haldarulon Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Some users who purchased digital copies of Far Cry 4 are logging in to Uplay to discover that their game has been deleted. Destructoid says that a number of Reddit and Ubisoft forum users are complaining that the game has simply vanished from their Uplay PC games library. The common theme seems to be that these games were purchased from G2Play and G2A! Keys typically come from official products, but the retailers in question are not ‘officially’ licensed to sell the keys in that form publisher Devolver Digital has previously said that it would cancel keys sold via G2Play. so guys, be careful where you buy you digital downloads from, that bargain could turn around and bite you in the bottom!
featured_spectre Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 I don't buy any games from Ubisoft anymore... cannot be bothered with Uplay...I already have to put up with Origin...would rather everything just goes through Steam so the mighty GabeN can get more monies. lol
Garacesh Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Well, that's what happens when you buy from unlicensed resellers - or so the official word goes. Apparently, Ubi have deleted the keys that are believed to have been purchased fraudulently, stolen, or had chargebacks issued on them. Didn't bother to tell anyone, though. Still not even sure it should be allowed. On one hand, you're accessing content you're (technically) not authorised to access. On the other hand, you've still paid for the game, and Ubi should be taking their issue to the people supplying dodgy keys or stealing card deets. If I were to buy a laptop, and the guy that sold it to me, it turns out, had used stolen card details, would I still lose the laptop?* If it was just 'Not allowed. We didn't say they could resell the game' then that would be scummy and typical Ubisoft. But the official shpiel is to do with stolen cards or keys. * Legitimate question. I don't actually know. I know if I buy a stolen laptop I lose it, but what if I buy a legit laptop that was originally purchased with a dodgy card? I don't buy any games from Ubisoft anymore... cannot be bothered with Uplay...I already have to put up with Origin...would rather everything just goes through Steam so the mighty GabeN can get more monies. lol Ubisoft and EA should both just 'man up' and recognise they missed the boat, and distribute through Steam again. They're actively losing sales because of their terrible (or even simply inconvenient) platforms. Surely the amount their data collection generates isn't surpassing the revenue stream that's dried up from the people that aren't buying their stuff anymore? Edited January 26, 2015 by Garacesh
localzuk Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 Well, that's what happens when you buy from unlicensed resellers - or so the official word goes. Apparently, Ubi have deleted the keys that are believed to have been purchased fraudulently, stolen, or had chargebacks issued on them. Didn't bother to tell anyone, though. Still not even sure it should be allowed. On one hand, you're accessing content you're (technically) not authorised to access. On the other hand, you've still paid for the game, and Ubi should be taking their issue to the people supplying dodgy keys or stealing card deets. If I were to buy a laptop, and the guy that sold it to me, it turns out, had used stolen card details, would I still lose the laptop?* Yes, you would. If you are in possession of stolen goods, even if you came about having it in a legitimate way, you still have stolen goods that don't legally belong to you. If it was just 'Not allowed. We didn't say they could resell the game' then that would be scummy and typical Ubisoft. But the official shpiel is to do with stolen cards or keys. If it is just "not authorised to resell", then I think they may find themselves in trouble with EU laws on the matter - a company loses the right to dictate how products can be sold once they've been sold the first time.
haldarulon Posted January 26, 2015 Author Posted January 26, 2015 Two issues really here! Issue one is a bit unfair! 1: If a member of the public is looking for a game to buy and they see one of these companies selling the game at a discounted price, chances are they are going to purchase it from them! but they have no idea they have just bought a grey version of the software! 2: I am well aware of the issue with grey imports (I used to own a computer games retail store) In an environment where charts make a big impact, selling games to foreign countries also adds to the UK sales figures (and Sale or return). I was in the situation where I knowingly bought games from a "grey importer" only for the games to be delivered STRAIGHT from the UK official supplier (they were the only ones allowed to sell the games in the UK! even had the UK suppliers paperwork) I have also been in the situation where another exclusive UK supplier has supplied me with foreign versions of the game, they denied it! but the evidence was the cover (it was FIFA and it had a German player on the front instead of the UK player!) So if the distributers get it wrong and the codes are revoked then there is also an issue!
Garacesh Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 The thing is, the customer should be expected to have some common sense and vigilance. If I want to buy something, I look around online. If I can buy it direct from the retailer for $Cost, and Amazon, GAME, wherever all have similar price points, but find DirtyDansCDKeysOnline.com that's selling them for a heavily discounted price, then I should be expected to go "Hang on a minute...." and put a bit of research into the company. Personally I've never bought anything off G2A or G2Play (in fact I hadn't even heard of them until this happened) but I hear you can buy CD keys from G2A directly, or from other people in a marketplace-type dealio. I suspect keys removed will be ones purchased this way, from other people, from dodgy Russian mobsters who have stolen credit card details.
CAM Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 If you buy a car from someone cheap and the Police pull you over because it was reported stolen, they will turf you and your bags out at the side of the road and tell you to take a taxi home and you will be out of pocket. This isn't much different.
haldarulon Posted January 26, 2015 Author Posted January 26, 2015 Personally I've never bought anything off G2A or G2Play (in fact I hadn't even heard of them until this happened) but I hear you can buy CD keys from G2A directly, or from other people in a marketplace-type dealio. I suspect keys removed will be ones purchased this way, from other people, from dodgy Russian mobsters who have stolen credit card details. I never bought anything from either of those two companies, but I have bought keys from Simplycdkeys and Greenman gaming both of which heavily discount games probably due to the nature in which they get their keys (not saying illegally!) but when you cross check the prices with some of the dodgier sellers out there their price is not so far off! and go back a year and a half! Greenman gaming were nobodies! how do we know they are official suppliers or not?
Garacesh Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 I never bought anything from either of those two companies, but I have bought keys from Simplycdkeys and Greenman gaming both of which heavily discount games probably due to the nature in which they get their keys (not saying illegally!) but when you cross check the prices with some of the dodgier sellers out there their price is not so far off! and go back a year and a half! Greenman gaming were nobodies! how do we know they are official suppliers or not? Well like I mentioned, I suspect the keys will be purchased with stolen cards and sold en-masse on the 'marketplace', so really your issue is "How do I know if the seller is legit or not?" and the answer is: You don't. I personally would never buy cd keys off individuals because the risk is too high. As for if companies are legit or not, you can either ask the manufacturer* or do some research into the company. Weigh up risk vs reward and if you do buy it even though you run the risk of getting stung, it's your own fault. * Not always the best option, as @localzuk mentioned, you don't have to be an official reseller to re-sell the games.
madurham Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 They are often bought in cheaper markets (usually physical) then they distribute the keys in the expensive markets cheaper then retail but still at profit. It's like buying a game off eBay/your mate/pre-owned shelf. I believe it's legal in the EU but the publishers don't like it because it cost them the extra revenue from the expensive market. Ubisoft, through Uplay have the ability to remove access to the game and are renowned for their affinity of gamer's money and not gamers so I'm not surprised by this at all.
Garacesh Posted January 26, 2015 Posted January 26, 2015 It's like buying a game off eBay/your mate/pre-owned shelf. I believe it's legal in the EU but the publishers don't like it because it cost them the extra revenue from the expensive market. Well, yeah. That's what spawned all this Online Pass lark, isn't it? They can't stop the game being re-sold (of which they get no money) so they section off part of the game behind a one-use code and sell additional codes for a fixed fee. It gets them £10 out of the pre-owned sale instead of £0.
haldarulon Posted January 27, 2015 Author Posted January 27, 2015 Official line from Ubisoft. Ubisoft says it deactivated PC games this weekend that were ‘fraudulently obtained’. “We regularly deactivate keys that were fraudulently obtained and resold.” “In this case, we are currently investigating the origin of the fraud, and will update customers as soon as we have more information to share. In the meantime, customers should contact the vendor from whom they purchased the key.”
haldarulon Posted January 28, 2015 Author Posted January 28, 2015 It turns out those codes were stolen from EA Origin. Ubisoft told GameInformer that the keys were acquired from EA Origin using fraudulent credit card information “We confirmed activation keys were recently purchased from EA’s Origin store using fraudulent credit card information and then resold online,” Ubisoft said. “These keys may have been deactivated. Customers who may have been impacted should contact the vendor where they purchased the key for a refund.”
Crumpet Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Uplay is a great big steaming pile of horse poop anyway.
Garacesh Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Customers who may have been impacted should contact the vendor where they purchased the key for a refund.” Right. Because the guys using stolen cards are gonna give you a refund. Suuuure..
CAM Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Good work by EA for once. They'll get stick for it but stopping fraud is more important then pleasing some whining gamers.
synaesthesia Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Tough beans frankly, if you're going to buy from ropey places, expect just that. And yes, uplay and origin can both do one, they're utterly awful. Wonder if customers could be done for effectively handling stolen goods?
madurham Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Tough beans frankly, if you're going to buy from ropey places, expect just that. And yes, uplay and origin can both do one, they're utterly awful. Problem is they look legit, and often these sites sell legal and grey keys along with the illegally acquired ones.
CAM Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Wonder if customers could be done for effectively handling stolen goods? Only for knowingly handling stolen goods, which would be very hard to prove in this case. I'd expect a majority of the buyers are those who thought they were purchasing legitimate keys and they shouldn't get a criminal record for it!
LeMarchand Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Anyone know the legitimacy of: Bundle Stars Direct2Drive Gamefly Digital GOG* Green Man Gaming Humble Bundle* Indie Royale* ? *I'm pretty sure these are OK, but just checking!
haldarulon Posted January 29, 2015 Author Posted January 29, 2015 Humblebundle Indie Royal GOG used them LOADS! no issues.
Garacesh Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) Humble Bundle and GOG are definitely legit, but you won't often find brand new games on there xP The amount of Humble Bundle games I have activated on my Steam account.. I dread to think D: But no, they're a legit charity. Edit: I've heard of Direct2Drive for quite some time, but never used them, so can't vouch for their legitimacy. Can vouch they've been around for a while, though (either that or new companies keep cropping up with the same name..) Edited January 29, 2015 by Garacesh
LeMarchand Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Edit: I've heard of Direct2Drive for quite some time, but never used them, so can't vouch for their legitimacy. Can vouch they've been around for a while, though (either that or new companies keep cropping up with the same name..) IIRC Gamefly/Gamefly Digital bought Direct2Drive and then hived it off separately under its original name. Certainly Gamefly now appears to be console only, majoring on rental while Gamefly Digital takes you to Direct2Drive. Wikipedia entries suggest it's legit...
haldarulon Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 Ubisoft has reinstated deactivated Far Cry 4 keys that were stolen from EA’s Origin website and resold to gamers. "After further investigation into the matter of keys that were fraudulently purchased on EA's Origin store, we are reinstating keys for consumers who already had successfully activated and started playing the games. Any remaining fraudulently obtained and resold keys have been deactivated,” the firm said in a statement. “We are working with EA to prevent situations like this from happening again, and we will continue to deactivate keys that are found to be fraudulently obtained and resold. We strongly recommend that players purchase keys and downloadable games only from the Uplay shop or trusted retailers”.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now