Poll: Do you hate the used game market?
- Thread starter MartialArc
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This all happened because some dude at penny arcade made this statement and a bunch of fanboys unable to see past his logical fallacies went on a crusade. But rest assured a lot of people out there were able to pick up on the fallacies and call bullshit.
Any person with a brain can walk into Gamestop and figure out the used copy is 5 bucks less than the new one. If 5 bucks is worth it to you, I can assure you I ain't judging. I have done it myself on occasion. What everyone arguing along side penny "antics" arcade is failing to see is a cardinal rule of marketing known as "You have to mark it up to mark it down". So let them fall for it every time. All they are doing is rooking themselves and advertising the fact with crap logic. Consumerism isn't 1 sided and neither is the market.
There is nothing economically wrong with used games.
Any person with a brain can walk into Gamestop and figure out the used copy is 5 bucks less than the new one. If 5 bucks is worth it to you, I can assure you I ain't judging. I have done it myself on occasion. What everyone arguing along side penny "antics" arcade is failing to see is a cardinal rule of marketing known as "You have to mark it up to mark it down". So let them fall for it every time. All they are doing is rooking themselves and advertising the fact with crap logic. Consumerism isn't 1 sided and neither is the market.
There is nothing economically wrong with used games.
As a gamer, no objections, only good for us. But as someone that is really interested in the industry I never buy used, except for Activision games or others I've deemed unworthy.
No matter what your opinion is, it won't matter for much longer. Downloads will soon dominate the market anyway.
No matter what your opinion is, it won't matter for much longer. Downloads will soon dominate the market anyway.
I don't like the idea of it no. But it's a system that thrives because of the outrageous cost of full price games.
So I buy at least 90% of my games used.
So I buy at least 90% of my games used.
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If I bought a used game, it's probably a game that I wouldn't have bought at full price anyway, if at all, and the only reason I'm buying it is BECAUSE I found it used for about $15. If I couldn't find it used it's not like I would ever buy a full price new copy of the game. Therefore it isn't like I'm stealing from the developer since they wouldn't have gotten any money from me anyway.
The [a href=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/piracy]Dictionary[/a] would like to have a word with you.Zetion said:
(haha! word! dictionary!)
Indeed. And I predict steep increases in piracy as a result of this unfortunatly =/. Once we're to a strict digial distribution scheme the used market is officially dead. You can't resell your steam games. And at that point the per unit price will be a few cents. Regrettably, even though like half the profits from a new game end up going to the retailer and other middle men(that will be effectly gone) I doubt we see any movement in prices, except for up.GeorgW said:
I mostly only buy games from Steam these days..
When I buy the occasional consol game, I usually just wait for the price to drop. But I'm not opposed to getting a used game from Ebay or something...
...But I avoid Gamestop like the plague.
When I buy the occasional consol game, I usually just wait for the price to drop. But I'm not opposed to getting a used game from Ebay or something...
...But I avoid Gamestop like the plague.
Because when you buy used, that's money they aren't getting, for the same number of people buying their game. How do you not see where they lose out?JedivsPaper said:
If a game sells 1 million copies, if they were all new, they made $60 million. But if half buy them used, then they make only $30 million. $60 million > $30 million.
Not buying new hurts developers. It gives them less money to spend on development of future titles.
I'm not saying buying used is bad. Even I buy used occasionally. But saying it has no effect on the industry is asinine.
how the hell can used gaming be wrong? i bought the disk, and that means i can do what i want with it. if someone wants to buy my disk for such and such price, that's fine with me. and once i sell it, i can't use it anymore. it's like a car.
Absolutely, has an affect. Used sales affect every industry. But you never hear someone say they only buy new cars because they're worried about the indsutry. You can pretty much swap cars for any product of choice. With all these garage sales going on we're shafting many many industries.Jaded Scribe said:
Some folks seem to be missing the point..... used sales absolutely remove some money from developers.
I don't oppose used games at all. In fact, I just bought the original Splinter Cell used less than an hour ago (it was $1.99, no way I'm turning that down). That game I probably couldn't find new, or if I did it'd be prohibitively expensive (as a somewhat related example, new copies of Nintendo 64 games are ~$100-150 on Amazon, but I can get them used for $20), so I buy used. Do I buy more recent games used? Sure, it's mostly a matter of economics, being a college student who buys games with money that I get as gifts or don't spend on eating out (I don't have a job, all my money comes from family members/the occasional survey that I take). I'd really like to support the developers more, but it's simply not reasonable for me to do. I also just don't see most games as worth the $50-60 they cost new, so I wait until they fall in price.
I've never sold a game to a store before, however (I did sell an old console once, but I literally have no use for a GBA with both a Game Boy Color and a DS Lite), mostly because I like collecting games.
But yeah, that's my story.
I've never sold a game to a store before, however (I did sell an old console once, but I literally have no use for a GBA with both a Game Boy Color and a DS Lite), mostly because I like collecting games.
But yeah, that's my story.
Exactly. The biggest difference between games and other industries is that while it's true you don't have people getting upset about the effect on that given industry, unlike games they don't have as many people acting like it's a moral crusade to buy games used to somehow "fight the power".MartialArc said:
I prefer that my money, rather than going to GameStop or an individual, goes to the developer so that they can continue to put out games I like.
Do I buy used games? Sure. Especially for the kids. ("Hey kids, you had great report cards. Let's go to GameStop, and you can pick out whatever you want for $20" etc)
Buying and selling used games isn't a bad thing, but the industry model is broken. The way it works now, Gamestop (or whoever) keeps 100% of the profit from used game sales, which isn't the way it should be. The used car industry is set up with this in mind. We don't need to stop buying and selling used games, we need a paradigm overhaul. Unfortunately, that's basically impossible, given the momentum Gamestop has built up for their business model.
Until something crazy happens, I'll continue to buy games new unless I can only find them used.
Until something crazy happens, I'll continue to buy games new unless I can only find them used.
Car industry is setup with this in mind..... how? Used car lots don't pay manufactuers. Private sellers don't pay manufactuers. Certified pre-owned exists because the manufacturers started it, decided they could add some service to recoup on used sales. Used car lots and private sellers keep 100% of the profits. Garage salers keep 100% of the profits. Ebay sellers keep 100% of the profits. Nobody, anywhere, ever, for anything, pays manufactuers for something they sell second hand. Why are games supposed to be different.Shellsh0cker said:
Are you suggesting anytime someone sells something used the originator of that product be sent a portion? You should have to send GM a few hundred bucks when you buy a used car?
There are probably some reasons that model hasn't popped up yet in any of the plethora of industries out there.
I guess if I have a problem with the used game market it's that most of the chains and stores that sell them barely mark the price down at all unless it's for a defunct system. And they're still making a buttload (actual measurement pending) of money off the suckers willing to pay $5 less for a used game, while not contributing to the developers at all. But still, there's craig's list and ebay, so I can always tell the stores to piss off.
Seriously, how many of the mp3s on your ipod did you actually pay for, escapists? 5,000 songs, and you paid for every one? EA and Nintendo aren't really suffering because you wanted to spend less on a used game. They're still making plenty of money. And indie games aren't really sold in stores, so how are they being hurt?
Seriously, how many of the mp3s on your ipod did you actually pay for, escapists? 5,000 songs, and you paid for every one? EA and Nintendo aren't really suffering because you wanted to spend less on a used game. They're still making plenty of money. And indie games aren't really sold in stores, so how are they being hurt?