Last year, a British video game retailer by the name of Awesome Games was offered some copies of Fallout 3 to put on sale. Prior to the game's official release. From an "unknown seller".
While for many this would have set alarm bells ringing, Awesome Games proprietor Ahnes Qureshi says he believed that, rather than being dodgy, stolen goods, the games were "imported stock". Right.
Bethesda believed otherwise, and took the store to court, believing the goods to not only be stolen, but that Awesome Games knew they were stolen.
Rather than take it to a jury, however, the matter has since been settled out of court, with Qureshi paying damages to Fallout developers Bethesda, as well as promising never to let something that stupid happen again. A Bethesda statement reads:
We take such matters as the theft of our stock very seriously and will rigorously pursue any individual or company who perpetrates such acts.
While it may be tempting to buy games from unknown sources and to release games early, it's just not worth the risk, as Mr. Qureshi will attest.