UPDATE: Reports now claim practise is technically legal, but no loger feasible
The UK trade is familiar with the arguments surrounding the knock-on effects of the rampant trade-in market on the UK High Street – but Belgium authorities have decided to instead clamp down on game rentals in an effort to help the games industry.
Kotaku reports that stockists in Belgium have been unable to buy new titles for rental purposes since June in preparation for the change. As of December 1st, however, it will become completely illegal to rent any games software.
The move came about as a result of pressure from publisher body the Belgium Entertainment Association.
UPDATE: Edge Online is reporting that the practise of renting games in Belgium will not become technically illegal - the BEA is simply clamping down on rental stores renting out normal retail copies of games. However, as publishers in the territory will not sell copies for rent, the practise has effectively been eradicated.
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Comments
Again, just trying to muscle out the competition
So, you want to boost sales, and you attempt to do this how? By outlawing one of the main sources for customers to try before they buy. Sure, with online demos, magazine freebies etc, customers can get a decent feel for a game, but not every game comes with demos.
When an industry has to rely on government intervention to support it, somewhere along the lines, that industry has failed miserably.
We won't see this in the UK, but it can be only ever be bad news for the consumer.
Re: Again, just trying to muscle out the competition
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