I recently purchased a couple of physical copy PC games (Darksiders, Dead Space 2) and I have a question regarding their activation keys.

I haven't attempted to install them yet, but I'm on a little on the fence about the activation process. Since they are used, how would I go about obtaining an activation key legitimately? I don't want to jump through hoops and make it seem like I'm stealing something, since I'm a legal owner of the products. I have searched around the net, but to no avail.

Does anyone else have experience with this process?

You go about obtaining a legitimate activation key by buying a new copy that comes with an unused key.

If you have the original proof of purchase, you might be able to call EA to get a new activation key for Dead Space 2 (doubtful however), but I'm sure you're completely out of luck regarding Darksiders since that's a steam activation.

You might be the legal owner of the physical objects, but the digital license to play the specific key that came with the physical media is already tied to the account of whoever activated it previously.

Used PC gaming is completely and utterly dead in this day and age.

Yeah, pretty much what @dhobo said, unfortunately :( The same can be said for certain console games as well because it some instances, they don't even come with any physical media. You just get an activation code. And even if they do come with a disc, some games require accounts that would render the content on the disc useless if you can't authenticate with the servers.

That really sucks to hear considering I got both games for about $2.00...oh well. Thanks for the info guys!

Yeah, this is the main reason I avoid buying PC games from a certain era at thrift stores. If you get old enough games, they don't have the whole activation hassle (though you may want a manual/booklet to deal with in-game copy protection). Anything from around 2000 onward though gets dicey, and anything with a Steam key is basically dead in the water.