Are Used Game Sales Hurting the Industry?

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jcknouse

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Oh i want to cry them a river. I guess that homebuilders, car manufacturers, and book publishers will be next wanting a kickback for resale value?

If Asus and Seagate ever do that, I'll be broke paying them royalties. On parts I sell used to friends and people I know.

Besides, I guess $60 for a new game isn't enough profit for them? Jeez. What next? We'll get charged consumption tax on using the handle to flush a toilet? lol

For crissake...I understand piracy is hurting software makers. But, just implement required registration of a game to an individual. If that person sells it, then someone has to pay a $5 transfer fee that covers the call to ask the former owner to confirm the sale and changing ownership information in their system.

But don't go charging me for sales I haven't made yet to others, or may never make.
 

that_aznpride101

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Has anyone factored in the state of the economy as to why used games are hurting the sale of brand new games? This is why I prefer to buy used games for Xbox 360. I'm surprised this article has no mentioned this...

Come to think of it, does this article apply to both console and PC games? I can imagine buying used console games since there's no CD key, but nobody would buy a used copy of World of Warcraft because the CD key could already been registered...

 

jqk

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Pirating doesn't hurt them. If someone pirates they will always pirate. They will never pay money.

Trying to block the resale of a game would further hurt the game industry not help it.

Why don't developers focus on makeing a product that works first and has a good replay value instead of trying to nickle and dime or slap the hand that feeds them.
 

mikepaul

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First off, someone has to reveal what a $60 game at BestBuy actually cost BestBuy. The profit to the manufacturer HAS to be less than $60. And when a game goes on sale, who eats the difference?

I don't REALLY want to wait forever for the first-sale cost to come down to a decent deal (GameStop seems to think $5 off for used is a good deal MONTHS after release, which isn't decent) but I have to so manufacturers get their profits, or I go used. Only loser first-sale games go cheap quickly, and cheap is no real incentive there...
 

crockdaddy

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I buy 8 to 16 games a year. Mostly new, a few used. When I bothered to sell used that money was always used to what ...??? BUY NEW GAMES ..... If I was attached to the game I never sold it.
 
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So how am I supposed to buy a game that's out of print if I can't buy used?
 

Alternator

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I'm not strictly for or against re-sale of games, it's pretty easy to see the lost revenue argument from the game dev though.

A lot of games these days are designed around consumption (i.e. play once and move on), if a used game got sold 5 times, then the dev would only ever see the first sale but 5 people consumed the game.

I don't think it's a huge issue, or that the users are doing anything wrong either though.

If the publisher/dev wants to work around the issue they should do it like steam, and register the game against an account... None of this limited installs rubbish!
 

hellwig

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I have to think the main issue (as some have illuded to) is that people aren't keeping the games they buy. If game developers made more games people wanted to keep playing, people wouldn't sell them as often. If someone buys a game, plays it, and thinks its crap, why shouldn't they get some of their money back (in the form of re-sale). No publisher is ever going to offer a "Our Game Sucks" refund.

It depends on what you think the publishers are selling, the game or the experience. If people are paying for the experience, then they should pay by the user (not the copy), but then at the same time, the publishers would be liable for bad or undesireable experiences, so instead the publishers sell by copy, then bitch about it. Typical.
 

ossie

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Finally the cat is out of the bag. Indirectly SW "producers" acknowledge that the whole piracy protection bullshit is not about illegal copying (which it never prevented) but actually about usage control, to milk as much as possible from the paying customers. All this is possible because they only "sell" a license for using the SW and actually are (trying to) keep(ing) full control about it's usage.
It's all about greed and "selling" the same piece of crap all over again and again.
 

trinix

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Let's turn it around.

Why are games so exclusive? Why can't everyone get a good amount of games. What if I want to buy an old PS1 or 2 and don't have games for it?

How many times did you not have a kid in the neighborhood or a cousin who got your old console and had a lot of fun, while you are not experiencing the same joy anymore.

That's right. The greedy game companies who can make bad games and get away with it, want more. They don't care they make crap. They don't care after 5 times you are so sick and tired of it. After a month you don't want to play the game ever again. They want more money.

The game industry, just like the movie and music industry needs to rethink their market strategy. Pay how much it's worth, not how much you can squeeze out of it. If a game is for a month, let us pay 20 for it, if it's worth for years 50 isn't a bad price. And before suits go decide how long we play games, that won't work either. But the market isn't working.

By pushing used games out of the way, less people will buy your game, as they won't pay 50+ dollars for a week of pleasure. And people will just pirate more. That's right. The companies are again promoting piracy. They make it impossible for players to have fun and money that's worth it.
 

Big0range

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What game manufacturers have made clear is I'm not buying a game, I'm buying the right (aka license) to install and play a game. However, like any other product, that license is MINE to keep or sell. Once I've purchased the license, it is no longer the manufacturer's concern. Their concern should be creating a product I want to keep and play again, not sell.
 

gto127

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I wish you guys would do an article on how stores like eb games gouges the consumer on used games. I bought a $10 used game and took it back the next week and they only offered $1.00 for it. If you sell them a used new release they will sell it for about 5$ off retail but only give you about 40% of retail on the average. Mabye I just had a bad expereince withthese guys but I buy most of my used games in pawn shops now.
 

zerapio

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Lots of good comments here. The developer knows nothing about how an economy works. Used game sales can't be prevented save for making it illegal which won't happen.

The question the game developer has to ask himself is why would someone take the risk of getting scratched CDs/DVDs or serial keys registered to the previous owner? The reason is largely price and then availability (like in the case of an out of print game). If the market for used games is comparable to new games then that tells me that games are overpriced from the consumer point of view. Another solution is to either lower the price if the profit margin allows this or reduce the cost structure. In plain terms: sell cheap but sell a lot or sell a little but make a lot (per sale). As a consumer I take the first of those :D

What the industry has to focus on is growing the market so more people, not necessarily a larger percent, buy games first hand. Better quality games, more flexibility to the user (e.g. less DRM, no CD checks), more replay value, after-launch content release (like Mass Effect) are examples of this. Basically adding more value to the game.
 

antilycus

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I have worked at Gamestop for 9 years now and trust me when I Say that they HURT the gaming industry. All that money is kept by the greedy executives. Just look at the past records to see how much profit was for Gamestop, you'll see they are making the money and not the developers.

What isnt taking into account is that these retail stores by X ammount of copies at close to full price, all the time. If the publishers were to lower that price 2 months after the game is out, they would probably make more money. The more used games you purchase the more you are killing your precious video game industry, you cheap skate!
 
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