable price.

[Wolvie]

Wow. Video game retailers and publishers are the whiniest, greediest bunch of morons. Banning rentals because sales are floundering? Don't like the competition? Grow up.

So, movies are next then, I suppose. Oh, and libraries. Shit, libraries give their stuff away for free! Those bastards!

Next it will be illegal to loan a copy to a friend.

Heaven forbid gamers might want to save some money. Goodness! We can't have that!!!

I agree, greedy bastards FTL

[Variable Gear]

And there was much rejoicing. I hope this comes stateside, because I want to give in to the publisher bullshit about game reselling. It's killing our industry, and we need change. Change we can believe in.

[Wolvie]

UPDATE: It was all much ado about nothing. Ah well, common sense reigns supreme again.

[Schnoogs]

But how much will the games cost once physical media go away?

$42.99 naturally

[Johan]

...we need change. Change we can believe in.

The only change I need is a new pair of underwear. I get lazy on the weekends. :D