Yeah, the download for Surviving Mars was going when this thread popped up, so I've not installed it either.
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Amazon is selling pirated digital copies of games
- Thread starter SteveWinwood
- Start date
Yeah, the download for Surviving Mars was going when this thread popped up, so I've not installed it either.
Why would you buy a game if its not labeled as Steam or whatever platform?
I find "DRM-Free" or "No Platform" labeled games suspicious on Amazon, if its DRM Free, would rather buy it from a distributor who actually sells the games DRM-FREE like GOG directly.
I find "DRM-Free" or "No Platform" labeled games suspicious on Amazon, if its DRM Free, would rather buy it from a distributor who actually sells the games DRM-FREE like GOG directly.
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Looks like this... no key like the rest of the stuff in my amazon library.
Edit: here's a link, I guess imgur doesnt work here?
https://imgur.com/o48r3OE
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They've been fine before, and keep in mind they've been trying to set up their own digital storefront through twitch for a few months now.
Whole thing is weird.
Crazy that even after the Xulima devs contacted Amazon they asked for a lot of docs to to prove they are the real developers.
I was able to get a refund from Amazon for Frostpunk. I can't confirm that the refund will go through or not yet but...
It's showing up in the order's details.
Here's my correspondence with the amazon representative...
So perhaps it depends on the individual representative or perhaps you just need to use certain keywords in order to get a refund. I'll definitely be a lot more careful when I shop on amazon in the future. I figured it was just a pricing error but now I know what kind of scummy stuff Amazon lets slip through the cracks.
It's showing up in the order's details.
Here's my correspondence with the amazon representative...
So perhaps it depends on the individual representative or perhaps you just need to use certain keywords in order to get a refund. I'll definitely be a lot more careful when I shop on amazon in the future. I figured it was just a pricing error but now I know what kind of scummy stuff Amazon lets slip through the cracks.
In this case it's worse, because of this:
They're not just enabling pirates, they're pirates themselves if they're selling ilegal software.
Wow... I wonder how many people actually have this same kind of mindset.
I mean this fits the clear definition of piracy. Creating copies of a game you are not authorized to copy and selling them for money.
You can't just make copies of a music CD and sell them, without the copyright owner's permission.
You can't just copy a book in it's entirety and sell it, without the copyright owner's permission.
If you HAVE copies of the music CDs or books, that you bought from a legit retailer (aka, those copies are authorized by the copyright holder), you can RESELL those, so long as it means you're removing the copy from your ownership.
If you buy a game on GOG, and try to "resell" it, you still are effectively the owner of the game as it hasn't been removed from your GOG account. You never transferred the ownership of that title to someone, you just made a copy. That's piracy.
That's pretty extreme. Moral of the story is to pay attention to what you're buying. A $3 Frost Punk should immediately be a red flag.
Explain how Amazon. And tell if a digital copy of a game is pirated? Do they have to install and attempt to upgrade each copy? It's impossible. Do they say hey no games can cost less than X??
The only reasonable answer is to have somone report it and the developer has to request it be removed if they can prove it's pirated. Probably to time consuming for a developer.
Amazon have a reputation for aggressive discounts. There are countless examples of them selling (non-pirated) games at similarly steep discounts.
The onus is on Amazon to stop selling pirated software, not on their customers to somehow be able to tell the difference when there is no clear indication either way.
They should do some basic identity verification of developers/publishers that they agree to sell games on behalf of.
Like every single other digital storefront selling games with the permission of developers/publishers do.
Edit: and in the OP is mention of a developer who reported a pirated version of their game being sold on Amazon nine months ago. Amazon did nothing and are still selling it.
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they're not even removing them after devs or their guinea pig customers tell them about it which is the bare minimum
making sure you have a legal right to sell something is probably a good place to start
Not really.
Checking the page for what you are looking at helps.
Price check from sites like IsThereAnyDeal
Check who the seller is (If its Amazon Digital, then its legit - if it shows anything else, then its a third party which is risky)
Check reviews and the date of when it was posted
Usually checking to see who is selling it will suffice enough - if its Amazon Digital, you dont have to worry.
Maybe some basic ID checks should be in order.
Remember, this is sold by Amazon, not a 3rd party marketplace. All these guys did was take the GOG game and say "Oh hi this is our game please sell it". It'd be the same as getting the GOG version of a game on Steam.
Categorically incorrect. Amazon is the seller in these instances of pirated games being sold.
A bigger pub will have to make a big stink about this for Amazon to take a look.
After Tony left, I dunno who'd you get into contact about the gaming stuff (Since he works with the twitch stuff now)
After Tony left, I dunno who'd you get into contact about the gaming stuff (Since he works with the twitch stuff now)
Amazon themselves being involved selling these holy shit. One of the devs needs to get organised investigating how many games are effected and round up all the effected devs for a class action lawsuit.
Amazon won't bat an eye unless this goes legal or blows up publicly
Amazon won't bat an eye unless this goes legal or blows up publicly
Was this being sold directly by Amazon or by a third party? I've seen sellers do shady shit like this before when I worked for Amazon, it didn't take long for them to get banned once I reported it.
Although this does look more intricate than just someone sending mediafire links to customers who purchased a music cd.
Although this does look more intricate than just someone sending mediafire links to customers who purchased a music cd.
Why? Imo, they will keep doing it as long as it is profitable. Amazon is run by one of the most cutthroat rapacious capitalists of the 21st century.
I guess the simplest argument would be basic copyright law. What Amazon are doing here is super obviously illegal.
And they're still listing/selling it as well.
It even says,
By Haemimont Games
And the seller is listed as,
Sold by Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
It even says,
By Haemimont Games
And the seller is listed as,
Sold by Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
They do boarderline illegal stuff all the time, which is why their association with the CIA and US govt makes me worry.
"Hey Bezos, your store is selling pirated copies of certain digital games. It's illegal."
"Wait, you said "selling"? More money for me woooooo"
"Wait, you said "selling"? More money for me woooooo"
Just email Bezos directly. It will hit his executive staff and they'll help out.
Question(internet is super slow right now and the links in the OP aren't loading for some reason) are they reselling GOG games(as in, they're buying one license, repackaging it and selling it) or are they literally just creating copies out of thin air based on a GOG copy?
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look above for an earlier post in the thread
And the op has a dev saying they reported it seven months ago and nothing's happened
I'm not sure how strict Amazon is with posting new software products but I do know from experience that uploading new items to Amazon is terribly easy once you are approved for the category you seek to post your item on, as some categories do require an approval process. All you need is a clean image within their guidelines, a valid UPC which you can buy in bulk, and a description. They don't seem to validate much and bank on consumers alerting them if stuff on their site isn't legit AFTER it has been uploaded for sale.
Why?
• Because it is illegal.
• Because amazon is making cents out of it.
• Because there will be a ton of negative PR.
• Government fines for piracy.
• Potential for lawsuits from publishers/customers.
I am still waiting for someone, or some website, to review the Twitch Prime free games, whether any of them fall under this category of being repacked and redistributed by a scammer.
To be fair if the seller was amazon I would assume it's a great deal. Who would think Amazon would be distributing pirated games?
This is a third party seller. Its like a big swap meet. You can't patrol every sale. Its a bit ingenuinous to say Amazon is selling pirated games.
My understanding is that they are acquiring a copy of the game from GOG (unclear whether actually buying it or downloading a pirated version), creating a developer account with Amazon, uploading that (DRM free) build to Amazon, and selling it via Amazon Digital Services as a DRM free download from Amazon.
All without the knowledge/involvement of the developer/publisher, and since Amazon is seemingly not verifying the identity of the "developers' that they partner with, they are able to sell games at a steep discount and make a bunch of money.
I wouldn't be surprised with such lack of oversight, if stuff like keyloggers and other virus are bundled with these downloads. Amazon don't seem to care about what they are selling.
Or you could read the thread and see that these are being sold directly by Amazon.
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Anyone else listen to this weeks Reply All? They are a platform not a store so can't be held responsible /rolls eyes
I find their pricing to be in line with everyone else's sale pricing when it pertains to digital games. Actually I find them to be shit when it comes to PC game pricing as they generally keep prices full until a big competitor runs a sale and then they match it.
This is where I'm at. Got BC:NW and Mars, didn't download. Guess I'll play roulette with customer service.
