Belgium bans videogame rentals
Regional publisher's organisation successfully lobbies government for total ban on the practice from December
Rentals of videogame titles have been banned in Belgium following a petition by the Belgian Entertainment Association, the representative body for publishers in the region.
The group argued with local authorities that the rental business was harming the videogames industry by impacting on sales, according to Kotaku. Under the terms of the deal, videogame stores couldn't buy any more new titles in order to rent them out but could continue to offer their rental line until December.
With the deadline fast approaching, Belgian newspaper, De Standaard confirmed that the ban will come into force from December 1.
This news comes as David Braben, Frontier founder and creator of Elite, chastised major retailers for adopting the practice of the second-hand sales of games, calling instead for a rental business to replace it.