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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."
...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. Suckers. "In the future", every game will have an online component and an unlocking system ala steam.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Maybe if they make more games that have a higher replay value they will find less copies of them showing up used. If you take a game that is only fun the first time you play through it, then why would somebody keep it on their shelf?
Personally I always buy used games. EB and gamestop have 90 day warranties on their pre played games and even for 5 buck's less it's good to me.
nothing
How about these greedy slobs try and produce games with lower development costs?
It's always the same story : when an industry starts gaining mainstream approval, it just becomes a penis contest to see who will do it more, harder, better, with more explosions, big boobs, and bigger budget!
Look at hollywood actually BRAG about production costs, the same is happening to videogames, only this time, video games are supposed to be more fulfilling than two hours of non-interactive eye candy!
It would seem to me, however, that there's so easy solution to the problem. (Having not RTFA...) If you force (through legislation or otherwise) every retailer to pay a kickback to the publisher for every used game sold, that will immediately piss off the thousands of smaller retailers who simply can't afford that type of extra expense. Although, those smaller retailers are increasingly rare these days, thanks to the 'community store' model that EB has been adopting.
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.
:-/
I was just playing a boxing game on the XBox 360 at a local game store the other day. I could have sworn that it was just an update of the Activision Boxing game for the Atari 2600, but with photo-realistic THREE-DEE graphics and a voice announcer. Nice features to have, but not really a major improvement. Worse yet, the whole thing played like it was in slow motion.
With all the power in a system like the XBox 360, one would expect gameplay would be continuing to push the limits, not devolving. I mean, Street Fighter II was more intereting than this game.
(Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm about to get creamed by responses that the game is the "best game EVAR n00b!")
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Game companies upset about selling used games? I've got a better idea: let's donate all our used games to the PUBLIC LIBRARY, then anybody who wants to play the game can check it out and play it for FREE. Game developers might get some sympathy for trying to put used game sellers out of business, but let's see how much support they get when they attack libraries... I can't see any reason why my "fair use" rights to a game should be any different from my fair use rights to a bock... can you?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Did you know that most retailers don't make hardly a dollar on the new video games, because of the cost of them shipped? (My wife and I are opening a store to sell games, and toys and such) This is a good compelling argument for stores to take back some profit by selling used games. Most of that money for new games goes directly back to the publisher. There is really not much incentive for a store to sell new games.
...like 7 or 8 dollars on a $50 title.
Anyway, just an FYI for all the high and mighty consumers out there.
WallMart gets one of the best deals on video games, and they make under 2 dollars on a game after thier costs. This is because the margin starts out so low
An interesting thought there. If publishers can create a market value index for used games, give them a "blue book" equivalent or some such, then they can control/influence the retained value of a used game. If a game is popular, and it's "blue book" value is high, it will be harder for retailers to pay customers dirt prices for the games, squeezing their profit margin on used games. If the
In any case, it could drive up the cost of used recent titles, lowering the incentive to buy used over new, and increase the risk for retailers, in all making it a less attractive business.
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.
Agree 100%. I've been trying to save my money lately but just this past week I finally broke down and bought a DS (yeah, I know about the DS Lite...) along with Mario Kart, Sonic Rush and Nintendogs, all new, and I don't regret my purchase a bit. I think the system's awesome as are every one of the three games I got with it. And I say that knowing that the PSP is more powerful. I couldn't care less, because I can't play Mario Kart online on the PSP.
I'm obviously not the only person that feels that way, judging by the sales of the DS vs. the PSP. And I'm also someone who has rarely bought games new lately - but I make exceptions in the case of games that provide me with an experience I can't easily obtain on the used market, or on another system. That's the key. Who are the ones complaining about used game sales? It's invariably the developers and publishers who can't figure out why people aren't buying the fifth sequel to a tired franchise on the same console anymore; i.e. Madden 2006 on PS2. Why would I need Madden 2006 if I have Madden 2005? News flash: nobody wants to buy the same damn game every year for full price. Give people something new and they will buy the game new, and they won't be as likely to sell it later either. Mario Kart DS may be a sequel, but it's the first Mario Kart with online play and the first 3D version on a portable. (It also has more "stuff" - tracks, carts, characters - than any other version.) And it's only $35 new. That's the way you sell games based on established "franchises", not by doing a roster update and charging $50 for it every year.
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.
First and second line: Absolutely correct.
Last line: Incorrect.
If you purchase a CD, you do not have the right to play that music at your restaurant where dozens of patrons can listen to it while they eat. This is considered a public performance and you must pay a seperate fee to do it.
Of course we all know that you can't legaly make a copy of it and then sell that copy without approval of the author.
I realize your point that there should be no restrictions on resale and almost certainly there is currently no legal restriction. But it's important that we understand how our rights are already limited so we can make informed arguments for preserving the few rights we currenlty have. If we know exactly what the current restrictions are, then we have a better shot at making sure that list doesn't grow.
The fact that they can tell you not to make copies does not mean that they can tell you not to sell the copy you have. Us showing them that we understand this short circuits one of their biggest arguments, that we're a bunch of pirates who want no restrictions at all.
TW
This loophole will be closed with the transition to online distribution.
My other first post is car post.