Volition Dev Vs. Pre-Owned Games

[GonzoGamer]

Wow. Can you say "out of touch Asshat? I'm betting this idiot is a Romny supporter.

I actually made an account with the Escapist just to comment on this article.

Volition. Throw away that useless martyr complex. I have never thought of any of your games as being worth more than a weekend's worth of play borrowed from a friend long-since bored of your empty games. If Xbox DOES make a console that outlaws used games, say goodbye to YOUR sales.

I pay for games new all the time. I prefer to buy them used over new just because it feels more like "my" game and if it breaks, it was my fault. But I also love the used game market because years after a game comes out, if I want to play an older game, I can find it easily on the shelf of a nearby game store for cheap. It no longer stands up to current games, so I pay less money for it (LOGIC. DERP.) and yet it's not rare and hard to find, so I don't have to pay 90 dollars on ebay for a "Collector's copy" like when I wanted to get Marvel vs. Capcom 2 way before it was on XBLA and the only physical copies were like 70 dollars even though the game was like 10 years old.

But let me say this for sure. If a game system decided to outlaw used games and only allow me one console per game... FUCK. THAT. When I buy games, I run to a friend's house within the first few days to play it there. I WILL NOT go through a lengthy "subscription transfer" so my friend and I can goof off for a few rounds in Soul Calibur V. If Xbox decides to move in this way, as a long-standing Xbox fan (and die-hard console fanboy for a while, as I'm ashamed to say), I will officially call myself a Sony fan and by the PS4.

God, this asshole... boiled my blood so bad I had to make an account to rant so I wouldn't be in a bad mood all day. Geez. And Volition, this is a promise. If games become New-ONLY, I will learn everything I can about hacking/pirating and find a way to crack your games and give away hundreds of thousands of copies for free. Just to laugh and watch you squirm.

Welcome, this is one of those sites where you can badmouth the industry like this and even talk about piracy without being told to STFU...at least, not by the moderators.
I'm already pretty sure I'm not getting a console next generation. No more used games would definitely be the last straw for me as a renter. And no, I don't think his idea for a PS/MS rental service would float too well.
I buy new now but I bought used when I was poor (before gamestop gouged the used game market) and I don't think morons like this Volition Dev realize that if I hadn't bought a game of theirs used in the past, I wouldn't have even known about their games now.
And it's not too surprising that this is their stance. Have you SEEN Saints Row 3. It was horribly chopped into a million pieces so they could sell it bit by bit as dlc.
But all these schemes like day1 dlc and online pass don't seem to be doing them much good. Didn't THQ just liquidate a few offices? That's a sign that the bottom line isn't getting any healthier.

At the end of the day, do we really need to say anything about this?

Volition, we like you. Millions of people have played your games. You've already shipped 3.8 million copies of Saints 3, well past your initial goal of 3 mil by March. Used game sales aren't going to put you in debt anytime soon.

That's the part that really annoys me. It's not the struggling independent devs that have been all up in arms about used games. It's the douchebags in charge of huge publishers who champion things like online pass because it might make their ridiculously huge bonuses slightly less ridiculous.
It's ironic that the publishers of really popular games that sell a hell of a lot anyway are the ones who really like crap like online pass. Did I say ironic, I meant shitty.

 

[Aureliano]

Stay tuned for next week's installment when Durall explains where gamers who don't pirate and can't afford to pay $60 for every game they want to play get an extra ~$20-$50 to pay per game without severely increasing their workload!

Oh. You mean this is just a one shot article? Awkward...

 

[Alexander Vanderpoel]

the more BS these developers put in the way of playing a game the more we will fight, take a page out of valves book and get your head out from you know where, like they dont make enough from the DLC one every stupid thing they pump out

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Any console that came out with anti-used game technology will be a nonstarter. I suspect MS is playing the developers/publishers.

They talk to the publishers about locking out used games, show off a little tech demo then get then publishers to invest in developing/launching for the new console. Then just before the release date MS announces "we are listening to the concerns of our customers and are not including anti-used game technology". MS gets a massive PR bump and and awesome media buzz. The publishers will all be crying but what are they going to do? Not release their games and lose all their investment?

 

[Zom-B]

Gamers are a fairly entitled bunch, the majority will not give a shit if the game DESERVES to be bought new, they will be told by a gamestop employee when they are buying new that they can get the exact same thing for 5-10 dollars off, and be asked why they don't want to save money.

They will pick the used game almost every time, because it is the exact same product at a cheaper price point, with peer pressure working against them.

besides, all the people saying "This is BS, this sucks, I am so not going to buy if this happens!" Well, the game industry was really shown the last time people said how much they were going to boycott a game...it and ITS sequel sold better than any other media in history.

So, while people are hoppin up and down saying how horrible it is, the big companies have learned they can just snicker and brush those people aside because they will likely end up as customers anyway.

Some of this might be true for some gamers, but please don't presume to speak for us all.

Sure, given the choice between a new game at $60 and a used at $30, I will pay $30 most of the time, because then, of course, I have another $30 to buy a second game. Given the choice between a $60 new game and a $55 used copy, I will invariably either buy the new game or wait for the price drop.

Also, if a next gen console does have some anti-used game lockdown on it, I certainly won't buy it. And I know a lot of other people won't either. It's easy to say that the public will suck it up and keep buying or that the game publishers and hardware makers will continue pushing more and more restrictions all the while snickering away at the stupid public, but don't put it past the average human to rebel against something that really, really bothers them.

Online passes are one thing, taking away the option to even play a used game on your console is an entirely different animal.

 

[Skratt]

"Gamers who want to lend games to their friends could conceivably be accommodated by a system similar to Amazon's book lending policy, which transfers the license for a set period of time. "

And this comment completely undermines his ENTIRE FUCKING ARGUMENT. If the point is to STOP people from playing a game they didn't pay for so the devs can feed their families, a loaner system does the complete opposite.

The used game industry is just that - an industry, complete with employees and customers. What this dev is really saying is "I will make more money if the used game industry doesn't exist." which is not only complete conjecture, but likely a crock of shit. Your COMPANY will make more money, and how much more they would make is debatable.

All of these devs, companies and supporters of doing away with the used game industry are ignoring one fatal piece of evidence: Not everyone will pay $60 for a new game. This seemingly foreign paradigm is called the Law of Demand. If 1 million people buy a game used because they want to pay less, taking away the option to buy used will not make 1 million more people pay $60 for a new game.

The used games R bad, mm'kay approach to recouping costs are simply another way of ignoring the giant white elephant in the room. AAA Titles cost too much to produce so when a game tanks, everyone (devs, publishers, et al) blame everything but the fact that people don't want to pay full price for a sub-par game. It really sucks that you spent 4 years of your life coding sweat, blood and tears into something that didn't break sales records but life sucks. Deal.

BTW, with digital distribution, used sales are going away. It's best we all just prepare for it. All I'm saying is that the arguments I keep seeing for devs and publishers not making enough money are horseshit. Except maybe arguments about piracy costing companies money. If a person doesn't want to pay for a game then they just shouldn't fucking play it.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

Every. Other. Industry. Has. A. Secondhand. Market. Period.

Do authors, publishers, and sellers of books go out attacking independently-owned secondhand book stores because "buying used hurts the author and publisher!" No. No they don't. At least not in any profound public way.

Does Hollywood attack secondhand DVD sellers? No. No they don't. At least not in any profound public way.

I understand that video games are expensive to make and tend to have bigger teams of employees compared to books, but the gap between production team for a movie and game isn't that different.

Other industries have adapted to the existence of a second-hand market, and video games should too. The secondhand market is a perefectly valid thing. If someone in the industry can't adapt to it, then they perish. That's the nature of the free market. Deal with it.

 

[Orange12345]

If that happens then welcome to the world (at least an area) of PC gaming, consolers.

My thoughts exactly when I first heard about this, if all consoles go through with this I am switching over to PC until consoles pull their head out of their ass.

Rant incoming

It isn't even fair to try and ban used games,
What if I buy a 60$ game and don't like it?
What if I buy a 60$ game and finish it in 2 days?
What if the game I want to play is 5+ years old and I can't find a new copy?
What if the game I want to play is 3+ years old and the multiplayer is barren?
What happens if my console breaks? Do I get my games back?
What happens if I decide to upgrade to one of the inevitable "newer" consoles (I.E. ps3 slim)?

Well according to console developers TOUGH SHIT

To be fair yes their is a problem with used games that needs to be addressed, but shafting your consumers to get back at some other A-holes is not the way to do it.

 

[Thoric485]

That's some pretty pathetic clickbait.

Works though.

 

[Necrofudge]

I really like this guy's logic about the plan.

even though the consumers would be up in arms about it at first...they will grow to understand why and that it won't kill them.

I don't doubt that people will stop complaining, but it won't be because they'd "grow to understand why".

It's only because the consumer is stupid and complacent that this kind of thing slides in today's society.

Him calling it an understanding is a joke. It wouldn't be understanding. It would be accepting a crappy deal because protesting is hard and gets nothing done.

 

[Sylveria]

So what happens when the Nextbox or NextStation breaks? Do we lose all our games? Do we have to send the console away for weeks so they can transfer the games? What if the warranty has run out?

I really do not see any way that this will not just end up with piracy skyrocketing.

Not to defend this, but they'd have to tie the codes to your XBLA account probably.. which brings about another issue of you needing to have the console online at all times so XBL can authenticate your games.

But yeah, all this would do is make more people mod their console and start pirating.

Though, I totally support XBOX doing this.. cause it would be catastrophic for them.

 

[Radoh]

And I hope this happens.
I like the idea of it and hope such a thing is not just the Xbox, plus this would totally kneecap Gamestop, and anything that does that is Double Fine in my book.

 

[Sylveria]

If that happens then welcome to the world (at least an area) of PC gaming, consolers.

My thoughts exactly when I first heard about this, if all consoles go through with this I am switching over to PC until consoles pull their head out of their ass.

Rant incoming

It isn't even fair to try and ban used games,
What if I buy a 60$ game and don't like it?
What if I buy a 60$ game and finish it in 2 days?
What if the game I want to play is 5+ years old and I can't find a new copy?
What if the game I want to play is 3+ years old and the multiplayer is barren?
What happens if my console breaks? Do I get my games back?
What happens if I decide to upgrade to one of the inevitable "newer" consoles (I.E. ps3 slim)?

Well according to console developers TOUGH SHIT

To be fair yes their is a problem with used games that needs to be addressed, but shafting your consumers to get back at some other A-holes is not the way to do it.

ok
question 1 research it more
question 2 buy better games
question 3 its all gonna be downloadable, so non issue
question 4 get the newer version of it
question 5 its tied to the account numbnuts so you would get it back
question 6 thats actually a valid question, they should let you carry it across but we'll find out the answer to that if we can take downloadable games acorss this time won't we.

Stop rocking the pram

1.No matter how much one researches, there's no way to determine for sure if you'll find the game enjoyable. You can assume all you want based on information, but only in practice does one know for sure.

2. That's just ignorant and contradicts your first "solution." They could do all the research, think its good, get it, play it, and find they dislike it and your response is "lawl shouldn't have bought that then huh bro?"

3. Clearly, no its not. The gaming culture, industry, and internet framework are still a long way away from having AAA title games be readily available, affordable, and convenient via download. Yes I'm sure you have a 9000000TBPS internet connection cause you're awesome and your mom is the president and you know the mayor of new jersey, but the vast majority of people do not.

4. Nothing here. Multiplayer is fickle.

5. The network goes down. Account gets lost/hacked/suspended. The Network itself is hacked. In short, shit can happen.

6. Now you're expecting them to include backwards/cross compatibility. In an ideal world? Great, but providing that, as we've seen is not cheap and companies are moving away from it because it extends the life of old consoles if they are still in demand, even if small, years later as replacements. Wait, you just said the stuff is tied to your account, so why wouldn't it go from, for example, a PS3 to a PS3 slim? What, following your own ignorant brotroll argument from one point to the next is really that hard?

 

[cyrad]

Game companies, you should focus on a system that's beneficial to both consumers and game companies.

We're in a recession, people are struggling to keep jobs, and AAA titles are getting more expensive. If you aren't willing to adapt to your consumers, then they're are going to give their business to those that can.

 

[Leon's Hell]

So I can see at least three problems with this idea.

The used games market is for those who don't want to /can't pay full price for their games. So you leave them with either waiting a few months (people aren't likely to be this patient) or pirate the game.

The second problem is, this is Microsoft, who in the past have had issues with their products breaking. What happens when this console breaks, do we need to buy all of the games again or is Microsoft going to pay more people to deal with game migrations to other consoles? There is also the issue of them bringing a new version of the console out and it not been able to play your games right away.

Third, final and most annoying is if you want to go to your friend's place and bring some of your games. "Sorry this product is tied to one console and we don't care if you're trying to have fun."

This isn't an entirely new idea on Microsoft's part as your copy of Windows is tied to the PC you bought it for.

 

[Toeys]

i guess i could start collecting stamps or something instead. atleast then its just a matter of cost. I wouldnt have to worry about EULAs, consoles with restrictions, being online to play, corrupt reviewers and or any other kind of way publishers and devs make me as a fan of the hobby hate it for what it has become.

Unless some serious, funded and independent gamers association gets into the fray theres really nothing to do about being screwed again and again like we have been the 10-15 last years

 

[Royas]

To me, this guy seems to be an enemy of the very capitalist system that has allowed him to prosper. The creators and publishers are only half the equation in a capitalist system, the consumer is in there too. Consumer rights are, in the long run, good for the entire system. They force a level of quality and honesty onto any industry. Restricting those rights (which this definitely would!) for any reason is just plain bad for the whole system.