Used games seem to have become some sort of battleground between publishers, retailers and consumers. The people who make and distribute the game want their share, which seems fair enough on the face of it. Consumers want to be able to make some money back after they've finished with the game, usually to buy another game, which also seems fair. Retailers see this and provide a service people clearly want. Not in a way that seems at all fair, but there you are.
But, something else is happening in the video game retailing business. As more people are getting online and getting faster downloads speeds, more people are turning to digital distribution. It's certainly more convenient and often cheaper, but it kills used games.
Here's my plan. You buy a game, you finish a game, you sell your game back in exchange for some sort of tokens. These tokens are equal to an amount of money that you get taken off your future purchases.
So, let's break this down with an example. You buy Arkham City for £40. You beat it, sell it back to the distributor for, let's say, £20 worth of tokens. Then, you can buy Skyrim for £20 + your tokens.
The gamer benefits because they're getting £80 worth of gaming goodness for £60.
The developers benefit because they're still selling a new copy. They're still making the cash.
The distributor benefits because they're giving away these tokens instead of money. It's like store credit. It encourages people to come back and buy more games from this place.
I mean, I don't work in finance or anything, but I've had this idea for a while now and I can't see any real problems with it.
What do you guys reckon?
But, something else is happening in the video game retailing business. As more people are getting online and getting faster downloads speeds, more people are turning to digital distribution. It's certainly more convenient and often cheaper, but it kills used games.
Here's my plan. You buy a game, you finish a game, you sell your game back in exchange for some sort of tokens. These tokens are equal to an amount of money that you get taken off your future purchases.
So, let's break this down with an example. You buy Arkham City for £40. You beat it, sell it back to the distributor for, let's say, £20 worth of tokens. Then, you can buy Skyrim for £20 + your tokens.
The gamer benefits because they're getting £80 worth of gaming goodness for £60.
The developers benefit because they're still selling a new copy. They're still making the cash.
The distributor benefits because they're giving away these tokens instead of money. It's like store credit. It encourages people to come back and buy more games from this place.
I mean, I don't work in finance or anything, but I've had this idea for a while now and I can't see any real problems with it.
What do you guys reckon?