A very interesting update. I'm not convinced that resellers are the main problem, though. Or rather: resellers are a problem, but a perennial one. They're only a significant problem now, because of the economy.
To me, the games market at the moment is really hard, across the board. I don't know any company which hasn't had to tighten its belt several notches in the last year, if it hasn't gone under. Steam's crazy sales earlier this year suggest that even Steam is not having a great time either: slashing prices so much is not a sign of philanthropy!
If D2 were released a few years ago, everyone in Larian would be rolling in fistfuls of cash and snorting powdered diamonds off of nubile dragonettes. Now, though... they're one of the few success stories, and an inspiration and motivation to the rest of us, but not nearly so big a success as they should have been, without a recession.
For most companies I've spoken to, sales are down by about 50% over two years ago. Although theoretically we're "recovering" from the recession, that's the hardest time for most people: they've already gone through whatever safety buffer and savings they had, and they're living hand-to-mouth. Many are behind on paying wages, and employees are only staying on out of loyalty, or despair at finding other jobs. Customers are in the same boat, and are tightening their belts too, cutting down on frivolities like gaming.
For the smaller, self-published indies, the shrinking income has brought other problems. In the US and a few other countries, credit cards are not legally responsible for their own misuse: the retailer is responsible instead, and at any time, the buyer can return the product and make a "chargeback" to take back the money they spent, even a year after buying stuff. With people feeling the bite of the recession, many more people are trying this as a way to get back some of the money they decided they'd spent unwisely: and since the money is already spent by the Indie Devs, a single large chargeback by a previously loyal customer can hit them hard in a pocket that's already only half full.
Chargebacks are rife for online games in particular, where everything they sell is virtual, so "returning" it requires no action from the customer. It's worse with games aimed at children, as the children will often misappropriate their parents' cards, and will generally not understand (or care) about the damage they are doing to the company that gives them so much fun. With money tight, parents are scrutinising their card statements more carefully, and taking away their children's "stolen toys".
But that's just the beginning. PayPal (and I imagine other payment processors, but PayPal's the big one) will freeze your assets for six months, or even permanently, if chargebacks go over 1% of your income. With lowered income and raised chargebacks, this hits many of them. When they're clawing to stay afloat already, suddenly being unable to process payments is the final nail in the coffin for just about any Indie dev.
