Jimquisition: Used Games Have A Right To Exist

MeTheMe

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You make a point, and I agree that used game sales aren't quite as bad as Developers want to make them out to be, they're not exactly great for the Developers, but they're not that bad. It seems to me that this is coming down to the Developers looking for someone to blame for bad game sales. They want a scapegoat to blame so they can create some unfair rules in their favor in 'self defense'. Look at the company's who're complaining the most and the loudest about used games sales etc, and then look at who's running them. Kotick in particular is grating on my nerves, and needs to get over himself, in my opinion.
 

Baresark

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alinos said:
I;m only against Used games, When they are sold through the same retail store that sells the real thing.

If you want to buy used games it should be through craigslist,Ebay, or a cashconverters(not sure of the american equivilant(or if there is one))
The downside to your argument is that it's also not uncommon for games to be traded in to purchase new games. Only selling them on your own won't guarantee you the money you need to buy a game and not in time for you to purchase it with your friends. I am glad Gamestop no longer has an outlet for just used games. The credit could be used for either store, but it was more of a hassle to trade them in at one store, the go to the other to buy a game. Also, having gamestop sell used games simply makes access to them easier for everyone. The more places games are available the easier it as a consumer to find them.

Still Life said:
What I would really like to see in terms of distribution models, is one where developers launch their titles from their own server network. I believe Frictional did this with Amnesia, by having the game downloadable from their main site. It was also on Steam, but I think it highlights quite a bit more flexibility than traditional publishing models.
This model is fine, but limiting distribution to only the developers website is a sure fire way to not let your game reach a lot of people and not make a lot of money. There was a little jewel of a game released this way that I'm quite sure almost no one has heard of, it's called Gemini Rue. A great game, but you can only guy it through the dev companies website. They would lose a percentage through Steam, but would more than likely have made so much more money off of it.
 

chstens

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This reminds me a bit of the old studio system in Hollywood early in the last century. Also, filmstudios and labels don't get to complain about movies and music being resold, why the fuck should game studios?
 

CoL0sS

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Well banning used games would be a great blow to me, robbing me of an opportunity to play many titles. I buy most of my console games used, since they're (a lot) cheaper, even with delivery costs and occasional unexpected postage rip-off. Also if I buy a new game here, and it turns out to be faulty (or shitty) I can't return it, so it's $100 down the drain. I can't trade it in, cause there are no retail shops that accept/sell used games. Not to mention that some titles never actually see the light of day here. My only option is to buy used games from sites like game.co.uk or ebay (in this case with the added benefit of large delivery costs). So fuck you publishers. I'll gladly "rip you off" until I find desirable alternative.
 

Catchy Slogan

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Soviet Heavy said:
Catchy Slogan said:
shrekfan246 said:
Soviet Heavy said:
Thanks for the info. Too bad I'm on Xbox. Blasted!
Well, you've got Halo and Gears of War, two games I'd love to own but can't. So I'm blasted too.
Well, if you have a good enough PC you can get Halo 1&2 on PC and Gears Of War on PC aswell.
(Halo 2 was my favourite of the Halo series.)
 

shrekfan246

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May 26, 2011
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Soviet Heavy said:
Catchy Slogan said:
shrekfan246 said:
Soviet Heavy said:
Thanks for the info. Too bad I'm on Xbox. Blasted!
Well, you've got Halo and Gears of War, two games I'd love to own but can't. So I'm blasted too.
Funnily enough, those two series are the entire reason I own a 360 in addition to my PS3. Just bought Gears 3 yesterday, still haven't played it though because I bought Metal Gear Solid 4 along with it and the cut-scenes alone in that game will probably take me a week to finish.

Oh, and I can bring this back to OT with that post as well: The only way I could even find Metal Gear Solid 4 was pre-owned. So, yeah. There's that. Without used games, I never would've been able to find a copy of that game (because it would have gone out of print, it's been three years since it was released) because at the time that it was released, I was not into stealth games and had no prior knowledge of the series at all.
 

Michael Hirst

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Good point about capitalism, it really is that simple. EA are bitching and whining that the capitalist system doesn't flow compeltely around them.

Also good point about the one pre owned = one brand new sale, it is as simple as that for a game to become pre owned someone has to have bought it at some point.

Want us to buy games new, make them so good we want them on launch day and don't charge so bloody much that we have to work 6 and a half hours to afford a single videogame (its an approximation working on the assumption that a game costs £40 new and that the person buying has a £6 an hour job)

Also notice how the complaints nearly always come from the greedy bloody publishers who don't actually MAKE videogames but just like to control the people who do with big wads of cash. The only leeches and parasites in the industry are greedy publishers who make more money than the people with the real talent.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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chstens said:
This reminds me a bit of the old studio system in Hollywood early in the last century. Also, filmstudios and labels don't get to complain about movies and music being resold, why the fuck should game studios?
Especially when films cost WAY more to make, and both the tickets and DVD's sell for WAY LESS than games.
 

veloper

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Jan 20, 2009
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Reasonable argumentation, for the most part.

I'm not sold on the "buying space on a server" part, though. The disc is a product for sure (that can be infinitely resold, traded, etc.), but the online servers publishers maintain could be considered a service.
Services are a different from products and can be non-transfereable. Most professional software licenses are also tied to on company and cannot be resold.

Also consider that such services don't remain indefinitely. If a publisher is being mean, a game server can be shut down anytime they like and none of their customers will have a leg to stand on (beyond boycotting all their games in the future).

I'll wrap up it up by saying I don't really hate resale shops like Gamestop, but rather I look down on gamers who let themselves get ripped off by a middleman, because they cannot or dare not get in contact with other gamers to trade with directly in this digital day and age.
 

Still Life

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Baresark said:
This model is fine, but limiting distribution to only the developers website is a sure fire way to not let your game reach a lot of people and not make a lot of money.
I'm not sold.

More indie developers are moving away from traditional publishing models, so this would indicate a shift. Also, to assume that devs only move into the business to make 'a lot of money' is problematic. Last I checked, most games developers want to make games because it was a 'passion', not an EA-style-money-maker.
 
Mar 9, 2010
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ImSkeletor said:
Thank you Jim for speaking the truth. It ticks me off that people say that I am as bad as people who PIRATE just because I LEGALLY sell my games and buy used games. Am I a bad person if I freaking sell my car to someone after I buy it?
Stop using the car analogy, it's the only one I ever see and, to be frank, I'm sick of it. Get creative for once, people!

OT: I could not agree more. There is the issue of publishers losing out on potential sales, but that isn't an actual issue. From what I see, publishers are dicks to developers and are one of the leading causes of terrible games (that are, rather ironically, sold back to retailers). Once the developers are paid for their work I couldn't care less how much publishers make.

The publishers that make a fucking racket about used games often have 10 games on the go anyway, so they can't be hurting them that much.
 

Lvl 64 Klutz

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Apr 8, 2008
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This episode really only warrants one response:

A-fucking-men!

And for those who say that he was wrong to say that EA is worse than GameStop, here's the way I see it: Yes, both companies are businesses out to make as much money as they can. The difference is, GameStop actually respects their customers, because for every "evil tactic" they implement, they give something back to the customer.

Also, being a retail store, customers have the option to take their business elsewhere. But if a game from a developer you respect makes a game you want to play, and then publishes it through EA. Well, you don't have many legal options, do you?
 

Frostbite3789

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I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million times more. WAIT FOR EFFING SALES. It isn't hard. Every retailer puts out an ad in local papers at least once a week if not more. The print ads are easily found online and every single week there is a handful of games on sale.

This isn't even including Steam.

For instance Best Buy, three weeks after release already has Dead Island and Space Marine $10 off. Which is cheaper than you'd find a used copy at GameStop. Even cheaper than you'd find a PC copy anywhere else.

Arguing for used game sales because of pricing is like arguing that you're a lazy jackass who can't be bothered to look for a deal or can't wait for more than two weeks to get a game.

Just like people who blow IP on a champ in LoL on day one, then ***** about how much they hate them. That champ would've been free to try in two weeks, if you had an iota of patience.

Mechanix said:
Hopefully your video will change the opinions of the majority who are unable to think for themselves. And bravo on your capitalist argument; in my opinion, that statement about the positives and negatives of capitalism won the used games argument, and any argument from the other side cannot compete with that.
First, the think for yourself argument is beautifully ironic. If you take a second to think about it.

For two, my above point about being an intelligent and good consumer beats the shit out of your argument about capitalism. Who knew being a discerning, patient and intelligent consumer was a good thing?

Clearly not you.