Gamers sell their souls to online retailer

Gamestation has acquired the rights to the immortal souls of 7,500 of its customers.

The move will do little to help in the case of reactionary politicians who believe video games are the work of Satan.

How did this bulk soul purchase come about? It was nothing to do with pentagrams drawn in blood, virgin sacrifices, or reading an Aleister Crowley book out loud backwards.

In fact Gamestation inserted a clause into its website’s terms and conditions, giving them the express right to claim a customer’s soul using six foot high letters of fire.

The whole thing was actually an April fool, although it had a serious motive, namely to discover how many people read the terms and conditions.

There was a check box next to the soul clause, which asked buyers to tick if they didn’t want to give up their soul to the company.

And the damning results were that 7,500, or 88% of people who made a purchase, didn’t spot the clause, and merrily went ahead and made the swap: A video game for their soul.

At least Faust held out for something sensible like unlimited worldly pleasures, not a copy of Lego Star Wars.

Those who did spot the scheme and ticked the box were given a £5 off voucher. And the knowledge that their consciousness won’t writhe and burn in a lake of searing fire for all eternity.