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'Used' A Dirty Word in Gaming
Gamers with Jobs has a piece looking at the increasingly negative reaction the game industry has towards used games. From the article: "The problem is that the used game market has not only redefined the direction of the specialty retailer, but it has attracted the attention of the big box stores, and the success of limited test markets might eventually reshape the landscape of the gaming retail industry as a whole, edging publishers and developers out of a significant cut of the action. This as next-generation systems send development costs skyrocketing put developers in the position spending more than ever just as the biggest retailers are considering keeping more of the profits for themselves."
Buying a used game for $20 is better than buying it new for $50 only to discover that it sucks.
Besides, some of those used games are really worth picking up but they're out of print. So should we just never get the rare gems? Obviously the answer is to buy them new, but sometimes you don't realize how good a game is until its too hard to find - reference Disgaea.
I picked up Metroid Prime "Used" for $12.50 canadian. When used games are half the price or less than the new one, and offer nothing different, then I'm going to buy the used one. It's simple economics. I usually don't buy games at full prices either. I wait until they've sold a million copies, and only cost $30. I applaud the gaming industry for actually lowering prices once the initial investment has been made back, whereas with music CDs, the prices only seem to go up after the initial release.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
How?
Take Madden 2004, slap on it new textures, make some minor gameplay changes, call it Madden 2005 and release it.
How the hell does that skyroket costs when they are using the same goddamn engine with prettier graphics and a few minor asthetic changes?
The publishers will insist that graphics sell, that you need such high-res textures that you can see the models' individual pores, that you need to get Hollywood actors to do the voices. I don't buy that. If Geometry Wars and the success of the DS have taught us anything, it's that gameplay sells.
I don't think I'm in the minority when I say that I don't play graphics.
It forces game makers to make games that have large lasting appeal. I've sold loads of games that are "beat once, throw away". There's other games with loads of features and content that I'll never get rid of because some day I know I'm gonna go back and play it some more. This can only be a good thing.
Two things one can do.
Use an OSS engine to reduce costs.
Use the community to create content by making the games moddible as much as possible.
Oh, and...Profit!
"...the rising used market is just another signifier of a dying business model: the distribution of content on physical media. The game industry is crying because the majority of them have not yet embraced download installations."
Hi! I'm in the middle of nowhere, on 33.6 dialup. How will your "miracle method" help me? How about this; what's the difference between the "old, and busted" were I buy a CD with manuals, and "the new hotness", were I bulk buy CD blanks, and cases, and print out the documentation? Oh right. I get to do the publishers job for them. How alturistic of me.
It's because it's a new console, I remember paying 70 for some crappy wayne gretzy hockey game for my n64 when it first came out. It's stupid to pay that much, but people do it...
nothing
1. Stupid people spend to their most optimistic projection and then complain that money's tight.
2. Stupid people assume that because they've always made money up to now, they can rest on their laurels.
3. Stupid people think that when their income dries up, whining will make it return.
BTW, have any of these numbskulls considered and compared the effect of the used car market? If a thing retains value for resale, people will be happy paying extra for it first-hand.
Used games require a previous owner who played, got bored, and sold the game. That says the game sucked. Make better games. If a game is good, people are going to fall all over themselves to get a copy, new, used or otherwise.
Duh.
If game developers and publishers start balking at used games, the worse is outright rampant piracy.
The problem here is the quality of the games in general (like with everything in the entertainment industry these days) is horrid. Quick rehashed sequels of popular games are being released more often then original game content. Gamers are becoming increasingly wary of dropping full price for a game they may find out they don't like 2 hours after playing it. Buying used games gives them an opportunity to play that game at a reduced price, and then trade back the game in exchange for another new/used game. Also, most gamers are finding more value in trading games for new games, as their is generally no need to hold on to a game that has been played to death and will never be touched again.
In the PC gaming market, you don't even have to buy used games. If you wait 6 - 8 months after a game is released, it is usually marked down 40 - 60% or comes bundled with value added features like add-ons or other games for a cheaper price.
I don't see how game developers can do anything to stop this. They sell a product and have little ( or should have little ) impact on after-market sales. I am sure Ford and GM would love to control how their used cars get sold, get some profit from the trading and selling of used cars, but the idea that any profit should return to Ford after they initially sell a car is ridiculous. Same goes for the video game industry.
I think the video game industry is realizing that they are not making an easy profit anymore, that gamers are becoming more selective about the games they play. I think there has been a stagnation in the originality and quality of gaming titles, and gamers are no longer quick to buy a game that is an obvious rushed out sequel. But they have to realize that buy flooding the market with poor quality games isn't going to drive up sales. Instead of penalizing used game buyers, how about making better quality games that people want to pay full price for and keep indefinitely!
If the game industry starts to mess up used game sales, forcing higher prices and demanding recuperation of profit from the sale of used games, the alternative is rampant piracy where those that would have spent $20 on a used game now will download it for free in spite of the gaming industry.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
No, no they're not. "Capitalism is hard" is not a sound argument.
Somehow the print publishing industry has managed to survive libraries and used book stores. The music industry managed to survive used record and CD stores. The movie industry has managed to survive video rental stores selling their old stock. The automotive industry has managed to survive used car sales.
Stop whining and start figuring out how you're going to compete.
Search 2010 Gen Con events
Huh, I haven't bought a new game in months, and its not just because there haven't been any that caught my eye. I've just started college, and paying for the books ate up all my money. And then there's also the fact that I've not been paying attention to games like I used to, I can live without them. If there's something amazing that comes out, either one of my friends will have it or I'll wait until it hits however many titles sold so that the price is reduced. I remember when I was young and all the best Nintendo games got the neat "Player's Choice" sticker and a price reduction down to $20, which was very reasonable for a game I knew was going to be good. :) Maybe they should start doing that again, to sell more 'new' copies?
This is the usual bourgeois rubbish where they're all for the "frea mahkit" until they go down the drain because they sux0r. That's the moment where they whine to the governor to outlaw their competition instead of adapting themselves.
...and now they're getting what they deserve.
For the longest time, publishers were the dispicable middlemen who took the bulk of the profits. Now, due to advances in technology, the money is going to stay with the retailers, who can efficiently catalog and redistribute used copies, or to the developers who can distribute electronically and cut the publishers out of the loop entirely.
We're going to see the publishers spew this shit about how much more it costs to develop on next-gen systems and how used games make that harder, all while they're reeling from losing their cash; Cash which they keep as profits, and use for kickbacks, mis-management and marketing, which are the real bulk of game costs, dwarfing development costs by so much that it almost doesn't even matter if development costs double on net-gen systems. The same crap is happening to publishing/distributing companies in every industry. They're crying as their business models become obsolete. It's too bad that there's no good will towards them since they've been screwing people form both ends for centuries.
Let the publishers rot. Few will mourn the loss of 'Big Name' games and musicians, and their demise will make more room in the industry for artists and engineers as the money they keep from their big name titles gets spread out amongst an industry full of a larger number of lesser known titles. You won't have to be a rockstar anymore to be able to make a living as a musician, script writer, or game artist. The change is already started, and short of purchased legislation there's no way to stop it.
I cannot disagree more with your point. I demand a physical copy of my media, be they CDs, DVDs, or Games. I want to be able to uninstall it, put it away, and still be able to re-install it 2 years after the company that made it has gone bankrupt.
Ask yourself, if Valve/vivendi were to go out of business tomorrow, would you be able to play half life 2?
"Inattention makes clowns of us all" -Bean
I do not steal from Steven King when I buy a used copy of one of his books.
I do not steal from James Brown when I buy a used CD.
No publisher or author has the right to tell me what I can or cannot do with a product I have paid them for.
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
Some people are willing to pay $50+ for a new game, only because they know when they finish they can turn around and sell it for $30+.
If they could not "get back" that money, they would buy fewer new games. More casual gamers like myself wait, find out what is good and what sucks, and buy the good used games six months or a year or so after release.
Think of what the car market would be like if you could not sell your used (excuse me, "pre-owned") car.
Movie studios used to charge $100 dollars for a movie (on video tape!). Only rental stores bought them, for the most part. Then they learned that the magic point was $15-20. Sure, they make less profit per sale, but they make so many more sales, it is well worth it. Perhaps video game producers should learn the same lesson?