The Belgian Entertainment Association has clarified reports that game rentals are to be banned in Belgium next month, saying that the issue isn’t with retailers offering games to rent, rather than with retailers buying games for sale then renting them out.
“What’s happening is that video rental stores are declining in popularity, and because of this those stores began to buy retail copies of games and put them up for rent. I can’t think of any country that would allow this. Rental outlets need publisher permission to rent out games, and need to buy them wholesale, just like with films,” Olivier Maeterlinck, Managing Director of the Belgian Entertainment Association, told Edge.
“The point is that stores can still put out rental copies. They just have to get permission to do so. In most countries a rental point must get permission for renting out. We are no longer any different to this system, but that doesn’t mean we are ‘banning’ game rentals.”
Phew. Glad that’s cleared up.
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