Used Game Sales "Killing" Single Player Titles

[Greg Tito]

Used Game Sales "Killing" Single Player Titles

New game prices would have dropped long ago if publishers got a piece of the re-purchase.

It seems like a simple transaction. You buy a game for 60 bucks (or however much it is in your region) and you own the physical copy of that game. You have the right to sell that property in whatever way you see fit, usually back to the store you bought the game which then has the right to resell it. The whole process is completely legal. The problem is that, for many publishers of games, that second or third or fourth sale doesn't add up to more revenue for the title and because of that lost money, some game developers can't get their game published because the audience is more inclined to buy it used. According to David Braben - a veteran game developer since he made the space trading sim Elite in the 80s - the used-game market has stopped the publishing of some narrative games without a multiplayer component because they simply don't make enough money.

"Pre-owned has really killed core games. In some cases, it's killed them dead. I know publishers who have stopped games in development because most shops won't reorder stock after initial release, because they rely on the churn from the resales," said Braben. "It's killing single player games in particular, because they will get preowned, and it means your day one sales are it, making them super high risk."

Braben said that having a game sell out the first day is not a good thing anymore. "The idea of a game selling out used to be a good thing, but nowadays, those people who buy it on day one may well finish it and return it," he said. "People will say 'Oh well, I paid all this money and it's mine to do with as I will', but the problem is that's what's keeping the retail price up.

"Prices would have come down long ago if the industry was getting a share of the resells," Braben stated.

The situation is a tough one, with no clear solution. I don't think game publishers have any legal recourse to try to get a cut of the profits from used games. We, as a society, would have to fundamentally shift the way we think about property rights and possession in order for publishers to ask for a kickback from GameStop. Imagine if book publishers began demanded every yard sale or book swap demanded $1 be sent back to them for every copy of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sold. I can see the looks on the old ladies' faces now. Horror.

On the other side of the counter, the kind of games you want to play are no longer thought as viable options for publishers and therefore might not get created at all. That's not really an option either.

I suppose the only Kickstarter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116339-Wasteland-2-Kickstarter-Breaks-1-Million].

Source: Gamasutra [http://gamasutra.com/view/feature/135104/the_future_of_games_with_david_.php]

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[Roserari]

Protip: Don't sell games at sixty bucks, then.

 

[Worgen]

Ironically its the high price of games that make for such a large used game market.

Well that an the complete absence of much beyond the game disk at this point, there simply isn't much value beyond the game at this point and since we all have hard drives that keep our saves, the value of the games is less and less.

 

[Bobic]

Add digital distribution to new range of consoles. No ability to resell. Laugh Manically. (hey, it worked for PC, along with online registry and other douchey tactics that pretty much killed the used PC game market.).

 

[VonKlaw]

Sure. And the price of new cars would have dropped if they got a slice of resale.

Oh wait, it wouldn't. Because shareholders would just consider it extra profit.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

or they could just develop for PC, and put it on Steam, have a huge customer base and sell their game for years down the line, not having to worry about used sales

fix for consoles - put Steam (or something like it) with a full library on consoles with good games that work for a reasonable price

not sure if the current online distribution platforms for consoles carry enough games, perhaps offering an alternative to retail purchase is the answer - buy physical copy for 60 bucks, digital for 50, or 45.

 

[DonTsetsi]

And why do PC games cost 60 Euros now? There is no resale market on them.

 

[Absolutionis]

And why do PC games cost 60 Euros now? There is no resale market on them.

That is pure greed especially considering publishers pay ~$10 royalties for publishing every console game. Notice that the only companies that are doing $60 games are EA/Bioware, Blizzard/Activision, Ubisoft, and "Horse Armor" Bethesda.

 

[scotth266]

In before someone denounces this as some greedy fascist corporate statement bluh bluh industry bad bluh bluh consumers are always right bluh.

EDIT: Never mind. Got ninja'd on that one.

While single-player only games are far from dead (Alan Wake for instance), he is probably right that they tend to make up more of the pre-owned market. You're more likely to give a game up if there's nothing to do once the story is done, especially if it's one you don't feel like experiencing again. People may complain about tacked-on multiplayer modes, but in the end, those same multiplayer modes are probably a calculated decision made to try and retain as many consumers as possible.

The whole thing regarding book swaps and yard sales isn't really analogous. From my limited knowledge, movies make their money on the silver screen (mostly) and from DVD sales (a only a little bit) from the fans who want home copies, so they're not really affected all that much by their rental industry. Books in the meantime seem to be doing better than ever, especially with the advent of e-publishing, and book publishers don't really have to compete with a "used book" market. The only thing vaguely similar are libraries, but those function in such a different way that the situation really isn't comparable. And (from what I've observed), book lovers tend to retain their products, even if they don't really care for them so much.

Because videogames make the bulk of their money in the first two weeks of sales, used game retailers have much more of an impact on the industry than their proponents are willing to let on. It's as if theater movies had to compete with their own rented DVDs. Would it kill the industry? Probably not, but it would have a measurable impact on the way movies were to be produced.

 

[Paragon Fury]

At the very least, letting publishers and developers have a slice of the used market would substantially cut down on the incentive for things like Project Ten Dollar and Online Passes, etc., which would be a win for all customers.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

"Prices would have come down long ago if the industry was getting a share of the resells,"

Are we just supposed to believe this? Because he is a veteran developer.

 

[SachielOne]

Kickstarter only works when there is a beloved name or franchise involved. I'm sure Kickstarter is littered with dozens of games that didn't get enough interest to be funded.

 

[GiantRaven]

There is a big difference is size and scope between Gamestop and a yard sale. The two can't really be compared.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Sure. And the price of new cars would have dropped if they got a slice of resale.

Oh wait, it wouldn't. Because shareholders would just consider it extra profit.

An agreeable statement. Besides, resolve the resale and they'll just shift back to piracy for things continuing as they are.

Nothing would change, they're just blowing smoke.

Are we just supposed to believe this? Because he is a veteran developer.

Well, he did presumably come from an area where the Metacritic score was not a prime determinant on whether a studio got paid.

 

[demalo]

Stop making shit games that cost $60 that people wont buy once all those that can afford the $60 say the game is shit and sell it back to the game stores. I know, start punishing the fan base like the MPAA and the RIAA. MPAA has started stifling rental companies like NetFlix and RedBox and the RIAA has been out for blood on file sharing and streaming sites for years now. If the product is good, people will buy it. The snake oil salesmen are calling foul, well too late, we've already called foul on you! Next thing you know we'll be owning $5 Billion game systems, http://www.ted.com/talks/rob_reid_the_8_billion_ipod.html.

 

[Baresark]

I'm calling bullshit. If you want to blame things on game resale, that if fine. That dog has been beaten to death. We all know that publishers want all the money from games. There is no secret there.

The thing I'm calling bullshit on is the fact that they say game prices would have dropped if not for those used game sales. That is just a big fat lie. There is no line of reasoning that should/could arrive anyone at that conclusion. It's just a new angle of attack on used games. That is fine, as I said. We all know the EA's, Activision's, and Ubisofts of the world hate used game sales.

The thing that I find most annoying is the outright attack on stores this causes. If not for those stores (who have been selling used games since the NES days) there would not be a game industry as we know it today. Couple that with the fact there are many large retailers that do not sell used games (such as Walmart). Triple-A title only exist because of stores like Gamestop. If not for them, video games would still largely be a niche part of the market, and not the king of the entertainment industry. Like it or not, without those big evil game retailers, we wouldn't even be having a conversation about videogames.

Edit: It all has to do with loss aversion. The publishers get money for their games, so they take any money they don't get that they feel they deserve as loss, which is not explicitly true. It's easier to trade in used games because people who think of things like "traders" think of things, do not experience the loss aversion (that is why getting less for a game than what you payed is ok). They also largely ignore bringing up the sales of the Walmart's of the world because the there is a greater emotional reaction to loss than there is to gains. To illustrate on a scale that is easy: Imagine you have no money. Someone gives you $10, you are happy about it. We'll say that increases your overall utility by 10 points (to keep it simple). Now, imagine if someone then steals that $10. While it seems like you simply lost 10 points of utility and you are simply back to where you started, you have an emotional reaction to that which makes it seem like you are put into a negative utility position. So, now instead of having 0 points of utility, you have -5 points of utility. While it's not true, the reaction is much worse at the loss than it is at the gain.

 

[Arec Balrin]

Being able to re-sell a purchased title could in many cases be an incentive for an initial purchase in the first place. His argument is invalid.

 

[Tiger Sora]

Seriously digital distribution would end all this. The vast majority of gamers who own the newest gen console are probably gona have an internet connection. And those with one or their parents are gona have a credit card.
But no they continue to make physical copies of games.
Nobodies gona lose their job really in NA, just abunch of Chines workers are.

Just do it and quit bitching.

 

[VonKlaw]

Sure. And the price of new cars would have dropped if they got a slice of resale.

Oh wait, it wouldn't. Because shareholders would just consider it extra profit.

An agreeable statement. Besides, resolve the resale and they'll just shift back to piracy for things continuing as they are.

Nothing would change, they're just blowing smoke.

And if they couldn't blame piracy, they'd say its because of development costs.

I really wish people would just accept these game publishers are out to make as much money as possible, and will use any strawman they can in an attempt to "hide" it (not that it should really need hiding, but then who else would give all these PR guys jobs?)