Retailers have been gunning for amazon.com for a long time and have tried in the past to use political muscle to "put them on a level playing field." When I say "level playing field," what that translates to in the eyes of retailers is "force them to pay state sales tax." Retailers have lamented that it is unfair that they have to make their customers pay sales tax while Amazon does not.

Now brick-and-mortar retailers have a new weapon to take on Amazon - the Alliance for Main Street Fairness. The group is pushing hard to change sales-tax laws in more than a dozen states including Texas and California. Before the group was associated with smaller, local businesses. Now it has the backing of retailers like Target, Best Buy Co., Home Depot, Sears, and Wal-Mart.

Psychologist and author Carole Lieberman is not very popular with some people right now.

Yes, her sex in games leads to real-life rape comment in yesterday’s FoxNews story seems to have rubbed a few folks the wrong way.  As such, she’s joined Jack Thompson and Cooper Lawrence as someone whose, shall we say, ill-advised comments have prompted the less mature of us to mosey on over to Amazon and give her book a negative review.

Newsweek has released its annual list of how the top 500 largest publicly traded companies in America rank in terms being environmentally friendly.

Electronic Arts clocked in at number 378 on this year’s Green List (it was number 381 last year), while Activision Blizzard took 391st on the list, improving from last year’s ranking of 416.

On the retail side, Office Depot grabbed the highest Green ranking, coming in at number 18 overall, followed by Wal-Mart (#51), Target (#61), Best Buy (#86), Amazon.com (#162) and GameStop (#318).

Dell came in first overall on the list, with Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Intel rounding out the top 5.

In a strange move, online retailers GameStop and Amazon have already instituted dramatic price reductions on Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 11, which has been out for barely over a week.

Michael Comeau, a columnist for Minyanville, noticed the price drops and dubbed the actions “worrisome” due to their timing—according to his recollection, while Amazon typically is a quick discounter, it didn’t adjust the price of last year’s Madden game until 20 days after release.

On Amazon, the 360 version of Madden NFL 11 is now $49.99, a $10 drop, while the Wii version had $3 knocked off to $46.99 and the PlayStation 2 entry received a $7 reduction to $32.99. The PlayStation 3 version is still full price ($59.99).

GameStop matched Amazon’s discounts on the 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Madden NFL 11 and went two better, knocking $10 off the PlayStation 3 game and $7 off the PSP version, which now sells for $32.99. (GameStop's discounted prices are applicable online only, not in-store)

One analyst’s check into the hiring ads of online retailer Amazon leads him to believe that the company is preparing its own digital delivery service for games.

Via MCVUK we hear from Lazard Capital Analyst Colin Sebastian, who wrote, “Our periodic checks of job postings uncovered a search by Amazon in the video game category to help implement a new digital distribution platform.”

The analyst said that Amazon has about 1,250 open positions, with 511 of those centering on software development.

Sebastion continued:

As in other segments of digital media, we expect Amazon to pursue new opportunities as an aggregator of online games, similar to Steam (PC), BigPoint (browser) and others.

Since the company already has the infrastructure to deliver digital content, we believe that increased selection and a focus on the user experience will be key factors in gaining further market share.

The Wall Street Journal reports that mega-online retailer Amazon.com posted a 14% revenue increase for the financial quarter ending June 30th, but its profits fell 10% from $158 million to $142 million.

Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak commented on the drop laid much of the bad news on declining video game sales:

You're seeing an industry slowdown in videogames and consoles.

Despite singling out games, other factors impacted the profit fall such as “flat” media sales in North American (including books and music) and a $51 million legal settlement paid to Toys R Us.

Via: GamesIndustry.Biz

Reporting from San Diego, GamePolitics Correspondent Andrew Eisen...

Is this the next RapeLay controversy?

Although interactive DVDs aren't traditionally thought of as video games, they would appear to fall into something of a gray area between movies and games.

That may be an academic argument, but, in lodging a new protest against online retailer Amazon.com, woman-centric website Feministing treats Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love as a video game:

it looks like another game involving violence against women seems to have"slipped" past [Amazon's] radar. "Stockholm: An Exploration of True Love" is a game that allows the user to experience,

    "...a terrifyingly vivid exploration of Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological condition in which a captive falls in love with her kidnapper. And you play the part of the kidnapper. With a limited number of options, you must figure out how to make her fall in love with you."

This includes using poison gas on the victim, sexually assaulting her and using psychological abuse against her in efforts to make her "love" you. Unbelievable.

While RapeLay was offered by a third-party reseller on Amazon, Stockholm appears to shipping direct from the online retailer's inventory.

Underwriters Laboratories, which independently tests products for safety, has issued a consumer alert regarding a pair of controller chargers which it says bear counterfeit UL approval markings.

The InCharge for Xbox 360 and InCharge for Wii are manufactured by WELLFORM Industrial Ltd. of China and bear the Teknocreations label. While the UL alert does not warn consumers of any specific hazard, the fact that the manufacturer dodged the safety testing process and slapped on a counterfeit UL seal of approval is a concern - especially where electricity is involved.

The chargers are available on Amazon.com and possibly from other retailers.

Here's some great news for GamePolitics readers who are also Kindle owners:

GP is now available from Amazon's Kindle Store. Like other Kindle-capable blogs, there is a small subscription fee, $1.99 per month in GP's case (none of which comes to me, BTW).

As a Kindle fan I've been eager to see GamePolitics made available to the Kindle universe and Brett Schenker of the ECA made it happen. Well done, Brett!

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

UPDATE: Our ECA sister-site GameCulture now has a Kindle version as well.

Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica reports that he caught up with Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin (left) at the Game Developers Conference this week.

While Ben has a full, issue-oriented interview with Hal coming up, he has in the meantime posted some good news for ECA members: You'll now get a 10% off software purchases at Amazon.com.

Of the deal, Hal told Kuchera:

If you buy three games or so a year through Amazon, your [$20] ECA membership is basically free.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

Just yesterday, Los Angeles Times entertainment columnist Patrick Goldstein suggested that RapeLay, the controversial Japanese hentai game, was sleazier than any Hollywood movie.

Today, he is apparently not so sure.

What happened to change his mind? Goldstein writes that he wasn't aware of the new film The Last House on the Left:

I guess I owe the makers of RapeLay, the vile Japanese rape-simulator video game, an apology... the [Last House on the Left] remake is even more graphic and disturbing than the [original]. The film's rape scene has already aroused widespread critical outrage...

Roger Ebert, the dean of American critics... lamented: "So now my job as a film critic involves grading rape scenes..."

 

How is it possible that the MPAA ratings board could give a film with this much brutal, graphic violence an R rating instead of an NC-17? I mean, what would it take for the clueless MPAA, which is supposed to serve concerned parents, not powerful studios, to ever draw the line and say to a filmmaker: "You've gone too far..."

 

If the MPAA is willing to give an R rating to "The Last House on the Left," which would allow me to take a bunch of kids to see this new film, then why shouldn't Amazon be allowed to sell Japan's RapeLay video game? It sounds to me like the movie and the video game are really playing in the same "How low can you go?" ballpark.

GP: For clarification's sake, there is no regulatory bar to stop Amazon from selling RapeLay. The giant online retailer voluntarily removed the game, which was being offered by an obscure third-party re-seller.

This week's news that Amazon, Toys R Us and Best Buy are all jumping into the used game business apparently got well-known developer David Perry (Earthworm Jim) fired up enough to post a bit of a rant on his blog.

Like many others on the developer/publisher side of the business, Perry seems to feel that used game trades are drinking his milkshake. We don't see it that way. Indeed, quite the opposite. Low cost game buying options help build the pastime.

In addition, Perry has specific trust issues with trade-happy retailer GameStop:

"Sure, [GameStop,] let me go make you exclusive content, let me advertise to send buyers into your store, let me pay to put standees and posters everywhere, so you can sell them used games and stab our industry in the back." Now you've shown that the industry won't stand up to you, everyone else can copy this practice.

Trust me, I know these guys I've been in ALL their offices. I just don't hide, and kiss their behinds...

Where the heck is the ESA when we need them? They should be all over this like a rash. Based on the emails I get, you already have the support of the industry!

At least Perry doesn't seem to want to deny gamers the right to dispose of their used games in some fashion:

The gamers however have the right to sell their games to anyone they like, or trade them. I have no issue with that aspect. I've bought plenty of rare games on Ebay, and I have no problem with Ebay, because we're not doing co-promotion with them. Ebay are not our retail partners.

Amazon's new used game plan offers gamers a clear jump in trade value, reports What They Play.

The site analyzed a variety of games across multiple systems and concluded that gamers can get more in trades with Amazon than they do currently with GameStop.

Here's are some examples:

Also of note, Amazon credits can be used for any product offered by the huge online retailer. GameStop credits limit traders to video games and associated merchandise.

Despite what would appear to be a competitive advantage for Amazon, GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo told Edge Online he was unconcerned about his company's new competitor:

I give the probability of this working at zero... [We tried it...] Electronics Boutique also tried it and failed. There's no consumer acceptance. With consumers, there is an immediacy for currency when they want to buy a new game.

It didn't work for us, and I can't see it working for them.

Investors weren't so sure. News of Amazon's entry into the used game business caused GameStop stock to take a beating on Wall Street yesterday, dropping 14%.

If you're the kind of consumer who finds value in trading used games, for a long time GameStop has been your only option,

Now that other major retailers like Toys R Us, Best Buy and Amazon.com are getting into the used game business, where will you make your trades?

Be sure to vote in the GamePolitics poll at left...

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo can't be happy with the news that his firm, which has owned the used game space for years, suddenly has not one, but three major competitors.

Indeed, financial website The Motley Fool reports that the entry of Toys R Us into the used market will hurt GameStop and likely force the retailer to give consumers a better deal - and we're all for that.

On the publishing side, used game sales hater Ben Feder, President of Take-Two Interactive, must be absolutely frothy now that four major retailers - not just one - will be pushing pre-owned copies of GTA IV.

While the news that Toys R Us, Best Buy and Amazon are all - rather suddenly - entering the used game market is terrific for consumers, the timing seems a bit... odd. How do all three happen to get into used games in the same week?

GamePolitics put the question to Entertainment Consumers Association President Hal Halpin, who, in a past life, founded a trade group for game retailers. In other words, he knows the retail side of the business quite well. Here's what Hal told us:

Toys R Us and Best Buy getting into the used games business makes sense because they really serve very different markets than GameStop, demographically speaking. Amazon getting in is especially bright because of their model - they're positioned really well to cut the market wide open.

 

For Toys R Us and Best Buy, it's likely just coincidence [that news of both came this week]. They're victims of the same economic turmoil as everyone else and looking for growth areas. They have examined the used business before, but [then] it was likely too far astray from their core. Now, it's a matter of exploiting high-margin business extensions, of which Used clearly is one.

 

For Amazon, my guess is that it's much more organic a move. I'm excited to see them invest so heavily in games and with gamers. Overall, it'll be really interesting to see how the landscape is changed by the news. And the bottom line is that it's great news for consumers.

Meanwhile, analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush-Morgan offered his take on the developing situation and agreed that used games are a smart move for Amazon.

It's obviously a great business.
 
Amazon is the only one that matters. The sweet spot of consumers who trade in games are 13 - 18 year-old boys, and they don't typically shop at Toys R Us or Best Buy, but they most definitely frequent Amazon.
 
It seems to me that the Amazon offer is pretty compelling, insofar as there is no cost to ship games to Amazon, and there is an opportunity for gamers to trade in games and purchase other stuff on Amazon.
 
With that said, Amazon's market share of NEW games is only 2 - 3% (around $200 - 300 million annually), and GameStop's USED game business is over $2 billion.  That means it will take a LONG time for Amazon to make a dent in GameStop's business

GP: Going forward, the developer/publisher response will be something to watch. Will a quartet of major retailers selling used games cause the industry to stop rattling their sabers (as they have been doing toward GameStop of late)? Or will it motivate them to fight harder?

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

The Speaker of the New York City Council is expected to denounce a controversial Japanese rape simulation game this morning on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan.

Councilwoman Christine Quinn (middle left) will hold a news conference in protest of RapeLay at 11:00 A.M. As GamePolitics has reported, the hentai game was recently removed from product listings on Amazon.com where a re-seller had been offering it for sale.

Quinn will be joined by the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. A press release announcing the event includes the following description:

A teenage video "game" simulating brutal gang rape and other horrifying sexual violence — just pulled by Amazon.com — will be the subject of a news conference hosted by [Quinn]... who will call on all U.S. video distributors to refuse its distribution or sale...

 

The "game" is now available in the U.S. market...

We should point out that RapeLay, while despicable, is not a product of the U.S. video game industry and is not rated by the ESRB.

UPDATE: Newsday has the first mainstream media coverage of today's press conference:

Amazon and eBay have already banned the sale of the game... but New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said Monday that the game is available on other Web sites...

UPDATE 2: The photo at left is from the news conference. Speaker Quinn is in the middle. At left, holding artwork from RapeLay, is  Harriett Lessel, Executive Director of The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. Of the game, Lessel said:

Video games of this nature are beyond appalling, and people of good conscience need to speak out against them. Sexual violence is a major problem in America and video games like this send the exact wrong message to young people. It tells boys it’s okay to sexually assault girls, and it tells girls they are worthless. The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault is hopeful that American distributors will reject this game and the aberrant behavior it promotes.

Just when you thought the RapeLay mini-scandal was over...

Kevin McCullough, the conservative blogger who in 2008 lit the fuse that would eventually detonate as pop psychologist Cooper Lawrence's misguided attack on Xbox 360 hit Mass Effect, is back.

In a piece for the conservative Townhall blog, McCullough draws similarities between the despicable RapeLay PC game and President Obama's just-signed stimulus package.

You can't make this stuff up. Here's what McCullough, who eventually backed off of his incorrect allegations against Mass Effect, wrote regarding RapeLay and the stimulus package:

This week Amazon.com after many complaints finally decided to ban a virtual reality game called "Rapelay." Defenders of the game say it's not real rape because it only occurs between computer animations. There are no genuine side effects. And it won't impact reality.

Sort of like what liberals sound like when it comes to our money. The money we work increasingly harder to earn. And with one uber-partisan vote they take away. Taken faster than the speed of light or at least in shorter than being allowed to read the legislation that does so.

In the game Rapelay, reviewers have stated that the player must first sexually assault a mother character and her two daughters before being allowed to then "pick" their next series of victims.

In the Congress of Washington DC liberals have seen to it that our mothers and daughters will have less money in the home budget working for their protection and welfare.

In the game Rapelay the reviews indicate that the rapist can even convince one of the animated computer characters that they like what's happening to them.

In Washington DC liberals in Congress sent their lapdog "Mr. President" out to the masses to do the same thing...

 

I've tried to be as tasteful as possible in explaining this comparison, and due to the passion of the natural man that was not an easy thing to do!
 

Class act, that Kevin McCullough...

Via: N'Gai Croal