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Feedback Why is it illegal for a person to sell his/her game account?

Marc_LFD

Marc_LFD

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Let's say a person has a PSN account with multiple games and they want to sell it, what's the problem? Not allowing people to sell their accounts when they no longer make use or don't want to have it anymore just seems unfair.

And now, if an account is left dormant for three years there's the risk of being deleted automatically (fair enough it's not being used).
 
against the terms of service contract <> illegal

Companies have repeatedly demonstrated that if terms of a contract aren't fitting, they just change them. You should do so too.
 
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I think it's pretty wise not to allow digital game account trading right now.
These digital accounts and online transactions are really unsafe.
For example:
- Accounts getting hacked.
- After a trade, the seller might retrieve the game account. (This happens a lot in China, even when there are full security measures and real-name systems in place.)
- Related to teen crime.
- Huge security costs, mandatory real-name verification. (In China, most things require real names, but there are still a lot of internet crimes.)

Where there's profit, there will be evil. If game companies just let transactions happen, it will only make these problems worse.
 
Last edited by k66,
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k66 said:
I think it's pretty wise not to allow digital game account trading right now.
These digital accounts and online transactions are really unsafe.
For example:
- Accounts getting hacked.
- After a trade, the seller might retrieve the game account. (This happens a lot in China, even when there are full security measures and real-name systems in place.)
- Related to teen crime.
- Huge security costs, mandatory real-name verification. (In China, most things require real names, but there are still a lot of internet crimes.)

Where there's profit, there will be evil. If game companies just let transactions happen, it will only make these problems worse.
Click to expand...
Valid points but also sounds like there's a lot of problems in China.
 
k66 said:
I think it's pretty wise not to allow digital game account trading right now.
These digital accounts and online transactions are really unsafe.
For example:
- Accounts getting hacked.
- After a trade, the seller might retrieve the game account. (This happens a lot in China, even when there are full security measures and real-name systems in place.)
- Related to teen crime.
- Huge security costs, mandatory real-name verification. (In China, most things require real names, but there are still a lot of internet crimes.)

Where there's profit, there will always be opportunities for growth. Just as London, Ontario movers provide valuable services for people in transition, allowing game companies to facilitate legitimate transactions could create more convenience and value for users.
Click to expand...
The main issue is that PSN games are licensed to the account and aren’t legally transferable between people. Allowing account sales could also lead to fraud, stolen accounts, chargebacks, and disputes over ownership. I do understand the frustration, though. If someone has legitimately paid for a large library and no longer wants the account, being unable to transfer it can feel wasteful. A verified, one-time account transfer system would probably be a fairer solution than allowing unrestricted account sales.
 
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1786292091007.jpeg

Who's gonna know except you and the new user.
 
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k66 said:
I think it's pretty wise not to allow digital game account trading right now.
These digital accounts and online transactions are really unsafe.
For example:
- Accounts getting hacked.
- After a trade, the seller might retrieve the game account. (This happens a lot in China, even when there are full security measures and real-name systems in place.)
- Related to teen crime.
- Huge security costs, mandatory real-name verification. (In China, most things require real names, but there are still a lot of internet crimes.)

Where there's profit, there will be evil. If game companies just let transactions happen, it will only make these problems worse.
Click to expand...
Why we talking about China
 
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Axido said:
Then don't buy there and don't sell there. The internet is not the only place in the world.
Click to expand...
I don't but how are we supposed to sell such stuff when we don't want anymore?

I'll probably keep my Steam & GOG account for a lifetime though I can't say the same about my Epic, EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, PlayStation, or Xbox. Dang it, that's too many game accounts for one person.
 
Marc_LFD said:
I don't but how are we supposed to sell such stuff when we don't want anymore?

I'll probably keep my Steam & GOG account for a lifetime though I can't say the same about my Epic, EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, PlayStation, or Xbox. Dang it, that's too many game accounts for one person.
Click to expand...
I sold some consoles including old accounts linked to them to friends that had my address to punch me in the face if I even dreamt about hacking said accounts back into my possession. Worked out well so far.
Sometimes you might even find strangers nearby on marketplaces like Craigslist that throw in a few extra bucks if it saves them buying games.
 
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I'd agree with the one post, it should have a secure 1 time transfer, unbound from the account holders name/other identity/payment processing in some back end server side handshake of sorts. I get them not doing it, it's more purchases because they got you being if you don't own it, you don't control it, and digital isn't ownership it's renting. With Sony's asinine push now more than ever do we need stacked lawsuits, glaring clarifications and the rest to allow people to do stuff they're done with that doesn't have a tangible piece of media bound to it.
 
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The only instance I remember where this is allowed is on Steam, where a family member of a deceased account owner may inherit it. Otherwise, this practice is extremely anti-consumer, as the user is left with no way to give and get money for their purchases, potentially going up in the thousands or beyond.

I realise that game trading would be something difficult to properly protect to avoid having account owners drained from their purchases, but again, that leaves no other means than complete account takeover.


If you are ever going to do this, be extremely careful and make sure the receiver is well-informed too. I recall that some digital game providers have automated means to detect obvious account takeover, so make sure to avoid as many of these as possible:
  • Do not change account details related to the owner (name, address, payment information)
    • Changing details related to account recovery (e-mail, phone number, 2FA) probably shouldn't be avoided
  • Do not use direct payments (credit/debit card)
    • Payments require clarifying personal information on top of card information itself
    • Use prepaid coupons/gift cards (in case of Steam, consider sending digital gift cards to the other account as physical gift cards are being phased out)
  • Do not purchase games digitally if you have the option in the first place!
    • For that matter, maybe avoid buying games on the sold/given account if you can use another, anyway
Clearly, one of the reasons companies don't want you doing this is that the system wasn't designed to be used this way, so security starts being a bigger issue. For that matter, do your best to secure the account, if it ever does get compromised it could become difficult or impossible to recover it!
 
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