Several members of the UK parliament have filed a motion intended to look at “prohibiting the resale of gaming consoles and computer components at prices greatly above Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price” in addition to making the resale of goods obtained via bots illegal. In case you somehow weren’t already aware, the resale of the next-gen video game consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X has been quite lucrative, and the use of bots to find and grab such items has long been a problem since before the current console launch.
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As of writing, the “Early Day Motion” titled “Resale of gaming consoles and computer components purchased by automated bots” has 25 signatures, and essentially suggests that parliament should look at putting forth legal policy similar to that of secondary selling of tickets for gaming consoles and computer components. While it sounds like, based on the sort of motion it is and the support it has, there will be a debate on the topic, it’s currently unclear what sort of outcome to expect if any.
Here’s the full text of the motion for reference:
“That this House believes that new releases of gaming consoles and computer components should be available to all customers at no more than the Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price, and not be bought in bulk by the use of automated bots which often circumvent maximum purchase quantities imposed by the retailer; calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals similar to those introduced for the secondary selling of tickets, thereby prohibiting the resale of gaming consoles and computer components at prices greatly above Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price and furthermore this House; and further calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals making the resale of goods purchased using an automated bot an illegal activity, thereby denying unscrupulous vendors the chance to make themselves vast profits at the expense of genuine gamers and computer users, while also deterring fraudulent cybercriminal activity.”
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S are now available wherever such things are sold, though stock continues to fluctuate wildly. You can check out all of our previous coverage of PlayStation right here, and all of our previous coverage of Xbox right here.
What do you think about this move from the UK parliament? Do you think anything will come of it? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!
[H/T VGC]
