Pachter: DLC Codes Not Hurting Pre-Owned Sales
- Thread starter Logan Westbrook
- Start date
I actually have to disagree with the "New games are too expensive" argument. That's not to say that I think their pricing isn't excessive but that the industry wouldn't stand to gain anything by lowing prices.
Put simply: If you can get pre-owned games for less than their shelf price, why wouldn't you?
The whole point of the pre-owned games market is that, minus the cost of re-acquiring the title, it's pure profit for the retailer. If the shelf price of games drops, we won't see a fall in either returned games or their prices when pre-owned. People buy pre-owned games not because the RRP of the product is too expensive, but because the pre-owned title is cheaper - you won't alter this dynamic by reducing the price games retail for. The best you could hope is to see an increase in overall sales but even then you're doing so at a reduced price point that means you need more sales to turn a profit.
Say the cost of a new game falls to £39.99, are you really going to choose that over the pre-owned copy that saves you even more money?
Put simply: If you can get pre-owned games for less than their shelf price, why wouldn't you?
The whole point of the pre-owned games market is that, minus the cost of re-acquiring the title, it's pure profit for the retailer. If the shelf price of games drops, we won't see a fall in either returned games or their prices when pre-owned. People buy pre-owned games not because the RRP of the product is too expensive, but because the pre-owned title is cheaper - you won't alter this dynamic by reducing the price games retail for. The best you could hope is to see an increase in overall sales but even then you're doing so at a reduced price point that means you need more sales to turn a profit.
Say the cost of a new game falls to £39.99, are you really going to choose that over the pre-owned copy that saves you even more money?
Holy smokes! You're so right! A storefront! One whole mission with a fairly needless mostly muted character! And those über awesome vehicle missions that felt like a tacked on trial pack more than a part of the game! How could I be so shortsighted! That was definitely $10 worth of content.squid5580 said:
I assume you're being sarcastic
So there's no dent in used sales, but how many of those $10 DLCs have actually sold? That would be a much more interesting statistic.
Also, could you guys please stop reporting whatever Pachter says? I mean you could pay anybody to state the obvious, and it wouldn't be quite as annoying.
Also, could you guys please stop reporting whatever Pachter says? I mean you could pay anybody to state the obvious, and it wouldn't be quite as annoying.
You know, even if they got rid of Game Stop selling games, there are too many markets to resell games now. You can resell your stuff at Amazon.com, Ebay, Craigslist, egghead... how are they going to stop all that? Being able to play a game online is not an answer. I don't play online or multiplayer. I know I am not a typical gamer in that, but I also hardly think I am the only one. If the company cuts content from the game in order to make DLC, that's going to make me even *less* inclined to play that game in the first place. And I hate, and I mean absolutely HATE paying $50 or $60 for a game thats 10 hours long or less. At least if and when I buy a Turn Based Strategy game for $50, like Civilization, I know the game will give me phenomenal replay value for my money.
I'm not someone who torrents games or steals them. I have no problem paying for a game that gives good value for my money and isn't going to, pardon my expression, dick me around because the publisher and developer feel they haven't sucked enough cream from the cash cow. At best, it will make me want to avoid their games. And how does that help the publishers? I feel that they are painting targets on their own feet with all this scheisse.
I'm not someone who torrents games or steals them. I have no problem paying for a game that gives good value for my money and isn't going to, pardon my expression, dick me around because the publisher and developer feel they haven't sucked enough cream from the cash cow. At best, it will make me want to avoid their games. And how does that help the publishers? I feel that they are painting targets on their own feet with all this scheisse.
It will be the end of the games market when it all goes to downloading, which the industry wants purely because it doubles their profits!
What the games industry doesn't recognise is that without retail and print media coverage, the industry will die. Mom and Pop are not going to be sure at all about little Johnny's birthday present being a game that he downloads with no box or anything for the parents to look at!
Also, having all games download only will raise the coverage of indie titles and will make abandonware sites all the more utilized. After all, look at the PC gaming format. 60% smaller coverage in retail, 68% fewer PC titles released and the likelihood that as a format (ie PC only AAA titles), it will die. I feel this started when PC games went from big boxes and therefore differentiated themselves from console games in DVD cases to being in DVD cases just like their console counterparts. This meant when you went into the store, you no longer saw a stand-out PC section with obviously bigger boxes with big manuals and maps, etc. Something that we see with Collector's Edition's ALL gamers want!
As to pre-owned. If I was heading a large games publishing business, I would be terrified of over five MILLION DOSBox downloads and the absolute explosion of abandonware sites as more and more people find they have to go back 10 years to find the gameplay they crave!
What the games industry doesn't recognise is that without retail and print media coverage, the industry will die. Mom and Pop are not going to be sure at all about little Johnny's birthday present being a game that he downloads with no box or anything for the parents to look at!
Also, having all games download only will raise the coverage of indie titles and will make abandonware sites all the more utilized. After all, look at the PC gaming format. 60% smaller coverage in retail, 68% fewer PC titles released and the likelihood that as a format (ie PC only AAA titles), it will die. I feel this started when PC games went from big boxes and therefore differentiated themselves from console games in DVD cases to being in DVD cases just like their console counterparts. This meant when you went into the store, you no longer saw a stand-out PC section with obviously bigger boxes with big manuals and maps, etc. Something that we see with Collector's Edition's ALL gamers want!
As to pre-owned. If I was heading a large games publishing business, I would be terrified of over five MILLION DOSBox downloads and the absolute explosion of abandonware sites as more and more people find they have to go back 10 years to find the gameplay they crave!
If you really think buying preowned is a loss for the publishers then you are just buying into their hype. You don't see the same whiny crap about with music, movies, or books do you?GamesB2 said:
They made their money when the game was sold, trying to make money each and every time someone so much as looks at the copy from that point on is despicable.
Probably because while there are some notable exceptions (mostly games where portions of the development money where spent on starting the squeals as well) a new big budget game cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-$30 million, with $10 million being a more realistic cost for most games (expected to double with the next generation). While a new big budget movie that costs less then $80 million is rare. Sure movies have a wider audience, but games are still drastically cheaper to make. Keep in mind that the $50 million, and $60 million price tages you see for blockbuster titles also includes the advertising costs, which can in some cases more then double the price tag on the game.Ultratwinkie said:
The whole project 10 dollar annoys me. Me and my brothers use the same console and the majority of the time I purchase brand new games, only if it's a game I'm unsure about will I go second hand and even then I would happily wait for the game to drop in price and then get it. Through the introduction of project 10 dollar why should my brothers have to fork out money to play the online portion of the game (correct me if I'm wrong, its just how I understood project 10 dollar to work) when technically speaking they still purchased the game brand new?
When do music companies ever stop whining?Manaman said:
Movies are a bit more sophisticated about it but they cover it up with cinema sales and the fact that pre-owned DVDs aren't as big as pre-owned games.
Pre-owned books? ... libraries? ... anyway I get almost all my books for free, I'm given lots buy a guy who writes reviews for some book magazine. But I occasionally splash out on a book I really like the look of then and there.
Also with the increasing costs of developing games I think it's reasonable they want money for people selling their games.
How many hands could a pre-owned game pass through? 20 people? ... more?
They're not demanding that every time someone picks up a copy of a game they should get money which I respect. On a £40 they will never get, they only ask for £10 of that, and it's completely optional. You don't have to buy into this if you don't want to.
But if a game developer comes out with a really amazing game that they worked really hard on then I think they deserve to get the money for that game. I still buy pre-owned for old games but new releases that I'm very excited about I will pay for first hand.
THQ are currently making amazing Warhammer 40,000 titles... now to me this means they deserve my money so I will support them.
Still whatever... it's 2.30 in the morning and I want to get to sleep.