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What Happens To Your Used Games?

silentbrad writes "GameStop's bosses are obviously tired of hearing about how used games are killing gaming, about how unfair they are on the producers of the games who get nothing from their resale. One astonishing stat is repeated by three different managers during presentations. 70 percent of income consumers make from trading games goes straight back into buying brand new games. GameStop argues that used games are an essential currency in supporting the games business. The normal behavior is for guys to come into stores with their plastic bags full of old games, and trade them so that they can buy the new Call of Duty, Madden, Gears of War. GameStop says 17 percent of its sales are paid in trade credits. The implication is clear — if the games industry lost 17 percent of its sales tomorrow, that would be a bad day for the publishers and developers.'"

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  1. Re:Absolutely! Down with 'used' products! by Cute+Fuzzy+Bunny · · Score: 5, Informative

    And the point OP was making is that used goods are bad for manufacturers in any market. And it still stands. So...congratulations on your pedantry?

    The funny part is, this is completely wrong. A used market serves the customers who can't afford new, and is an entry point for a customer to become a new product purchaser. It very rarely harms the manufacturer as the used market 'customer' would rarely be a new product customer due to the price points. In fact, the manufacturer often benefits from the used market in terms of spare parts, add-ons and so forth.