I got 25 years for selling a copy of The Suffering!
Officials of the City of Taylor, Michigan, are today looking into the possibility of making retailers of used gaming equipment take sellers' fingerprints and identity details.
"It tightens up the whole process," said Taylor's director of police services, Jac Desrosiers. "We're doing this because there are instances where those type of items are stolen from homes, and we want to make it harder for thieves. ... There are games out now or video game systems that cost several hundred dollars. If you had a burglary and they take it to one of these chains, they could get $50-$100 (£25-£50)."
The proposed statute goes before the City Council today, and could result in $500 (£250) fines and up to 90 days in prison for non-compliant retailers.
In America, pawnshops and jewellery shops already have to follow the process.
SPOnG spoke to its local (UK, of course) retailer, and was told that a thief could actually make £250 - £300 for a used PS3, and around £18 for a premium game for the console. “We do take ID anyway,” SPOnG was told. “I wouldn't mind if it was a standardised thing, but fingerprints are a bit much.”
The proposition doesn't seem entirely unreasonable for consoles. £425 for a PS3 is a hefty chunk of change, after all (although SPOnG challenges anyone to shimmy down a drainpipe with its buxom new console). On a game, however, where no more than £20 is going to change hands and there are no serial numbers to trace individual copies anyway, it looks suspiciously like a big old waste of time.
Sean Bersell, spokesman for Entertainment Merchants Association in America, certainly feels that way about games. "They are inherently untraceable,” he said. “OK, so police get this information. What are they going to do with it? There are some of these that are sold. How are police going to keep track? What are they going to do with all this data?"
Is this a reasonable measure to protect honest gamers' property? Or is it big brother looming ominously over your shoulder and making life hard for specialist retailers that already have to compete with non-specialist giants? Tell us what you think in the Forum.
"It tightens up the whole process," said Taylor's director of police services, Jac Desrosiers. "We're doing this because there are instances where those type of items are stolen from homes, and we want to make it harder for thieves. ... There are games out now or video game systems that cost several hundred dollars. If you had a burglary and they take it to one of these chains, they could get $50-$100 (£25-£50)."
The proposed statute goes before the City Council today, and could result in $500 (£250) fines and up to 90 days in prison for non-compliant retailers.
In America, pawnshops and jewellery shops already have to follow the process.
SPOnG spoke to its local (UK, of course) retailer, and was told that a thief could actually make £250 - £300 for a used PS3, and around £18 for a premium game for the console. “We do take ID anyway,” SPOnG was told. “I wouldn't mind if it was a standardised thing, but fingerprints are a bit much.”
The proposition doesn't seem entirely unreasonable for consoles. £425 for a PS3 is a hefty chunk of change, after all (although SPOnG challenges anyone to shimmy down a drainpipe with its buxom new console). On a game, however, where no more than £20 is going to change hands and there are no serial numbers to trace individual copies anyway, it looks suspiciously like a big old waste of time.
Sean Bersell, spokesman for Entertainment Merchants Association in America, certainly feels that way about games. "They are inherently untraceable,” he said. “OK, so police get this information. What are they going to do with it? There are some of these that are sold. How are police going to keep track? What are they going to do with all this data?"
Is this a reasonable measure to protect honest gamers' property? Or is it big brother looming ominously over your shoulder and making life hard for specialist retailers that already have to compete with non-specialist giants? Tell us what you think in the Forum.
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Comments
Simon 17 Apr 2007 11:01
1/4
doesn't each ps3 have a unique ID for the ps network? what if you could report your ps3 stolen to sony. sony could then develop a online test where the stores can go online with any ps3 put up for resale and check that its a legit sale.
offal eater 17 Apr 2007 11:07
2/4
i think the revolution should be criminalised
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TimSpong 17 Apr 2007 11:10
3/4
offal eater wrote:
i think the revolution should be criminalised
That's a wii bit harsh.
headcasephil 17 Apr 2007 13:30
4/4
i think that ther should be more id used for tradeins even if you could do it the way that blockbusters do it were you have to be a member to be able to trade for cash of uther stuff in store as a member you have given them the id like banke statmen so on to join
game you can trade for any thing in store with no id but need photo id if you whant cash
gamestation are the same but then you got a lot of places that you do not need anything
game you can trade for any thing in store with no id but need photo id if you whant cash
gamestation are the same but then you got a lot of places that you do not need anything