Potentially criminal ban on British console gathers momentum

Politicians step up plans to ask the UK government to consider a ban on scalping consoles (or introducing other protective legislation) to prevent the high level of resale seen for PS5 and Xbox Series X / S. group of British MPs put forward an early day movement to discuss bans on scalping, and the use of automated robots for “game consoles and computer components”. The movement, led by Douglas Chapman MP, has now garnered 32 signatures from MPs across several parties.

In a statement to IGN, Chapman indicated that he now intends to take the matter further: “Given that experts in the cyber industry are now predicting the issue of scalping to grow across other important goods and services this year, we are looking at presenting a bill in Parliament so that we can further explore legislative options to protect consumers from this unfair practice. “

Early movements are used regularly to highlight current issues, but rarely reach a real lower house debate. Presenting a bill, which Chapman is now considering, will be seen as an escalation of the process, and an attempt to put pressure on the government to consider formal legislation.

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Asked why Chapman started this process, he explained that the impetus for starting the debate in Parliament came directly from his Dunfermline and West Fife voters:

“The issue of scalping first came up with ingredients contacting me to explain their frustration at not being able to get hold of certain game consoles or computer components before Christmas. Upon investigation, we uncovered more details about the unscrupulous approach of “scalping” automated bots to buy these items and resell them at inflated prices. “

The issue of scalping has reached new levels of recognition following the release of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, as well as new graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD. In the US, it is estimated that at least 10% of PS5s have been resold, averaging around double the recommended retail price on eBay. Part-and-package of this phenomenon has been the use of robots to secure devices before ordinary consumers can do so, a tactic popular with the sneaker culture.

The UK has seen great demand for new generation consoles, and scalping has become a recurring story among that demand. Scalping chains have claimed a large number of consoles, even using loopholes to buy shares before it is officially available. In addition to the lack of offers, there is a trend that has led to repeated disappointment for normal consumers, and even potentially incited criminal activity.

Joe Skrebels is IGN’s CEO of News. Follow him on Twitter. Got a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Send an email to newstips@ign.com.