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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.'"
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