Why Game Developers Should Shut Up About Used Games

Ssquared22 writes "It may feel like a rip-off to some, but you've got to admit that paying $30 for Gears of War 2 sure beats paying $60! Game publishers and developers may not like it, but people are going to trade in used games for new games and those old games will be sold back to other people. There's nothing game developers can do to stop them, and companies like Gamestop continue to laugh all the way to the bank. In an article at Crispy Gamer, David Thomas dissects one of the most critical issues in gaming today: used games and merchants (online and brick-and-mortar) who specialize in this 'sleight of hand.'"

Comments

You're doing it wrong.

[girlintraining]

So let me get this straight -- you're trying to tell game developers they don't deserve the money they're lawfully entitled to? And your compelling argument is that you don't think it's worth that much? Never mind the topic, which tells them to "shut up", which is never a good way to start a debate. Here's a couple facts, my adorable little black hole of Clue: First, federal law says they can charge whatever they want, and they've got the rights to the work for the life of the developer plus a couple hundred years after that. Second, if they charged less, the games would suck badly enough that they'd no longer be worth even a slashdot post lamenting the lack of availability.

If you want to make a change here, fix the copyright laws, but don't tell game developers to "shut up", because they're the ones pulling doubles every day for months at a go, foregoing the comforts of a significant other, basic hygiene, and possibly their sanity--simply because that's what they love doing and don't mind being underpaid for it. Because it would be just your luck that they'd do exactly that, and then you'd be forced to do something other than masturbating to your level 80 elf huntress.