Rage Cuts Single-Player When You Buy It Used

[Epona]

Pathetic. Just like EA can't set up their own download service because Steam is so big? Let me know when you're finished making excuses for the publishers.

Well then, I ask why would you go to an EA used game only dealer? You pitch that and it sounds like you're just making "Gamestop EA edition"

My point was that just because there is a bigger business to compete against (and there always is if it's a new business) doesn't mean anything.

Yes, people would buy used games from EA if they had competitive prices. The publishers would rather just do away with the first sale doctrine than try to compete.

 

[sonofliber]

i find it funny how many people here complains about this but when a piracy article comes they all hate piracy.

People: in piracy the developers see 0 dollars, with second hand games its exactly the same, but its worst, they ACTUALLY lose money since you PAY for the game, contrary to piracy where there is no guaranty of pirates buying it, here you PAY money to someone who had no business with making the game, while the developers (who in your words "love and support") get royally screw over by this, and you dare complain?, shees at least dont say you support them.

screwing people who gives you money => dickish
screwing people who dosent give you money for something you made=> fair


sorry for the bad english.

 

[Kraiger]

Yar har fiddly dee...

 

[0986875533423]

Only AAA game series can afford to have extra merchandise that expands multimedia. What about smaller companies that have titles where you really can't makes quick buck off of merchandising. As for books they have both the physical sale of books as well as seeing electronic versions of themselves which significantly cuts on publishing costs. Gadgets such as the kindle and other electronic readers have been growing steadily popular and now books are going digital to keep with this demand. I also think that one of the reasons why book publishers are not too angry at used book sales is because the used book industry does not take as a huge percentage of the total revenue pie as does the used game market.

Wut. Second hand bookshops were and are the first and most successful second hand industry. And ebooks have been around for 3 years or less, what sustained the industry before then?

And smaller devs will make simpler games. Mojang are a tiny indie dev who rode to success on a game written in Java, which can be done very cheaply. And probably the most costly financial choice they've made so far is being based in Sweden. The smaller the cost of development, the easier it can be made back.

Though that's a side issue for what the real point is: People will buy firsthand a game they think is worth their money.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

correct me if I'm wrong but won't pirates hack the game anyway so you get the full single player portion? If that is not true then this makes sense. If a pirated version is available though that is better then what you can get from a used version aren't they shooting themselves in the foot?

I think they would be better off getting some type of % of sales on used games (from major retailers at least). Perhaps 10% of the value of any used game sale should go to the original company that produced it.

Unfortunately that would drive used game prices up. The advantage of used games is that they are usually 50-60% cheeper than the new game. Honestly I would much rather have publishers include DLC in new games. It's a much better way of encouraging buying new and even if you get the game used, you still get the full game rather than half of it. Then if you want the DLC you can buy it later.

Pro tip game devs: Intrusive DRM and restricting full use of your game to new game buyers is a big no-no.

 

[wulfy42]

correct me if I'm wrong but won't pirates hack the game anyway so you get the full single player portion? If that is not true then this makes sense. If a pirated version is available though that is better then what you can get from a used version aren't they shooting themselves in the foot?

I think they would be better off getting some type of % of sales on used games (from major retailers at least). Perhaps 10% of the value of any used game sale should go to the original company that produced it.

Unfortunately that would drive used game prices up. The advantage of used games is that they are usually 50-60% cheeper than the new game. Honestly I would much rather have publishers include DLC in new games. It's a much better way of encouraging buying new and even if you get the game used, you still get the full game rather than half of it. Then if you want the DLC you can buy it later.

Pro tip game devs: Intrusive DRM and restricting full use of your game to new game buyers is a big no-no.

Um, I have not noticed that at any used game stores I have seen. Gamestop for the most part only drops the price of used games about 10-20%....with the ability to drop it more if you are a member of their club.

Amazon often sells new games cheaper then the used ones for some reason lol.

It's true that you can wait for specials like buy 2 used games get a 3rd free etc to save a bit more....but the cheapest and best deals I have gotten have all been new games (tons of them were on sale last christmas for $10 for instance....but are still selling now for $15-20 used).

If used games were 50% as much....that would certainly cause a ton more people to buy them...and in fact if they had the base price at 50% they could afford to add 10% to give to the producer of the game probably.

Instead gamestop for instance will sell a new game for $60 and a used one for $55......I always look at that and say "Why the heck would I buy a used copy?". Even when I had the game card for an extra 10%....it was never worth it...especially when you could get a discount online (and free shipping) from places like Amazon.

I think game companies are already fighting back against used game sales by dropping the cost of many of their games quickly now after the initial release. Within a year of a games release you can often get new copies for 50% of the initial price (and often much less)....why buy used when you can get a new copy....and support the actual game creators?