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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 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.'"
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.
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.
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
...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.
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.
The skyrocketing costs are not due to making changes in game play but in the successful game developers' increasing appetite for booze, coke, and whores.
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?