GameStop Wants to Sell Used Digital Games

[Sarah LeBoeuf]

GameStop Wants to Sell Used Digital Games

The world's largest gaming retailer is researching "technologies" to create a secondhand digital market.

Love it or hate it, GameStop is a massive retailer in the gaming industry. The fact that the chain makes most of its money on used games hasn't made publishers too happy, and many of them have gone through lengths to discourage used sales of their games, like instituting Online Passes or focusing on the digital market. However, even digital games may not be safe for long; the retailer is looking at ways to incorporate used digital sales into its business.

According to GameStop CEO Paul Raines, the retailer is considering "some technologies out there in Europe" that would allow them to create a used games market. Raines didn't elaborate on what these "technologies" were, but noted that "a few companies, a few startups" were already using them. This isn't the first time GameStop has ventured into digital game sales; the retailer recently partnered with Valve [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117243-GameStop-Joins-With-Valve-For-Retail-Digital] to sell Steam Wallet codes in stores.

Raines said that the company was not seeing used digital sales as a "meaningful business" just yet, so don't expect to walk into GameStop tomorrow and trade in your XBLA games for some cash. As digital games become a bigger part of the industry, it's not surprising that GameStop would try to expand their business to keep up. Considering that the retailer is already seen as a villain by publishers, developers, and even some gamers, this news is sure to ruffle a few feathers.

Source: Destructoid [http://au.gamespot.com/news/gamestop-looking-into-reselling-digital-content-6388559]

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[robert01]

This will only work it Europe. Until the American legal system says that it is ok and allowed to sell your digital copies of games it will never happen. Hopefully GameStop spends all their money on this and they go bankrupt.

 

[PureIrony]

What?

But...how would you...what would make it...why would you...what would be the point of...

What?!

 

[Fappy]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

 

[dangoball]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

Now that is an interesting point. So are they going to charge near to full price for used digital? Now where would be the logic in that, lets just wait for official sale. So are they going to charge fraction of original price? Now where did it loose it's value?

 

[the doom cannon]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

It doesn't. Which is why, as said in the first reply, gamestop should spend all their money on this and go bankrupt. I guess maybe you could get corrupted files through data transfer, in which case your game would be unplayable. Gamestop would then have to also support massive storage servers too. Since they're such money grubbers I doubt they will keep researching once they figure that out.

 

[Falterfire]

Yeah, I'm in the 'what?' camp. With a physical game I might spring for the new version because I know it will be in top quality with no modifications. With digital games? What possible wear and tear is there? Why would there be any reason to ever buy a 'new' digital game if a 'used' digital game exists? If the 'used' version is cheaper, why would you buy anything else?

And then I remember that Gamestop gets 100% of used game sale. So all they need to do is get this passed and then stop giving any of the retailers any money ever for digital sales. That sounds like a pretty good deal for them.

 

[gardian06]

the only absolute issue with this is proof of sale. short trip to follow: I purchase a game through say Good Old Games, and then I don't want it anymore, and then I wish to sell it to Game Stop. they pay me money, but wait a minute I can still have a copy on my computer, and essentially I didn't sell anything, but the right for Game Stop to sell a copy of the game.

then we also have the problem of setting up a pricing system for used digital games. technically there is no depreciation in value that comes from opening the box, or using the validation code that came in the case, so essentially there should be no difference in price to purchase (granted the reduced value for the store to buy is not that difficult to still understand) a new, or used digital game.

then we also have the consideration of the absolute model When Game Stop buys a copy of a game from the distributor they pay an amount of money to get a disk/case/box what not, and then they sell that copy, and they have one less copy in inventory. Then the other half being when a person sells them a copy of the game they pay an amount of money to get that physical thing, and they can then sell it, and still be one less physical thing. in the digital world it doesn't work like that when steam sells you a game they give you an installer (which they can give out an infinite amount of hence unlimited installs), and so Steam has an infinite amount of digital copies that they can sell, and realistically steam could get away with giving most every AAA title they carry for free, and just share add revenue, and they are still in real good numbers. So Game Stop buys your digital game from you. ok what have they purchased, and now how many times can they sell that installer that you just gave them. without proper oversight that's not piracy that's worse that's copyright infringement.

 

[Corven]

Well greenmangaming.com is still around and they allow you to sell back your digital purchases, so... I guess it could work.

 

[Sushewakka]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

You get the product another person owned before. It's that simple.

 

[Fappy]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

You get the license another person owned before. It's simple.

How is it worth less than a new license though? When and why would it lose value?

 

[Anti-American Eagle]

This is nearing the land of insanity, gamestop please stop, this makes no sense

 

[draythefingerless]

no... no no no no no. this used sales BS is half the reason the games cost so damn much. i mean, why you think pc games are like a 2 3rds of the price of their console counterparts?

fuck right off gamestop. not to mention you would probably go to court for cheating at fair market. youre taking a product, the EXACT SAME PRODUCT, THAT YOU DID NOT MAKE, and selling it cheaper. no. used games have the fact that they wear out, the value of it wears out, its physically provable, and physically passable from one user to the other, so youre allowed to resell them on that basis. what youre gonna do, is take cd keys and sell them half price, with none of the spending put into making that game, and cheat your way to fortune. you know there are people criminally charged nowadays for selling cd keys right? fuck right off, you leeches.

 

[Sushewakka]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

You get the license another person owned before. It's simple.

How is it worth less than a new license though? When and why would it lose value?

Time. It was not available at release, nor for a given period after.
As the saying goes: "Time is money, friend!"

 

[Epona]

This will only work it Europe. Until the American legal system says that it is ok and allowed to sell your digital copies of games it will never happen. Hopefully GameStop spends all their money on this and they go bankrupt.

What kind of anti-consumer BS are you spewing? It isn't illegal to sell used digital games here in the US. Your statement is wrong.

Until the US legal system rules it illegal to resale digital games, it's legal. Just as it's legal for you to type anti-consumer BS because there is no ruling against it.

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

With digital games, the new buyer never had the manual or the case in the first place so all that really matters is the game itself and Gamestop guarantees that the disc will work fine. I don't see any difference.

 

[Fappy]

The weird thing about 2nd-hand digital copies is that, well... what sets them apart from 1st-hand digital copies? When buying a physical game used the buyer understands that it has been used before and may come with issues due to that fact (scratched disk, missing instruction booklet, standard wear and tear, etc.). How does this translate into the digital market?

You get the license another person owned before. It's simple.

How is it worth less than a new license though? When and why would it lose value?

Time. It was not available at release, nor for a given period after.
As the saying goes: "Time is money, friend!"

But wouldn't that imply new licenses of the game would also lose the same amount of value? Why does it matter if the license was pre-owned if you are getting it in the same time frame?

 

[Sushewakka]

This will only work it Europe. Until the American legal system says that it is ok and allowed to sell your digital copies of games it will never happen. Hopefully GameStop spends all their money on this and they go bankrupt.

What kind of anti-consumer BS are you spewing? It isn't illegal to sell used digital games here in the US. Your statement is wrong.

Until the US legal system rules it illegal to resale digital games, it's legal. Just as it's legal for you type anti-consumer BS because there is no ruling against it.

For some unkown reason, the USA allows EULA to override basic consumer rights, which is what the UE ruling prevents them from doing. Basically, in the UE, the EULA is non-binding, because once money exchanged hands, it's a sale, and you can't force a contract on the buyer afterwards (which is what the EULA does, and therefore lacks validity under UE laws). The USA allows this override, however. Unless I'm misinformed.

But wouldn't that imply new licenses of the game would also lose the same amount of value? Why does it matter if the license was pre-owned if you are getting it in the same time frame?

But original licenses were available earlier. That's the difference. That they're both available after a point does not cancel the fact that one was available earlier.