Poll: Do you hate the used game market?

[Catalyst6]

While I would like to give money to devs, I must be practical. Games are expensive, after all!

I really only buy "new" games. I say "new" because, as most of my purchases are off of Steam because they host games for a long time, dropping the price steadily as time goes on. So, yes. I technically buy "new" games, but they're old new games.

Oh, I do play on console, but I use GameFly, which is glorified renting.

 

[mxfox408]

I get that people hate piracy here. And I understand why, it hurts developers, it is not fair, etc. However something I find odd is that from time to time you will see folks lump in the used market with piracy.

They will complain that it doesn't help benefit the developers and that makes it bad. But in life we resell many things. You wouldn't just let a car sit around doing nothing when buying a new one, generally anyway. You don't torch your house when you are done with it. You don't burn your books upon finishing them.

I always have felt that software companies are trying to play the field in such a way that they can treat their product as some kind of dual-existance.

You pirated a game?! Thats stealing, just as sure as if you held us at gunpoint. You bought the game? No no no, it is intellectual property, you did not buy it, we just lent it to you.

I see a one common explanation for the objection to the used market, that development is stupidly expensive. When you buy a car, they have to design that too. I would venture that the cost of bringing a roadway vehicle from concept to production eclipses that of your typical AAA game. Game companies get many many advantages here, namely they have only fixed costs (practically speaking, few more years and digital distribution will bring this close to literally speaking). Ford doesn't get to design a truck then crap out each copy for pennies, each unit has a cost associated with it above and beyond fixed costs.

Am I the only one who feels this attitude permeates these forums?

Does anyone have an explanation for why video games should be treated differently than every other commodity in existance basically?

Well EA implemented a $15 dollar charge for those who are activating a used copy of Mass Effect 2 so they cant call foul on that which i think is a good idea.

 

[Nebraskaslim]

Used cars are not a good example. Seeing as you can barter with the retailer your trading in/selling your car to. This has to do with the type of car and the condition its in, kelly blue book is just a guideline. There is no blue book for games, if you want to trade you game in to gamestop you'll maybe get $5 for it regardless of what condition the disc is in or even which game it is. Selling it on ebay/craigslist you have more choice on price that would be like selling your car private sale. I for one would not like to see games go toward a car buisness model. If that happend you would get big name titles costing over $100, and the cheap games no one wants to play for around $50. So in the short but sweet version stop using used cars as an example of the same thing they are only similar in private sales.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think the Game Industries biggest issue with used game sales is what GameStop will typically do is offer a used copy of the game to their customers as an alternative to buying the game new, and sometimes even go out of their way to sell the customer a used copy instead of the new copy. And the Developers/Publishers see no returns from the used game market.
They probably wouldn't mind so much if GameStop wouldn't go out of their way to sell the used games instead of the new games.

 

[TokenRupee]

I usually buy used. Not only because, like someone else said, that's the best way to find games no longer in print, but I'm cheap. Though I rationalize it like this: I was never going to buy said game new anyway. I was merely interested. And buying used has turned me onto several series and publishers, like the Phoenix Wright series and Bioware and Atlus, who I then buy new from whenever the next game comes out and I can afford it.

But most used games I get are never worth full price. Sure they're fun for a while, but nowhere near a new price. For example, games like Ninety-Nine Nights or The Force Unleashed 1 and 2 are fun and I'd pick them up at a budget price. But they should not be priced the same as high-quality games like Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock, etc. And that is why I'll wait for a price drop or just get it used.

 

[Omnific One]

I used to buy almost only used games because I had so little money. Now that I have a good PC, DD sales are amazing and cheaper than used for the 360.

Medal of Honor: $7.50
Crysis: $7.50
Bad Company 2: $4.95
Alpha Protocol: $4.95
Bioshock 2: $4.25

Those are just a couple recent ones.

However, I will buy a few ones new this year.

 

[FalloutJack]

OP, I feel as though you've forgotten something here. Not all used games are connected to a massive synchtonizing multiplayer site requiring weird red tape and funky doom accounts to get working properly. For those of us who buy games on the cheap that are more open and free, this line of argument does not apply.

(For the record, I have no interest in Halo, Call of Duty, and many other games where this stuff happens.)

 

[putowtin]

I love the used game market, I wait until a game is £10 and play, sometimes their shit sometimes I find a gem.
Take for example Infamous, I didn't own a PS3 when it came out and there for knew very little, picked it up when I traded in a game and have loved it ever since!

 

[MartialArc]

Does anyone have an explanation for why video games should be treated differently than every other commodity in existance basically?

Because almost every other commodity in existence is more likely to wear and depreciate in value.
Read a book once, and it will show signs of wear no matter how careful you are. Get any decent use out of a piece of furniture and it will have dents, marks and general wear. Cars are no different either.

A game disk can be used, played through/completed once (even dozens of times if you're the slightest bit careful) and still look brand new. So unless you actively want to support the game's developer you have no incentive to buy a new game after its initial release.

I'm personally fine with the used games market, there's nothing illegal or immoral about it. However I also won't complain when things like "Project $10" come in and ensure that if you buy second hand, you are getting the inferior product.

A read through once book is not gonna be appreciably worn. I bet you could put it on a shelf and nobody would notice. And it would still fulfill its old purpose equally as well as a new one for quite a long time, you can still read it.

Games have their own form of detioration too, they become dated. If you argue a book becomes less effective as it ages, then so do games because they become less fun for being not current. You can read a 10 year old book just as easily as you can play a 10 year old game. A 10 year old car will probably move you from point A to point B about as easily as a new one, long as it was taken care of.

Not all products are stricly consumables. Cars are partial consumables, books really aren't at all. The set of anchor-hocking glass ware in my sink still looks about as good as it was if it was new. About the only way dinner plates make their way out of rotation is by being broken or discarded.

The difference is that people are more likely to chuck a book or dinner plate because they didn't cost.... ya know.... 60 bucks new.

 

[joshuaayt]

I buy used, if possible. Sue me- Tired of paying in excess of $100 for each new release (And even some old games) I enjoy, occasionally, purchasing games that don't require me to go without food.

Maybe if everyone were to stop, I'd consider it- if only to get companies to stop whining. But, and this is the fatal flaw of the "One person can make a difference" bullshit, buying new myself will not influence anyone else's buying habits.

 

[vxicepickxv]

If checkpublisher=Activision OR if checkplatformdev=Sony then Buyused=true, else Buynew=true

 

[emeraldrafael]

The only problem with places like GameStop is that a game may produice a sale milliouns of times, but it only counts if they are new copies. GameStop buys your games for dirt cheap, marks it up 300-400% and makes some ice profits.

isnt that the point of any business?

OT: Actually, the above is all I ever hear/read. Everyone dislikes gamestop because they "screw the developers on sales of used games" when really any business that sells used games does. Personally, I dont see anything wrong iwth it. They're a king in a the market cause they have a business plan that works and people follow it. You cant hate them for it.

But yeah, used games arent bad. They make games easily accessible to those who may not be able to buy them at full price. Its like the steam engine really (though that works with old games instead of used).

 

[emeraldrafael]

The only problem with places like GameStop is that a game may produice a sale milliouns of times, but it only counts if they are new copies. GameStop buys your games for dirt cheap, marks it up 300-400% and makes some ice profits.

isnt that the point of any business?

OT: Actually, the above is all I ever hear/read. Everyone dislikes gamestop because they "screw the developers on sales of used games" when really any business that sells used games does. Personally, I dont see anything wrong iwth it. They're a king in a the market cause they have a business plan that works and people follow it. You cant hate them for it.

But yeah, used games arent bad. They make games easily accessible to those who may not be able to buy them at full price. Its like the steam engine really (though that works with old games instead of used).

Sorry about the post. I have a bit of a bias agianst the place. I`ve had 2 cousins work there (family of gamers here), and they`ve both told me that you get treated like shit. In fact, no one I ever asked said they were happy there.

Just my 2 cents.

That makes more sense, though I think its dependent on which store you go to. I have a friend who works at one, and he loves it. The guy who manages is like 38, and big into following the gaming market. Any time they do releases they order pizza, drinks, hand out gum and swag, and if its raining, they'll set up tarps so you dont have to stand and get wet. Tehy hire people who are knowledgable in games, and he says they ten or so guys that are on payroll for thta store (besides the manager) are like a family.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Snip

Its a split, but its a very lopsided to the negative side. Though you do have to remember, these are people who were probably promoted from within, work for little pay, probably dont care for videogames outside of it makes them money, and have to have people walk ina nd constantly second guess them or treat them like they're retarded.

 

[fletch_talon]

A read through once book is not gonna be appreciably worn. I bet you could put it on a shelf and nobody would notice. And it would still fulfill its old purpose equally as well as a new one for quite a long time, you can still read it.

A hardcover maybe. I collect books, new and old. I'm incredibly pedantic about keeping my books in good condition to the extent that my family are scared to borrow any from me in case they mark it in any way.
Yet I still find it impossible to read a paperback in any practical way without it showing that it has been read, usually by creasing on the spine.

Yes the book will still function exactly the same, but many consumers have an irrational desire to only buy items that are (or appear) "as new". Fact is that its a lot easier to find a used game in "as new" condition than it is a book or most other products.

The set of anchor-hocking glass ware in my sink still looks about as good as it was if it was new. About the only way dinner plates make their way out of rotation is by being broken or discarded.

And yet, unless your dinnerware is a brand name, antique, etc. you'll get a couple of bucks for it if anyone wants it at all. Again, its an irrationality, but most people would rather eat off dinnerware that only they have eaten off previously. Plus dinnerware is cheap enough to buy new that there isn't much incentive to buy second hand.

I still stand by what I've said. The games industry is competing with its own products essentially. Choosing between used games and new is often like asking yourself "Do I buy the undamaged product in shrink wrap for $60 or the undamaged product without shrink wrap for $55?"

 

[InnerRebellion]

I see the used game market as piracy you have to pay for.

 

[BioHazardMan]

No, it provides me with good entertainment, and it's remarkably cheaper than buying all the games new.

 

[Exile714]

Maybe people wouldn't buy used games if the "new" ones were marked down every so often. There are certain games that are NEVER worth the cost of buying new. However, they might be worth 1/6th the price of a new game, and at that price point I'll buy.

Sure, there are certain games which go down a bit because they were popular, or because they aren't selling, but the markdowns don't entice me to buy.

After all, aren't ALL games used after the first day? I mean, Modern Warfare 1 isn't new anymore, right? Even if I buy a new DISC, it's still an OLD game. If I wanted to buy it earlier, I would have paid full price for it (I did!). If I didn't buy it then, why would I pay full price for it now?

Used games are simply filling a void in the market. People will pay what they think a game is worth, sometimes less, never more. If games weren't sold at fixed prices, the used market would die.

At the same time, the used market allows some game buyers to justify buying a game. If they know they can get a certain amount of money for their game, then the net cost of the game decreases. If there were no used game market, these buyers might think twice about buying those games in the first place.

Finally, don't let game retailers into the loop when it comes to used games. Sell on eBay or one of the many similar services. You are likely losing money just because you're too lazy to make the sale yourself, and that's just dumb.