56% of American Gamers Don't Buy Games

Hevva

Shipwrecked, comatose, newsie
Aug 2, 2011
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56% of American Gamers Don't Buy Games



A new market study has indicated that "swapsies" is the most popular game of 2011.

Although game-sharing isn't a novel concept in any sense, new research conducted by games market research firm Newzoo [http://www.newzoo.com] has shown that games are now more likely to be shared amongst friends and family than to stay with the original user. Consequently, according to Newzoo's report, more than half of the 82 million gamers in the United States don't actually have to spend money on games. Out of all customers who buy games for PC, Mac or Console, 85% say they regularly purchase pre-owned titles.

For a quarter of game-buyers, almost half of their budget goes towards pre-owned titles. In total, the report says, the average American gamer spends 23% of their gaming budget buying pre-owned.

The report then expands on the ballooning DLC market, which is expected to become worth $960 million in US sales alone this year. In total, 12% of the money spent on games in the US goes towards DLC, and Newzoo estimates that American and European gamers combined will spend $1.7 billion on DLC in 2011.

Taken as a whole, this information reads as a primer on why big publishers have developed such a fondness for DLC and online passes in recent years. AAA titles are expensive and it often makes sense for regular gamers to either wait for a new copy to appear in the pre-owned section or just borrow it from a friend - but doing that cuts out any profit for the developers and publishers, unless they add on DLC or see a major boost in early sequel sales. Though many gamers are irritated by "day-one" DLC and the concept of online passes, it's hard to see how publishers can avoid these methods without seeing a marked decrease in their profits.


Source: GameSpot [http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6343451/56-of-console-gamers-dont-pay-for-games-study]







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Yopaz

Sarcastic overlord
Jun 3, 2009
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And yet people will come here and say that used sales don't cause the publisher any reason to worry...
 

Normandyfoxtrot

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Feb 17, 2011
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The thing that always bugs me is people complaining that they don't make enough new IP's but then won't buy new IP games new, they rent them or buy them used.
 

shogunblade

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Apr 13, 2009
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I can actually understand this quite well. Of the millions of people I meet on Playstation Home, many seem like they own the system just for Blu-Ray support, and surfing Playstation Home.

So believe it or not, it makes sense to me.

I'm, happily, not one of those 56%, but it's still interesting to me.
 

ChildofGallifrey

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May 26, 2008
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I generally only buy pre-owned if the game is A) Something I'm not extremely interested in that is significantly cheaper, or B) Something that's out of print (mainly PS1/2 games). Other than that, I have bought 7 games this year so far, all of them new (though I suppose a new copy of Yakuza 3 doesn't count for much in the dev's eyes anymore).
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Hevva said:
Though many gamers are irritated by "day-one" DLC and the concept of online passes, it's hard to see how publishers can avoid these methods without seeing a marked decrease in their profits.
But according to an article posted here on the escapist a couple of weeks ago, these online passes haven't exactly caused a marked increase in their profits either.
I'm curious as to how these figures match up with the same statistics from last gen.

I personally think that the attraction of online passes for companies like EA and Sony is the fact that there are much fewer ps3&360 owners this gen than there were ps2 & xbox owners last gen. Many ps2 owners from last gen didn't get a ps3 or 360. Many of them got Wiis but we don't see these "online pass" games like Battlefield 3 on the wii.

Rather than blaming the consumers for everything maybe it would be more profitable to see why people didn't move on to the current generation: why they have a smaller base to sell these games to.
 

Candidus

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Dec 17, 2009
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I never buy used except when a game is out of print. I never pirate, and won't associate with anybody who does. There's nothing more I can do.

OP's statistics are saddening.
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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So... about 7% of gamers consistently buy new?

..............................................

I don't really have words.
 

Loonerinoes

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Apr 9, 2009
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Yopaz said:
And yet people will come here and say that used sales don't cause the publisher any reason to worry...
Of course they don't! After all, used sales are *legitimate* ways in which the developers/publishers don't get money, whereas piracy is bad because it's *illegitimate*. What matters is the principle of the thing, not the, ya know, actual effect being virtually the same damn thing in the end.

/end sarcasm
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Hey, publishers, if SO MANY PEOPLE aren't buying new, and one of the big reasons is price, perhaps it'd be a good idea to reduce your fucking prices already. You know, like what any other business would do.

Especially you EA, who said that the $60 price was a problem way back in 200-fucking-7, and still have done NOTHING to remedy this despite now having your own store where you can charge whatever you want.

Publishers are so quick to blame so many things for the loss of money, but I would bet that their own broken-ass business model is the biggest reason.

Valve has proven [http://www.geekwire.com/2011/experiments-video-game-economics-valves-gabe-newell] that the less you charge, the more you make. Perhaps you should try that.

Normandyfoxtrot said:
The thing that always bugs me is people complaining that they don't make enough new IP's but then won't buy new IP games new, they rent them or buy them used.
Well when the publisher doesn't market them, charges $60, and releases the at the same time as the next big Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed, Halo, Battlefield, Elder Scrolls, and/or Fallout game, can you really blame them for not wanting to risk their money on it?

Would you risk $60 on a game you've never heard of, when instead of it you can buy the sequel to a series you already know you love?
 

blizzaradragon

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Mar 15, 2010
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This statistic makes me a sad panda. With numbers like that, it's hard to say that used games aren't causing any trouble to publishers. I'm happy to say I'm in the percentage that buys games new(unless it's either impossible to find new or ridiculously overpriced).

Hopefully having these numbers published will cause some gamers to reevaluate their purchasing habits.
 

Terramax

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Jan 11, 2008
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Maybe swapsies wouldn't be so popular if games were so fun that we didn't want to part with them so quickly?
 

Mallefunction

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Feb 17, 2011
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Of course people share them. People also share DVDs, books, and other media without making a second purchase. So what's the big deal?

I bought most of my games used (but those games are also at least 7 years old and it's impossible to find an inexpensive new copy without going to ebay), but when I buy new games, I wait about 8 months and get the new copy from Walmart. They tend to be like 20-30 bucks at that point. Still a brand new copy, just a hell of a lot cheaper XD Problem solved.

However, I did preorder Revelations. I'm a total sucker for that series.
 

EHKOS

Madness to my Methods
Feb 28, 2010
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Yeah...but...what about books, and movies. They don't whine like this. Or at least as much. I'm really sick of the whole subject.