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Last week, Gearbox gave G2A a bit of an ultimatum, it asked that the shady key marketplace commit to several changes in an effort to be a fairer place for both game developers and customers. If G2A did not respond, Gearbox would pull out of its Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition partnership. G2A chose to remain silent on the topic last week and as a result, Gearbox has begun its ‘extraction process'. However, it seems that G2A has finally got around to issuing its own statement on the matter.
According to G2A, Gearbox's demands were “based on both a lack of knowledge and a lack of desire to learn the other side of the story”. From there, the company went on to claim that people are out to get G2A and paint it as an “intermediary in selling illegally acquired keys”, something that G2A claims is a “depiction far removed from reality”.
From there, in a statement given to Vice, G2A tried to tackle each of Gearbox's demands. When it came to G2A Shield, the company claims no wrongdoing and won't be making any changes to the service. When it came to Gearbox's request for a free API for developers to access G2A's database and flag fraudulent keys, G2A says that it already will take down stolen keys if the developer provides evidence. Alternatively, they can sign a contract with G2A via G2A Direct, which will give the developer access to the database. This essentially boils down to ‘you can have access, but only if you partner with us'.
Gearbox also asked that a system be put in place for ‘non-certified' key sellers trying to sell massive amounts of keys. With a limit on the number of sales that can be made in a day, developers have a better chance of discovering stolen keys before they are sold on to customers. G2A's answer isn't posted in full but we are told that it boils down to ‘no, unless you sign a contract'.
Finally, Gearbox also requested that G2A ‘restructure its payment system' in order to let users know that they could potentially be buying a fraudulent key. Gearbox also requested that there be no more hidden fees or obfuscated charges, which derives from complaints that G2A's checkout system has unwittingly signed many customers up to a monthly G2A Shield subscription. G2A claims that “all fees and rates are clearly labeled”, essentially shrugging that criticism off entirely.
So there you have it. G2A won't be making any changes because G2A doesn't think it's doing anything wrong. If a developer wants access to stop sellers from swiftly flipping stolen keys, then it will need to become a G2A partner.
KitGuru Says: The problem for many developers here is that by the time it obtains all of the evidence G2A needs to stop key sales, many of those keys will have already been sold. It takes minutes for a key to sell on G2A, whereas investigating, gathering evidence and waiting for responses can take hours if not days. Bullying developers into partnering up for protection isn't really a satisfying solution for anyone.
People need to stop using the service. That’s the only way they will change their methods.
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Publishers always think they can control everything, remember those anti-consumer multiplayer codes created specifically to restrict second-hand sales? Decades of godawful DRM that often punished the honest customer. They’ve already started fighting grey-markets with GeoIP restricted serial codes.
Ironically it is their disrespectful treatment of gamers and the eternal price-gouging that made places like G2A and Kinguin so popular.
Now that’s it’s clear the grey-markets won’t bend over for Publishers, it’s become a PR war to demonise the business rival.
G2A are making buckets of cash every day and they will ride that gravy train for as long as they legally can. Does this really surprise anyone?
G2A are the victims. They’re a reputable company. I’ve my entire library on Steam chock full of their products. Let this be a lesson to all those White knights, the self styled social justice warriors like Totalbiscuit and the JimQuistion – You’re not Judges, you’re not the courts. Stop crucifying this honourable company in the realm of public opinion to satisfy your own egos to make yourselves feel empowered. G2A is the success story, the rags to riches with honest hard work. A platform for everyone and the real and only material piece of social justice – Lower prices!
No. G2A is the line in the sand.
yeah, I bet that gearbox wants to take down “only” fraudulent keys and not cheaper keys…
What a ridiculous comment. They’re proven wrongdoers, they’ve been shown to partake in a awful business practices. I know this is a troll comment, because your rambling is so incoherent and incorrect, that I know nobody could reasonably hold that opinion. However, to people who don’t know you’re a troll, they might take you seriously. G2A is evil.
No they’re not. A ruling by a court or you’re just another pile-on, white knighting social justice piece of phlegm.
JimQuisition and TotalBiscuit are SJW’s? What fucking backwards world are you living in? Do you even know who these people are or what they say? xD
They’re piling onto an innocent company and all to pad their own egos. They have no business condemning G2A as G2A have not been proven, in a real court, that they’re in the wrong. They assume that G2A is the faulty party and on the back of that assumption they then demand that G2A and Gearbox should take responsibility. They’re not Judges. They’re entertainers but to listen to them, they’ve held a trial already and found G2A guilty.
They’re piling onto a shady business that profits partially off of stolen keys, then furthers that profit by selling you insurance. Every aspect of the games industry has condemned G2A and other businesses alike from the devs to the consumers and everyone inbetween. TB provided Gearbox with, clearly, enough evidence of G2A’s wrongdoing for the company to back out of its deal with them (gratz Gearbox on doing no research in the first place).
TB and Jim Sterling are not primarily entertainers. They are critics who have jumped onto the popular medium of YouTube. Are you really going to denounce their profession merely because they put a comedic spin on their content to make shit less mundane?
Yes, I get it, we all love a cheap game where we can get it. But that is not worth sucking G2A’s dick for
Lots and lots of ‘claims’ regurgitated from those fizzing phlegm temples, the pillars of the their own self-deluded fiefdoms from that crystal palace in the sky, TB and Jim at their zenith, handing down judgements like God himself.
I denounce that they’re all too eager, too eager to Judge G2A based on not the assessment of a court but of their own self-important assumption. Instead of having their suspicions tested in the final crucible, a court, they outright condemn G2A. No trial. No defence. Just absolute judgement.
They’re comedians alright, the comedy is there. That they think themselves qualified to pile onto an innocent company. Yes, it’s comedy gold that they think of themselves as so qualified; who needs the courts anyway.
Except, when you have small independent dev studios also rallying against sites like G2A the conspiracy that G2A is only bad because money grubbing publishers told us they are is immediately shut down
In general, I’m afraid not. A conspiracy isn’t merely diffused by adding new players. They’re not so easily disrupted.
Except this has nothing to do with their self importance. What agenda do the likes of TB and Jim Sterling have against G2A when what they at the very least like to claim themselves as critics have their reputation as a reliable source at stake. I liken this apparent conspiracy against them to those who attack journalists for “fake news” whenever they report on game delays: What are a few clicks when their entire future as a reliable news site is at stake?
Also, your little ‘bit’ on the court is like saying a rapist is not in the wrong because he hasn’t yet been caught and put on trial.
Whether you like it or not G2A does this shit, and while I used to defend them saying they did nothing directly wrong (before they started charging for protection, something that just shows you their confidence in their own key stock) it’s the fact that they continue to do nothing to combat it, with their only eventual action being a basic preventative verification system that is easy to work around, and locking developers into their shit directly
So you’re saying that because small indie devs aren’t as big their part doesn’t count? You have to remember publishers only look to maximise a profit in any way possible, whereas indie studios are merely looking to make a profit in the first place. If they’re being hit by the likes of G2A, they’re sure as shit being hit the hardest
The article is about Gearbox and G2A… this whole “We’re trying to protect stolen keys” is just a front, they only pretend to care because they know the grey-markets cut into their profits and it’s a good angle to attack them from. Like I said, this is a PR campaign to demonise a business rival.
Conspiracy? Any gamer who is not 12 knows that publishers treat gamers as nothing more than idiots with wallets. I assume you’ve never had to suffer the horror of trying to play a legitimate game that used the GamesForWindowsLive DRM.
“However, it seems that G2A has finally got around to issuing its own statement on the matter.”
That should say enough. And that’s how the article starts.
“According to G2A, Gearbox’s demands were “based on both a lack of knowledge and a lack of desire to learn the other side of the story”.”
Don’t make me laugh. Last minute you start throwing shade? Buddy, you just fucking spit on the help that was offered. No-one’s gonna take your bullshit serious.
“the company claims no wrongdoing and won’t be making any changes to the service.”
And there is your problem. Are these people fucking stupid? GB gave you an ultimatum. There’s no negotiating. There’s no “but”s. There’s no “you” in this story.
“G2A says that it already will take down stolen keys if the developer provides evidence.”
You’ve been telling us that since the first bit of flak you’ve gotten. Now that someone wants to aid you in it and wants to support it, or at least is willing to support you, you just spit on their offer. Get the fuck out, G2A. Get the fuck out and don’t let the door kick you in the ass.
“G2A claims that “all fees and rates are clearly labeled”, essentially shrugging that criticism off entirely.”
This hole you’re digging is your grave, btw. And we didn’t even ask you to. GB even offered help with digging, and maybe make something nice out of it, but no. You’re the scum we all know you are, yet many want.
Considering I acknowledged publishers as “money grubbing”? Yes, I know how they work, but that’s a far cry from making G2A “the good guys”.
And yes, this article is about Gearbox and G2A, but the effects of the latter’s business model is far more wide reaching
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Yes. A rapist is usually not in the wrong until they are in fact put on trial and found guilty. This is how they’re found to be a… ‘rapist’. Does the presumption of innocence mean anything to you?
Protection? Just like Paypal with their Seller/Buyer ‘Protection’ and don’t think that there isn’t an outlay factored into their fee structure to cover those losses. G2A protection my be expensive but that’s the price people are willing to pay because they’re paying it and that’s just good business.
Confidence in their own stock? It’s not their stock. It’s an open platform.
G2A has done nothing wrong because they are innocent. An innocent Company.
– Says what? That they took time to consider their response?
– Because you know, perched on your tower in the sky.
– They’re innocent.
– You raged hard on that one: I think you need a sneeze guard.
– You appear to be trying to say something here but it’s pretty clear that you’re red in the face. I think you need to detach your emotions from the subject.
1. A rapist is, by definition, a person in the wrong. Your answer to this makes me seriously question whether you are an expert troll or a serious idiot.
2. Paypal buyer/seller protection comes free of charge. It’s a service offered by default. Your argument is now invalid.
3. It is an open platform. One which is full of stolen keys, hence my argument, hence the whole point of this.
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1. A person in the wrong, who determines that? A Judge. In what? A court. We’re talking about criminality, not about what you and I ‘believe’.
2. Paypal protection is offered under certain conditions and is limited. Paypal protection is not free and it would be essential for the cost of that service to be factored as a liability or an expense on the business, depending on which end of the cycle we’re talking about. In point of fact, you would see evidence of that in their financial statements. If you really still believe it’s free, then you’re just ludicrous.
3. You acknowledge that it’s an open platform, meaning that other parties may or may not sell keys derived from fraudulent activity but still assert that G2A is directly selling fraudulent keys anyway and proceed that they be ostracised and all without a resolution from a court. My god, what a blind and arrogant man you are. haha
I’ll add the name ‘Gary’ to the list of names in my mind as people to be forever sceptical of, right along side the names of Craig, James and Gregg.
You’ve added nothing new to this. You keep avoiding my point on the courts and the presumption of innocence and throw around the circular and nonsensical because you have no point left to make.
So, you keep telling yourself that G2A is bad and TB/Jim are Gods gift to your identity but in the end; you’re all hat and no cattle on this one.
So congratulations, you’re justifying rape by saying it’s completely fine should you not be caught. Maybe you’re a name people need to add to a list.
Your argument is, as I said, invalid. It is in fact a service offered by default. You do not pay extra for it at any point and, whether it’s limited or not, it’s still there free of charge, unlike G2A which forces you to pay extra for protection that we all have accepted is needed given the shit situation they not only put themselves in, but continue to keep themselves in.
As for your third point I’m not even going to bother arguing considering you clearly have failed to scroll up and read what has already been said.
At no point did I say I’ve gotten on my knees and sucked TB/Jim’s dick the way you are doing to G2A’s. I’m not saying they’re the word of God, I’m just saying that they’re not “SJW’s” that are reporting on G2A’s shitty practices for their own “self importance” or for clickbait
I didn’t follow on the whole drama, but why would someone stop using a service that provides him what he needs?
topdown clearly isn’t able to apply critical thinking judging by his comments. Anything they disagree with is phlegm spouting SJW nonsense, instantly gutting their argument of what substance it may have had.
Significant amounts of keys are uploaded en masse to the site to be resold when they have been acquired fraudulently in the first place by using credit card fraud, charge backs, or by reselling keys intended to be sold at a lower cost in countries with low earnings.
Then there’s the whole ‘protection racket’ nonsense where they charge you more money, often automatically applying it at Checkout unless you notice and untick it, in order to try to ensure the key you get is genuine.
It’s extremely shady, and they’re directly taking cash flow that would end up in the developer’s pocket by buying keys direct, via Steam etc or through legit resellers such as greenmangaming.com, Humble and others. Then they have the nerve to sponsor streamers and esports events, the very industry they’re redirecting funding from.
I wouldn’t continue to use a high street chain that repeatedly sold stolen goods, but that pertains to the individual’s moral compass.
Point is. They’re trying to defend every statement made or requirement given by GB now that they’re cutting the deal. They put themselves up as a vulnerable target. As if they were trying to call GB’s bluff. But instead, it wasn’t a bluff. And it wasn’t for a lot of people. There were some legitimate points GB made as to how to improve the service for everyone, but G2A’s silence and then last minute response – which threw dirt in their own court and more shade to GB than presumably intended – didn’t help them (and arguably: anyone). It was an effortless and pretty baseless response. GB actually did do it’s research. Has listened to reports made by G2A’s customers. And actually has taken the time and/or money to put a second guess to a decision. The things required were mostly already in the works, and if they were already there, a little outside – professional no less (Although not 1:1 on the subject.) – help wouldn’t be of much harm, now would it?
Imagine you being a developer, that has just lost a cache of 1000 keys, for your game you just released on Steam (Early Access? Doesn’t matter.), GOG, GMG, etc; to a blunder of wrong email address, hacked servers, someone broke contract. How would you react? “Damn! That’s about $10,000 (Considering a price of $20 per key, taxes and currency differences, etc already subtracted.) right out the window. I wish I could somehow manage my own game’s keys so that if they were sold on marketplaces I could at least somewhat police them and prevent the known 1000 keys being (effectively) illegally sold.” I can’t imagine that helping developers manage their own keys, without having to sign a contract or weeks and months of bullshit just to prevent this, has such a huge negative impact that you can’t bear to consider the thought. Granted that a better solution would be to put this problem with the supplier (Read: Steam, GOG, etc.) first and have some sort of public registry for these kinds of keys which should not be able to work anymore.
Another thing, too: If people complain or report issues with the way a service works and the internal results make out that the service works, then you’re doing something wrong. Regardless of if the system works (as intended) or not. But where did: “They’re innocent.” come from?
Aside from the topic, instead of putting the whole comment I made into a problem about me, even though you rightfully pointed out my emotional outburst/involvement, I’d much rather have a counter statement or evidence proving me otherwise than the weightless remarks you made.
Instead of throwing weightless remarks, I think it’d hold more value to reply with actual arguments. But my previous reply got “somehow” deleted, so I guess that tells me enough about this comment section.
Observation isn’t weightless.
Your comment wasn’t deleted and even if it was, what possible conclusion could you draw from that? Nothing but by the tenor of your ramblings you’ll think of something paranoid.