GameStop Says Gamers Won't Buy Consoles Without Used Games

[Eclipse Dragon]

I don't mind if the games are used or new, I just want to see the prices moving. If a console does block used games, I'd better see an eventual decrease in price of new (old) games, and some way to prevent price gouging.

If the price of the games doesn't go down, I won't be buying that console. That will probably also be the day I purchase a higher end PC, or quit playing games all together.

 

[Fappy]

60% sounds way too high, but they are fundamentally correct. Consoles will loose a HUGE market share if they don't support used games. Piracy will likely go up too.

 

[Genocidicles]

I certainly wouldn't buy a console that didn't support used games.

If there wasn't any consoles that did I'd just go over to PC, where although I'm forced to buy games new I can get them at a much lower price.

 

[Zombie_Moogle]

So guys, how many of you would refuse to buy a console that didn't play used games?

To be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn't.

I wouldn't either, I'm painstakingly picky when I'm buying a game and usually I buy brand new games, I only buy used games when I can't find brand new stuff, or if I'm not so sure about the game and the used version way cheaper...
It would be a dream come true, for me, if every game was made available digitally as soon as the physical reaches retail.
Last but not least, I would really enjoy backwards compatibility, but let's be honest, all consoles right now "have" it, but it doesn't work properly, so yeah, I'd like to have it but i haven't used it, so to hell with it as well.
Basically, if I like the console I'll buy it.

Wait...oh damn it I fucked it up, I mean I wouldn't buy the console if I couldn't play used games on it.

Too late now you're gonna have to change your mind in order to comply with what you wrote before and agree with ME lol

There's another factor that doesn't seem to get much attention: A lot of people who do buy games on the day of release do so with the intention of trading it in shortly thereafter. I've done this myself on a few occasions (no desire to hang on to Dead Island). If you didn't enjoy a game, aren't going to play it again, or just need the cash, trades-ins are a convenient way to save money. If that avenue of savings is eliminated, many gamers are going to be a lot more judicious with their game purchases (this would be true of a large number of gamers I know personally).

 

[Charli]

I have one it's called my PC.

I play it more than any other of my 'consoles'. Funny that.

 

[Jesse Billingsley]

So guys, how many of you would refuse to buy a console that didn't play used games?

If I don't have a physical copy, used or not, and if the console requires CONSTANT internet access in order to turn the damn thing on, I might as well just give up gaming all together.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Self serving for Gamestop, but frankly I think they're right. I'm sure not going to pay 60 quid for whats offered, unless whats offered changes substantially. Every form of digital media has always cried out against the second hand market, even though time and again it's shown to be good both for the market and for the consumer. Bands used to protest the sale of records for gods sakes.

 

[Dahni]

I made the move to PC a while ago but reading this has told me I am definitely not gonna go back to consoles. Most of my games were bought used for my Xbox because I'm on a very, very tight budget. This is the same reason why I rarely buy games on Steam outside of sales. As much as I would like to play games on release day, I rarely do. I'd rather wait for people to start trading them in and buy them at a lower price.

There's also the fact that this would then stop people being able to trade in their games once they're well and truly finished with them. While I do understand that from a business perspective, used games are painful but it's somewhat unfair.

Plus, console games are priced higher than PC anyway, plus there's the fact that PC drops faster (Steam sales). If I'm gonna be restricted by my platform to only being able to buy games "new", I think I'll go for the one that makes "new" a much cheaper and more viable option for me...

 

[The_Echo]

I buy new copies exclusively. It doesn't feel right in my heart of hearts to own a game that once belonged to someone else.

So I would buy a console that didn't allow used games.

 

[DuelLadyS]

I have zero interest in a console that won't play used games. I do a lot of lending to my friends, and the idea that I couldn't let them give my copy a go to see if they want to pay for the game is very unappealing.

Also, I'm very much into retro gaming- I just got a "new" Atari 2600, for example- so being able to buy secondhand games years after the system has become obsolete. Banning used games puts a distinct 'shelf life' on the system. I'm just not OK with it.

I can't imagine risking my cash on a product that may or may not be even viable. I dunno I just don't get the used game market love that console gamers have. I can understand wanting to trade/borrow games with friends but I can't understand wanting to buy used games it just seems like a big risk.

Fair enough. I've bought enough used games that it's just kind of instinct to tell if a game is in good shape, needs to be cleaned/reapaired, or should probably be ingored. I've only encountered 2 games since the PS1 era that couldn't be restored to full working order- and one of those was brand new when I bought it.

Basically, it's not really that risky if you keep some scratch-fixer around, and the more you do it the easier it is.

 

[Musette]

I'm really not crazy about not being able to buy used games, especially once original copies go out of print. There are some people that are pretty into game rentals, and I don't think that would be possible with the rumored model. Also, how would the handle blocking used games? Would the game be permanently tied to the one console you own or your one PSN/Live account? How would that work if you wanted to bring a game to a friend's house? I don't really see a way of successfully blocking used games without severely limiting what the consumer can do with the product. I feel like even if I bought a console that blocked used games, I wouldn't be able to build a game library at all with my way of purchasing games late, and the restrictions definitely don't seem like they would be worth it for me.

 

[MikeWehner]

Totally hypothetical, but what would you folks think about this: Consoles without used game support (it would be tied to your console and/or your gamer profile) but new games cost $40 on launch. Thoughts?

 

[LordMonty]

Like GAME in the UK the removal of preowned from the market will destroy whats left of highstreet game retailers. But the point Gamestop makes has some sound logic behind it, consider people's spending on games within a month is off set by trading in old games take that out of the market and you loose a % on new sales, how much? I don't know but surely thats something.

On the note of will people buy the new consoles without pre-owned? some will, i know a few people who never trade in. But on the other hand it will alienate those who religiously trade in and buy a lot of pre-owned as they may not want to trust new released by say demos(e.g alien cloinal marines) or see crappy reviews and not want to waste £40/$60 on it at full price but may want to try it out(and maybe enjoy and buy online passes/dlc). Its a wide bredth of risk for everyone to go fully digital.

Final note is we still use real cash/coin in the world due to a distrust of total digital(although without a gold standard its as good as nothing) same goes for games. The big componies best tred crafully or otherwise loose a lot as people stick with those who offer hard copies of games. Or a wild idea of people maybe just going over to pc with steam(or the like) as they know there games from there will almost always work on any pc they get and not just vanish into the aether when a new console is released and they shut down the update/download servers.

 

[mattttherman3]

No used games? Why even have a disk? Fine, sell them at 30 bucks brand new on launch day. Otherwise, where is the resale value? You buy it and it's suddenly only worth sentimental value. If they block used games, I will have to switch to PC gaming. I don't want to do that. I like to lay down when I play Not to mention this would probably kill the privately owned rental store around the corner... Also, what happens if I get in a bind financially? I won't be able to sell them to ANYONE

IMO there is also no cause for digital games to be full retail price either, no disk, no paper, no box, no distribution cost.

 

[Do4600]

Basically, if they want to block used game sales, they'll most likely get away with it. Sucks.

It really comes down to the retailers who sell used games though. It would be a bad decision for them to support the sale of consoles that don't allow used games, it would benefit them to support consoles that do. Even if they did support a console that denies used games they would have to find another way to recoup sales, like increasing the price of games, they probably wouldn't be able to do that because of the retailers who sell only new games. Using this technology is probably going to destroy those game stores, which means less saturation for their products and I think that would mean fewer sales overall.

 

[Do4600]

Piracy will likely go up too.

Almost certainly, it's impossible to make a device that's hack proof. If they're selling games that are like PC games(you can't resell them) they should expect to see about the same rate of piracy.

 

[FalloutJack]

Snip

My experience is that a business practice of inspecting the quality OF used games has developed quite nicely, because who wants a bunch of complaining customers that there's a big scratch on a disc that they know could foul up gameplay?

Incidentally, I should go into a semi-rant about something regarding Gamestop. I tend to see alot of people up in arms against them with their poor experiences at their shops, experiences which I've yet have. I'm not calling out people for being unsatisfied, but could we blame the right people? It's the fault of individual employees that your local store is shitty, not the company itself. Gamestop isn't that bad, and I've yet to be mad at them for shit.

 

[rofltehcat]

I wouldn't buy one either, I think... oh wait, I also don't have any of the current gen consoles because I simply don't need one!

Also, German/EU legislation would probably tear them a new one.

 

[D Moness]

So guys, how many of you would refuse to buy a console that didn't play used games?

me, I had to turn to used games a few times due to the fact the games were not made anymore and it was for this generation consoles