On August 23rd, the long-awaited Deus Ex: Human Revolution finally arrived in stores. As a surprise to all of its PC consumers, a free OnLive code was provided for anyone that purchased a physical copy of the game. Unfortunately, this proved to be untrue to anyone that purchased the game at Game Stop. For more detailed information, you can find the article at 1up.com.

In a nutshell, the stores opened brand new PC games, discarded the free OnLive code, and placed the opened games back on the shelves and sold them as “New”. As a result of this unethical behavior, I will no longer be making my purchases from their company, unless this event is adequately handled.

Below is a letter I wrote to the company:

To whom it may concern:

As a loyal PowerUp Rewards Pro consumer, it has recently come to my attention that your stores have performed an unspeakable act to consumers, and gamers in general. The simple fact that your employees were ordered to open brand new Deus Ex: Human Revolution merchandise (for the PC), and instructed to discard the complimentary OnLive code is extremely unethical. Not only was this act unethical, but they were also instructed to place the items back on the shelf, and sold as “new”. If this is the way you treat your customers, then I highly recommend that you change the motto on your website, as it’s evident that “Power to the Players,” is an extreme exaggeration. I have purchased the majority of my games, and pre-ordered the lot of my games at one of your stores, and am somewhat upset to say that I will be pulling all of my pre-orders. From now on, I will no longer step foot in any of your establishments, and will be sure to inform all of my colleagues of your store’s unethical behavior.

—
Respectfully Submitted,
Leenard Benologa