Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:

Bungie audio director Marty O'Donnell recently made some controversial remarks regarding used game sales. To quote, "It seems to me that the folks who create and publish a game shouldn't stop receiving income from further sales." Of course, this seems laughable to all of us who have bought and sold used games for years. It's my property, I can do what I want with it, right? This doesn't have any place in the industry, does it?

Legally, perhaps not. According to the first sale doctrine in copyright law, copyright holders are expected "to obtain all financial benefit for the article or product embodying the intellectual property at the time of the sale, and prohibits placing limitations on purchased items." This basically means that, once you purchase an item, the intellectual property cannot prevent you from doing whatever you want with the item so long as you don't violate copyright (by, say, copying it and then selling it -- otherwise known as pirating).

We had previously learned that a Kratos SackBoy would be available with a GameStop pre-order, but what we didn't know was all the extras that would also be included with the reservation. The GameStop website and a new commercial (found after the break) reveal the pre-order will also include Minotaur and Medusa costumes, along with stickers and level pack.

The details on getting the redemption code vary between online and in-store reservation, with online codes being sent out a week before the game ships and store codes available at time of reservation -- while supplies last (call ahead). No word yet if the Heavenly Sword Best Buy exclusive Nariko SackGirl will come with levels, extra characters and a dose of a "twing-twang."

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Memphis is a beautiful city with no real crime, which is why it's so shocking to hear what a sting operation against local GameStop stores turned up. Eight GameStop employees have plead guilty to buying "stolen" video games from undercover police officers. The video game pawn shop retail chain has agreed to suspend "cash-for-trade" (???) transactions in Shelby and DeSoto County, Mississippi, until February 2009.

The defendants, none of whom have previous criminal convictions, will serve a year of probation, which can result in their record being cleared. Not to say the company's suspension of trade-ins is pure kabuki, but next to eBay, GameStop has always been an awesome place to unload stolen games -- just don't bring 16,000 copies of Brothers in Arms in at one time.

[Thanks, Chuck]

A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, it is the year Ten Thousand One Ninety One. The Universe is ruled by GameStop Emperor Daniel DeMatteo IV, ... my father. In this time, the most precious substance in the Universe is the video game. The games extend life, the games expand consciousness, games are vital to existence.

The Gaming Guild and its Navigators, whom the games have mutated over eight thousand years, began solidifying their control over the universe when the precursor to the guild, an ancient corporation called GameStop, purchased a Francais company called Micromania for $700 million. GameStop gained 332 stores and increased its European store count to 1077 (global: 5889). At the time, the company said it would increase its earnings for the year. There was no way to know the truth.

- Princess Irulan Corrino - The GameStop Chronicles: A Beginning.

"It seems to me that the folks who create and publish a game shouldn't stop receiving income from further sales." That's the word from Bungie audio director Marty O'Donnell, who obviously feels that game developers and publishers should realize residual income from used game sales, much like we imagine the vehicle, book, and toothbrush industries do today ... in Bizarro World.

The sound guru also believes that used game sales had a "big" impact on Halo, though he admits that "complaining about sales when you have a multi-million seller is somewhat difficult to justify." That it is. While it's interesting to see that not everyone is doing backflips over pre-owned sales, we can't help but wonder if O'Donnell envisions a future where companies are allowed to double dip with online auctions, or if a Spartan will pay a visit to our neighborhood garage sale looking for his fair share.

GameStop is holding an "Ultimate Guitar Hero Contest," but the good news is it doesn't appear to require any actual Guitar Hero skills. All it requires is submitting a photo prior to October 10 in one of three categories with a brief description (300 words of less) of why those in the photo should win. The three categories are: "Families who Rock!;" "Moms with Star Power!;" and "Guitar Gods and Goddesses."

The grand prize winners in each of the categories receive fabulous prizes (listed after the break). Four first prize winners will receive a copy of Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit and a $50 GameStop gift card. If you don't want to go through the effort of the contest, there's always the option of the general sweepstakes. We'd love to get our hands on the Mom photo submissions, as those would have the potential for the best chuckles.

Remember way, way back (two weeks ago!) when GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo said there was no "near-term end in sight for Wii shortages"? Well, one of his employees, VP of Merchandising Bob McKenzie, seem to have a decidedly different take on the problem, telling MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo that the Wii supply situation this holiday season will be "much, much better than it has been the last two years."

While not directly contradicting his boss, McKenzie seemed much more hopeful about the supply of systems for the crucial months ahead. "I can't say we will be in stock every day throughout the holiday season," he said, "but I can tell you that the current flow we've seen coming from Nintendo on Wii hardware makes us very confident that we will meet the business model that we've got."

What's a potential Wii owner to do with these conflicting messages? We recommend playing it safe by taking a large tub of beef jerky and a few gallons of bottled water to your nearest GameStop and refusing to leave until you get the thin, white system you crave. It's a foolproof plan -- but when the police ask, tell them you came up with it yourself, OK?

A NeoGAF user apparently snapped the photo seen above, featuring a promo for a $10 Beyond Good & Evil reissue coming this month. The sheet, allegedly stuffed in a GameStop binder, shows the reissue is only for the PlayStation 2 version. It'd be a shame considering the GameCube version would work perfectly well in all those millions of Wiis. The Xbox 360 does not currently support backwards compatibility for the Xbox version of the title.

We've contacted Ubisoft for confirmation of the information on the sheet. Meanwhile, this is a good a time as any to remind you of our "Where to find BG&E" post from earlier this year.

Update: Ubisoft's response to our inquiry: "We sell a PC Download of Beyond Good & Evil for $10 through our digital store." Um, that wasn't the question.

[Via Game|Life]

Every year (well, at least since being banned from E3) the grand minions of GameStop Corp. descend upon the dessert oasis that is Las Vegas, Nevada -- with a Capital X -- to become better informed about their retail products, so as to make professional recommendations to their far less knowledgeable customer base. With a few cleverly placed posers, 1UP has infiltrated the sore-thumbed masses of regional managers who have traveled great distances to earn bragging rights over the adolescents who, in turn, loiter inside their finely vacuumed establishments. Finally, some payoff for another hard year of underachievement (remember kids, these are just rumors):

• A trailer for a new Indiana Jones game (could it be?) will premiere next week ... after everyone's returned home to Nowheresville.
• 60 GB Xbox 360 hard drive will be $99 with 3 months of Xbox Live and an ethernet cable; or 12 months of Xbox Live for $70 and a copy of PGR4. Decisions, decisions...
• Animal Crossing: City Folk will be bundled with the Wii Speak "community mic" and sold for $70. (And after this, Nintendo will be done with peripherals. Promise. *Crosses fingers behind back.*)
  
• GBA's Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories will get a surprise port to ... (wait for it) ... PS2! [Update: As several commenters point out, a Chain of Memories port remake has been available in Japan since March 2007.]

Visit 1UP for the full range of oohs and ahs. Bet you wish you'd forgone that degree and stuck it out at the strip mall, huh? Just imagine: You could be there. Right. Now.

[Image credit: dougward]

Building upon assurances delivered several weeks ago, GameStop COO Dan DeMatteo continued his utter disregard for the impending retail crisis as the gaming industry steadily shifts to digital distribution. "The first digital distribution was Napster and it was illegal. Let's just start there," DeMatteo began his lesson to GameDaily. "The software publishers are afraid to death of piracy. Once a full game is lying on a hard drive, there's the potential for piracy. Aside from the games, the bandwidth, etc., our studies have concluded that the network won't be in place to do digital distribution of full games until 2020 to 2025." And by then, well, it'll be too late. Even conservative projections place GameStop in control of the global marketplace by 2017.

The important thing, DeMatteo reminds publishers, is to keep selling your games to GameStop. After all, he claims, Microsoft and Sony take a big cut when you go direct through consoles. Plus, GameStop guarantees it'll sell a single copy of your game at least three times. Er, wait a minute ... you're not supposed to hear that part.

Speaking with GameDaily, newly-appointed GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo (who was previously COO for 12 years) gave a rather disheartening prediction about the never-ending shortage of Nintendo Wii's. Said DeMatteo, "I don't see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they've ramped it up 20 percent or so, but Nintendo is fairly cautious by nature. They ramped it up 20 and it's still evaporating."

Much of the interview is refurbished from late August when he (then as COO) spoke with Gamastura about digital distrubition. Speaking of the used games business, DeMatteo offered a rather interesting argument by noting that gamers have been "conditioned that their video games have residual value, just like a car," later adding, "I think the argument that it competes with the new games is false. Imagine what new car sales would be like if you couldn't trade in your old car."

Following another (inter)stellar quarter of sales, GameStop's COO Dan DeMatteo says the company is unconcerned about digital distribution, which caused us to instantly "Journeyman" back to 2007 to relive the Penny Arcade strip above. Gamasutra reports that during a post-results analyst call the executive said the revenue stream for digital distribution is "pretty insignificant."

DeMatteo explains that the company doesn't expect digital distribution to be a threat due to current disc-based game sizes and the barrier of long download times. He also believes that the Wii shortage we've seen the last two holiday seasons will shift to Wii Fit this holiday. The planet Earth concurs with that possibility.

People really love their used games. GameStop's Q2 results show the company repeated its last quarter and had sales of $1.8 billion again, reports GameDaily. CEO R. Richard Fontaine says the company produced record revenues in each of the regions it operates in and continues to kill puppies make obscene amounts of money compared to its competition.

GameStop stated that GTA IV, MGS4, Wii Fit, NCAA Football 09 and Battlefield: Bad Company were its best sellers during the quarter ending August 2. The company has high expectations for the rest of the year and raised its full year guidance. The money train ain't slowing down this year.

You and a friend can now join in the SOCOM Confrontation beta just by bullying some other friend to pre-order the game from Gamestop. According to an email sent out to the PlayStation Underground members, a Confrontation pre-order will net you participation in the public beta and the ability to invite two friends for free. If you read the fine print, however, the deal is rendered immediately null and void should either party decide to end the friendship. Sony keeps a very strict "friends only" policy. The public beta begins September 1 for pre-orders and September 8 for Qore subscribers.

[Thanks, Noshino]