Used Game Sales are a "Bigger Problem Than Piracy"

[smokeraven]

Most of the time I buy games when they're new, but i'd imagine a bigger issue would be the purchase of second-hand games through eBay since developers don't see a penny from those sales

 

[MetalDooley]

This article just illustrates how fucked up the thinking of the games industry is i.e. that people legally buying and selling games is worse than people illegally downloading them for free

 

[RedHoodProdigalSon]

I'm sorry but this guy's arguement can be summed up in one word

"WAAAAAAAH!"

You get more than enough money on the sale of new games ANYWAY, trying to pull the "USED GAMES ARE EVIL!" card won't work on me, if i want a used game i'll buy a used game, and if you have content WORTH paying for in new editions i'll spend the £5 or whatever to Download it if I want to. (dragon Age being a good example)

You are seriously trying to tar gamers who buy used with Pirates who spend £0 nothing, nada on games?!

screw you and screw your stupid prject ten dollar bull, trying to wring the extra last few pennies out of your consummer's by holding back content made for the games they still bought, what's wrong the pool full of gold dried up?

 

[rockingnic]

If you can't afford a new game, then either:

A: Get a job.
or
B: Don't buy as many games because you don't need to play every game.

If money is a problem then I bet you have much more concerns then playing the next game, like paying rent/mortgage/bills, buying food and other basic needs. Honestly for all those how buy used games and complain that developers aren't doing their job right, go whack yourself in the head with a crowbar because you're probably why that happens.

F.Y.I. This doesn't go towards those games that you can't by new and used is the only option, like N64 games, etc.

Yes I only but games pre owned when money is an issue, no I dont see the point in paing extra for a game when I can have it for less. nd spen my money or save for something else.

You do know that used games give absolutely NO money back to the developers so they can't make more games and make them better using better technology. It's because of people like you why most developers just do what they're required to do and not create anything new. Probably why games like Madden, Guitar Hero and CoD are put out at least once a year. Buying used games is also why alot of publishers put a price other than "free" on DLC because you're not giving money to where it really needs to go. If you can't pay $50-60 a game, stop buying games used, because like I said before, you have more pressing matters that need attention, like managing your budget well and not like a idiot.

 

[sinsfire]

you know I have to disagree with this guy. The second hand market may devalue a current title but in the long term it may allow an even broader access to future titles. As an example see The Last Guardian, the studio that published this game also made some very under valued and commercially unsucessful games. Ico and Shadow of the Collosus were amazing games that not many people were even able to purchase in their initial release.

However their availability on the second hand market has lead to a resurgence of interest and people who are really looking forward to the last guardian.

I understand the position, but many people won't pay full price for a game and will only buy it when it hits the $10 bin. Therefore, the second hand market is really not devaluing the title. The manufacturer is still getting full price for the title, and so they really shouldn't be complaining.

 

[Therumancer]

The problem here is that the arguement being made assumes that if there wasn't a used game, the people buying used would be purchusing a new copy which would mean royalties for the creators. This is untrue, because chances are someone buying a used game is doing so because they can't afford to buy a new game.

Things like "Project ten dollar" are an interesting idea, but if they succeed the end result is probably going to be less people playing games in the long run, rather than increased royalties.

Besides which, I notice how in cases like this the industry talks around the issue of their own greed. If people weren't investing, and making, fortunes at this I might have a differant opinion, but we're dealing with a multi-billion dollar industry, that despite claims of being in "financial trouble" has no real trouble finding people willing to invest millions of dollars in game development (which to me makes their claims of financial hardship seem like BS, and the various layoffs a mechanism to reduce costs by paying less people, to further increase profits).

The gaming industry should just be honest. What this is about is them having giant mountains of money, but feeling that they might not be getting every cent out of us moneybag consumers, and could have an even bigger mountain of cash...

I mean let's be honest, it's not like what gamers think matters to the companies anymore. We've proven ourselves impotent. I get the impression a lot of these pseudo-justifications are so the people involved can convince themselves they aren't bad/greedy people.

"Project 10 Dollar" is out there, we as gamers can't stop it, the big question is whether or not we're going to support it, and so far the answer seems to be "yes" going by things like "Mass Effect 2" and "Dragon Age: Origins". Thus there will be more of it, used games will become less of a deal, fewer people will buy them, and I anticipate less people will wind up gaming overall due to the price. In the end the industry will be happy because their draining a few extra drops of blood from those people who will still be buying used.

 

[ECasThat]

Maybe if the game companies didn't make games that wasn't so long in development they cot sell them cheaper, then more people maybe want to buy them?
Or they cut go back too a older console that is easier too code for?
maybe...

*go over to my Playstation 2 and whispers*
"I am sure your time will come again"

(I'm not a master of the English language)

 

[Caliostro]

I'll say it again: it's hilarious to see the same people who attack piracy for "not compensating the developers" try to defend used games.


"LOLHYPOCRISYLOL"

 

[BlumiereBleck]

THEY'RE ON TO ME!!! *runs*

 

[The Zango]

Well its legal and i personally made £600 pounds from it last year so bah! I think if games where more reasonably priced then i would buy more new games.

 

[Hithlain]

You know, maybe the companies should... create their own marketplaces for used games? If they give a little bit of a premium on the trade in they can get business and they can make money on the used game market at the same time. Actually, I wonder why this isn't in place.

Like, for example, let's say I want to sell Twilight Princess. Perhaps Nintendo should have an online marketplace with free shipping reimbursement and a little bit of a discount if I trade it for another Nintendo game. Wouldn't that work? I mean the big 3 companies could control their own market of their own games. Since I own the Wii, obviously I would be interested in getting another wii game. And the same for any other game from another company.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Used games are worse. Here is why: A pirate isn't in a store, looking to buy a game with money in their pocket (on their mom's credit card). A used game buyer is. When the gamestop register monkey says "you want a used copy for $5 less?" they are directly transferring the publisher and developers cut to gamestop stockholders. Gamestop is nothing but a parasite on the industry and I hope the publishers lay the smackdown on them.

Once the dickface working the register said to me "you don't want to save money?" when I told him I wanted a new game instead of a used one. Then I told him "shut the fuck up and ring me up" and he looked like he was going to cry. But he shut up and rang me up.

 

[beddo]

People have the right to sell goods privately. Much in the same way you have the right to trade in your old car or sell on your furniture. In fact many products such as are and furniture can increase in value but you don't hear manufacturers endlessly complaining about the used goods market.

 

[Xersues]

Maybe if developers didn't work on shit games that you beat in 5 minutes that people want to trade in when they're done.

I trade in games I've owned for at least a few months, and I HATE doing it, you barely get any money for it, and I only do it when all the incentives stack up to actually make it worth your while. It's either that or I'll wait for the price to drop.

What the hell is the difference between buying a game used and waiting for the price to drop? They get their meager earnings way after the game is long not supported because it went from $60 to the bargain bin because it got a slew of 5.5/10 reviews?

Lets be real, every market has to deal with second hand sales. Many markets have second-hand sale venues that exist solely on their own (cars, boats, houses, bikes, etc).

How come these fuckers get to be so whiny about it? Because the markets floods itself quickly and people are given a choice between "slightly used" and new for a 5-15 dollar price differece? Of course they'll take it.

The first day I have to pay for an activation fee for a used, offline, game is the day I stop gaming.

 

[Simalacrum]

While I do understand that its a serious problem for the developers, I also understand that I don't have enough space on my shelf for a shit load of games.

Don't get me wrong, I do try to buy new copies of games whenever possible. However, I don't think I'll be stopping trading in old games to get the new ones for cheaper anytime soon...

Sorry, game developers - I love you, but not that much!

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

Okay, I know the price point argument isn't legitimate against piracy, but here, I have to wonder if this isn't an indicator that games are being priced too damn high.

You'd think they'd consider that, but they seem to be trying their hardest to avoid it. If people don't want to/can't afford to pay $60 per game, maybe they'd have better luck selling them for less than $60. If they can't make any money off them selling them for less, then maybe the problem is that they're spending too much to make the games in the first place. There are plenty of good games out there that don't cost $60 for the customer and didn't cost $40 million to create in the first place, so it must be possible.

And on that note, all these game companies complaining about used games can eat a dick. That's about as polite as I can be to them at this point, and I'd much rather say something meaner. Just because your business model sucks doesn't give you an excuse to be an asshat to your legitimate customers who are buying your products (but might not continue to at this rate). I can buy used DVDs, books, cars, houses, and dozens/hundreds/thousands of other things, and the companies that make those things seem to be doing ok in general (with some exceptions, obviously, but GM's problem isn't that people buy and sell used cars...). If you can't learn something from them about how to run a business, you deserve to fail.

 

[rockingnic]

If you can't afford a new game, then either:

A: Get a job.
or
B: Don't buy as many games because you don't need to play every game.

If money is a problem then I bet you have much more concerns then playing the next game, like paying rent/mortgage/bills, buying food and other basic needs. Honestly for all those who buy used games and complain that developers aren't doing their job right, go whack yourself in the head with a crowbar because you're probably why that happens.

F.Y.I. This doesn't go towards those games that you can't by new and used is the only option, like N64 games, etc.

Really? That's your solution? "If you can't buy something new, you don't deserve to have it"? Get a life.

----------------------

Let's see... assuming games are generally traded in at least once, and developers are taking a 50% cut in revenues...

I'm really not sure why they can't do the math, and figure out that lowering prices dramatically will drive up Day 1 sales and gut the second-hand market.

My solution is "If you can't by something new, then you have more concerns you should be worried about."

Lowering prices also means the developers get less money. Less money means less money to use for future projects and less room to expand. If games don't have room to expand, then how can you expect them to become better? Without expansion, we wouldn't have the Wii, PS3 or the 360. Hell even games like Crysis wouldn't exist today if there was no profit margin on the sales. It's not the industries fault that people can't manage their wallet and complain that prices are too high even slightly. The game industry may seem to be there for the gamers but they're there because there's business. If they can't get profit, they have no real incentive to stay in the industry and if that happens, there would be no new games.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Fuck this asshole. Used is the only way to get games that are out of print. If used games weren't an option, how the fuck did I manage to buy Shadow of the Colossus.

I guess he's jealous because no one is willing to buy his piece of shit games regardless if they were used or pirated.

ZING!

 

[Flour]

Okay, I know the price point argument isn't legitimate against piracy, but here, I have to wonder if this isn't an indicator that games are being priced too damn high.

I buy most console games when they're platinum(classic for 360), so.. yes.
Platinum games are 40 euros cheaper(console games are 60 euros), some PS3 games are even 50 euros cheaper when they're platinum.