In my understanding of general US law (I am a dane, but keep keen interest in US law):
Technically the shops in some cases may be doing somthing illegal, but as the general customer has little chance of knowing if a product has hit the streets or not, the customer is not doing anything illegal.
The reason why it is in some cases illegal for the shop to do it, is because in certain instances, they will be informed that the game is not to be released untill a certain date, and in even more rare cases they are to dign off on a sort of NDA before they recive their shipment.
The contracts generally indemnify customers, making the store take responsibility for anything the customers do with the games. They don't have to, really, since the customers aren't a party to the release date contracts, but it's just an extra TRIBBLE they can put to stores that break the rules.
Even though the stores aren't doing anything illegal, they're still breaching a contract, which can have major consequences. For those of you with Meijer stores in your area, have you noticed that they get very few games on release day? Due to their stores breaking street dates on a ridiculous scale, most major publishers don't ship to them until the following week now. In Michigan at least, nobody can compare to the scale that Meijer used to break street dates. Near the end, they were doing it with several games a month, a few games as much as three to four weeks early. Most notable was probably Wrath of the Lich King. A LOT of places broke the street date on that one, but Meijer had everybody beat by three days. They even put it in their weekly advertisement. I haven't seen a new release game at Meijer since that mess.
At the end of the day the video game company still makes thousands or millions, you get a game and the store that sold it gets paid.
It's all part of the hype-tactic used to make people throw money at these companies after an over-advertised product gets released at midnight (which is illegal in some countries now because of the riots that causes) and I really fail to see the harm in distributing the games early.
So... nothing technically illegal? I made this case. They still don't believe me.
The real answer is: It depends.
Has your state enacted a law making it illegal to sell merchandise prior to the date required by the manufacturer and/or distributor? I seem to remember several people facing prosecution because they leaked Harry Potter books. It may have been because of the manner in which they procured said books though, I don't remember anymore.
So the only real way that you can know if something is illegal in your state is to speak to an attorney about it. Although, from the sounds of it, the people you're talking to are the kinds of idiots that wouldn't believe the attorney either.
My advice is that you quit wasting your time speaking to idiots.
I worked for Musicland/Sam Goody/Suncoast for years, and it's not illegal. However, depending on the agreement between the retailer and the distributor the retailer can be fined for releasing the product early. (Or won't be shipped the "next big thing" on time as punishment.)
Like others have said, it's a breach of contract on the part of the store. The worst that would happen is the store could get sued.
So.... if you're worried about the FBI breaking down your door in the middle of the night, you can rest easy. This is a matter for civil court, not criminal court. The consumer (you) wouldn't even be involved.
Comments
Is that considered illegal? :rolleyes:
What the man said.
In my understanding of general US law (I am a dane, but keep keen interest in US law):
Technically the shops in some cases may be doing somthing illegal, but as the general customer has little chance of knowing if a product has hit the streets or not, the customer is not doing anything illegal.
The reason why it is in some cases illegal for the shop to do it, is because in certain instances, they will be informed that the game is not to be released untill a certain date, and in even more rare cases they are to dign off on a sort of NDA before they recive their shipment.
In my understanding ...
they do it to gouge sales from other stores.
yes, you just did, right now. dont you remember?
who are you?
I changed the answer.
Even though the stores aren't doing anything illegal, they're still breaching a contract, which can have major consequences. For those of you with Meijer stores in your area, have you noticed that they get very few games on release day? Due to their stores breaking street dates on a ridiculous scale, most major publishers don't ship to them until the following week now. In Michigan at least, nobody can compare to the scale that Meijer used to break street dates. Near the end, they were doing it with several games a month, a few games as much as three to four weeks early. Most notable was probably Wrath of the Lich King. A LOT of places broke the street date on that one, but Meijer had everybody beat by three days. They even put it in their weekly advertisement. I haven't seen a new release game at Meijer since that mess.
Alright everybody, out of the thread!
*pulls out very small knife that appears to be made of crayon.*
make me.
You brought a "knife" to a gun fight. Smart. Real smart.
At the end of the day the video game company still makes thousands or millions, you get a game and the store that sold it gets paid.
It's all part of the hype-tactic used to make people throw money at these companies after an over-advertised product gets released at midnight (which is illegal in some countries now because of the riots that causes) and I really fail to see the harm in distributing the games early.
Has your state enacted a law making it illegal to sell merchandise prior to the date required by the manufacturer and/or distributor? I seem to remember several people facing prosecution because they leaked Harry Potter books. It may have been because of the manner in which they procured said books though, I don't remember anymore.
So the only real way that you can know if something is illegal in your state is to speak to an attorney about it. Although, from the sounds of it, the people you're talking to are the kinds of idiots that wouldn't believe the attorney either.
My advice is that you quit wasting your time speaking to idiots.
So.... if you're worried about the FBI breaking down your door in the middle of the night, you can rest easy. This is a matter for civil court, not criminal court. The consumer (you) wouldn't even be involved.
...too much?
*slams a big red button*
Computer: Emergency Containment Protocol activated. Flooding all levels with Bakelite.