14 DAY TRIAL // Video game retail chain GameStop has announced that it is removing OnLive vouchers from the boxed, PC copies of action title Deus Ex: Human Revolution, because it sees their inclusion as a threat to its business model.
The vouchers can be used by interested players to install OnLive and then stream and play the full version of the new Deus Ex using that service rather than the disk they have bought.
The move was probably designed to show off the capabilities of OnLive and get gamers interested in what it could offer in the future.
Beth Sharum, who is a spokesperson for GameStop, has stated, “Square Enix packed the competitor's coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull and discard these coupons.”
An official statement from the company adds, “We pulled the coupons because, like all retailers, we prefer not to promote our competitors and their competing offerings and services in our stores. Unfortunately, the coupon was packed without our prior knowledge.”
GameStop provided assurance to all gamers who pick up Deus Ex: Human Revolution from its stores that even if the game package has been opened, the game disk is in perfect condition and offers assistance to those who have problems with it.
Some reports are mentioning that the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is being pulled from the shelves at GameStop, although it is still available on request.
GameStop is apparently removing the OnLive vouchers in order to make sure that other publishers will not use them in the future.
The company has purchased a company called Spawn Labs earlier in the year and is planning to launch a PC gaming streaming service at some point in the future.
At the moment Deus Ex: Human Revolution is also offered through the GameStop operated Impulse digital distribution service, which was bought from Stardock.