Nintendo President: Used Games Are Bad For Consumers

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo President: Used Games Are Bad For Consumers

Nintendo of America [http://www.nintendo.com] President Reggie Fils-Aime claims used games aren't in the "best interest" of consumers, saying no other form of entertainment has a "vibrant used goods market."

The pre-owned games trade is a big deal these days. Retailers tolerate it [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88867] as an unavoidable reality and gamers, by and large, seem to appreciate being able to use the value in their old games to help buy new ones and also the ability to try out unfamiliar titles without having to lay down the full price of a new release. But Fils-Aime has a different perspective entirely: He doesn't dislike used game sales because it's bad for Nintendo but because it's bad for the consumer.

"We don't believe used games are in the best interest of the consumer," he said in an interview with Personal Trainer Cooking [http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/31/nintendos-reggie-fils-aime-addresses-onlive-iphone-competition-and-used-games/] has a long life. We believe used games aren't in the consumer's best interest."

"Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market," he continued. "Used books have never taken off. You don't see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again."

I can't dig up any evidence at all that this is an April Fool's joke so I'm going to assume it's not and just ask the question outright: Reggie, what the hell are you talking about? There are countless used bookstores all across North America. Every movie rental joint in the country has a used section. I drive my used car to get to them. The pre-owned games market is such a dominant topic of conversation these days precisely because it is in the best interests of consumers, who are less concerned with your profit margins than they are with maximizing their entertainment dollar.

In his defense I will concede that typical 360 [http://www.wii.com] owner, a fact which has perhaps insulated Fils-Aime from the reality on the ground and given him a warped perception about what people do and do not expect to be able to do with things they consider "theirs." But denying the very existence of used markets?

His concern extends not just to consumers, however, but also to retailers who are looking at jumping into the used games trade. Breaking into the market and establishing a niche is tough to do, so apparently it's better to just not bother with it at all. "We just think it's a bad idea. The one retailer [http://www.gamestop.com] that has a substantial business in this has figured out a way that is effective for the consumer," he continued. "That's tough for other retailers experimenting with this, in part because their employees don't have the expertise in this market."

I almost hope it is an April Fool's joke.


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[Brotherofwill]

I can't dig up any evidence at all that this is an April Fool's joke so I'm going to assume it's not and just ask the question outright: Reggie, what the hell are you talking about?

Totally agree with you here. First I was thinking: Wait, there are quite a lot of used book stores and...I buy used music and..what the hell is he talking about?

Greedy little Nintendo people, doubt this is April 1st joke but it just might be.

 

[timb133]

"Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market," he continued. "Used books have never taken off. You don't see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again."

Some of my favourite books are second hand. If I could afford it, I would go after 1st editions. Also, furniture. Lots of people buy really old stuff. It's called antiques.

 

[roekenny]

looks like the piracy bandwagon grinding to a halt and the used game one is slowly picking up the pace. I very much doubt a joke as more and more of comments from high ups along similar lines. I see this getting very messy when more big developers had enough pitching the piracy campaign to follow suit and no doubt mix the two together then the fun really starts with lawsuits coming shortly after

 

[Bullfrog1983]

This has to be a joke. I've seen all kinds of used stores that he describes in my hometown and they do steady business every day.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Bullshit. Everyone loves antiquity in one form or another.

 

[Orekoya]

Heh, in Nashville here, and we have McKays [http://www.mckaybooks.com/] where you can get used books, cds, dvds, AND video games not to mention some other electronics. The place is so routinely packed that its roughly 30 degrees hotter inside than outside because of all the body heat. Also just finished trading in a buttload of old books and bought a replacement ps2, 7 pc games, 2 ds games, 1 ps2 game, 2 360 games, and a wii game; also some dvds(hehehe Feast [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_(film)]). Reggie must be on some good lsd.

 

[GothmogII]

Problem is, at some point in time buying used is the only way to get older games as publishers may literally just not publish them anymore. You'd be lucky if they deign to bring out a 'Classic' edition, or a collection as generally only the big guys seem to be able to do this. And while I can sympathise somewhat with regards to the selling of recent releases at cut-price because they're used as being bad for business. It's pretty foolish to think that it's a bad thing for the customer, barring of course damaged games, which while I can't attest to the commonness off, can only state that I have never gotten a broken game.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It depends on the game, stuff like final fantasy or pokemon where you need to spend 200 hours to be someone indeed are much too important to be just like that sold for 20 bucks or less...but if it's one more of those "meh" type next gen thingies that last for 20 hours at best and offer nothing but mediocrity...rending them is enough...so buying them and selling them back should be a delight to them.

 

[SmilingKitsune]

I just lost what little respect I had for this man.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

I know, right? All this extra money because i've never spent more then 50 Dollars for any 360 game I have is totally horrible for me! TAKE MY MONEY AWAY, NINTENDO!

 

[Nova Tendril]

Translation: Rar give Nintendo more money. Buy new copies of our games.

 

[MosDes]

I love thrift stores and pawn shops, I find things in those places that I would have never dreamed having, or at least never would pay full price for.

 

[GyroCaptain]

Such a very strange little man he is. Penny-Arcade have made fun of him for seasoning things he said with things that sounded crazy, but this is the pure uncut product at last.

 

[SykoSilver]

I don't think it's a joke, which is just sad. He doesn't even say HOW it's not in the best interest of customers. Because other entertainment mediums don't have used markets (which is false)? How does that have anything to do with what's best for consumers?

Or is it because consumers want "a brand new experience"? What kind of silly assumption is this?! If consumers wanted "a brand new experience" they wouldn't be buying used games! How about you work on reducing the price of your games-- which platforms like OnLive have the potential of doing-- instead of pulling shit out of your ass about consumers. It is so incredibly obvious that this is about money, not consumers.

 

[novokast]

i work in a store which is about half second-hand shit and i can tell yous, i'm not paying £39.99 for a new zelda twilight princess. nor am i gonna pay 29.99 for a second-hand twilight princess until they can prove it's bettr than zelda5. til then I'll make do with metroid, s.mario galaksy, and okami. all of which i picked up for under a tenner. SECOND-HAND!!! I am a die hard ninty fan, but i'm not gonna stand by this bullshit commenty arseness. not when i also got a copy of Gears for 360 for SIX POUNDS!!! consumers ARE happy with pre-owned. at least they are when i tell 'em: 'u can save a tenner on that garbage, cos someone just traded it in. yeah they said it was the shittest game they ever played. What? u still want it? at least u dont have to pay RRP for it. here's a second-hand one a tenner less!!!idiot!!!' why doesn't anyone listen? i've spent the last 6 months tellin everybody that Too Human isn't worth the £7.99 it is second-hand, here in the UK, but will they listen.....

 

[KDR_11k]

Yeah, I don't get how he was trying to sell that idea to us (then again he was misquoted on the 1 million sales thing so I wouldn't consider it impossible that the actual reasoning part got cut out of the article). I can see how GameStop is bad for the consumer with their giant difference between the buy and sell price but that doesn't extend to consumers in general, especially when they use services like eBay instead. He does seem to be talking more about retailers joining the used game business though, possibly resulting in stuff like Wal*Mart having used games. That would indeed be out of place.

I know, right? All this extra money because i've never spent more then 50 Dollars for any 360 game I have is totally horrible for me! TAKE MY MONEY AWAY, NINTENDO!

You paid 50 dollars for a used game??? I'd pay at most 50% of the new price for those. A price reduction of 20% or less isn't worth risking a faulty medium (so far I've bought two used games and one was faulty so the risk-reward equation would make it a bad idea anyway) over. Even if the reduction was just a third of the MSRP I could understand opting for the used purchase but at 5-10$ less on a 60$ game it just seems insane to go for the used option.

 

[Ray Huling]

He seems crazy, but he really places the blame squarely on developers, which is sane.

If you look at this quote: "The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again."

Or this: "We have products that consumers want to hold onto."

He seems to be arguing that there are no used game sales, because players keep their games. This would conflict with reality, as do his claims that used sales don't exist for other products.

But he also says this: "If you create the right type of experience, that also happens in video games."

'That' referring to "customers keeping the stuff they buy".

In the most convoluted way, he's arguing that if developers made better games, customers wouldn't sell them back.

 

[nova18]

"We don't believe used games are in the best interest of the consumer,"

My head hurts.
Surely consumers benefit most from used game sales.
A lot of my game collection is full of average games that I would never have considered had they not been second hand. I buy second hand books for the same reason.

If you want people to buy games at retail price over used, you obviously need to reconsider the price that you set for games. No sane person will choose a working game for £40 over a working game that someone has already used for £20.

The only games I buy full price now are the ones that I buy at release, because they tend to take too long to drift down onto the used shelves.