Volition Dev Vs. Pre-Owned Games

[Westaway]

I like sharing my games. I buy all of my games new, and rarely trade or share games, but it's nice when I do. I trade Reach for Halo 3 with my friend, and my friend borrowed Orange Box and Portal 2 for New Vegas for a month. I can live without it, but I'd rather br able to do it. And if I like a game enough I buy it.

 

[grigjd3]

Volition needs to understand that their games aren't good enough for me to buy them new if I can't resell them - that's a sales loss, period.

 

[Gmans uncle]

Oh god... I've said this before, I'm sayin' it again, used games ARE NECESSARY to preserve gaming's future. IE: in ten years, when no new copies of the game are available, and you can't play a used copy of the game, your game CEASES TO EXIST.
Seriously, we need to keep used games, they're all that we have to keep our games alive in the future.

Honestly, Durall...

 

[Something Amyss]

Having an opinion =/= panic.

No, but taking it as fact+condemning Microsoft=panic.

But you had a lovely strawman, there.

 

[jawakiller]

Fuck. That. Guy.

No seriously, there are few people in this industry I hate more than this guy right now.

Fuck that guy and fuck Microsoft. This will just give them more leeway to send out shitty games.

 

[Something Amyss]

Oh god... I've said this before, I'm sayin' it again, used games ARE NECESSARY to preserve gaming's future. IE: in ten years, when no new copies of the game are available, and you can't play a used copy of the game, your game CEASES TO EXIST.
Seriously, we need to keep used games, they're all that we have to keep our games alive in the future.

They don't want you to keep their games alive. Games have become a disposable medium to most devs, which is ironically one of the reasons used games became so popular in the first place.

They want cash now, not historical recognition.

Okay, let's look at some actual numbers here. Cold, hard, non-bitchy facts.

THQ owns Volition, right? Well, THQ released their most recent quarterly statement a few days ago. Guess what their total revenue was in the last fiscal quarter. Go on, guess.

For those of you who are curious, they made $305 million. Unless their costs are really that fucking astronomical, that's still a massive profit.

EDIT: Just looking at this, and apparently THQ intends to publish a sequel to Homefront late next year. Was it really that successful to warrant a sequel?

Also from the report:

With third quarter shipments of approximately 3.6 million units (life to date 3.8 million units), Saints Row: The Third is the largest owned-IP launch in THQ's history. The company currently expects to ship between five and six million units over the life of this title.

Volition's game is their largest non-licensed franchise, it had sold almost 4 million at that point, etc.

Speaking of franchises, since that's where companies think the money is, I think a Homefront sequel was an inevitability. They invest a lot in these franchises. Not a game, but I'm still surprised they didn't run with the second Avtara: TLA movie despite fan complaints about the first. They kinda went all in on that being a multimedia franchise, so I expected them to claw at it.

 

[gphjr14]

Congrats Volition I bought SR3 brand new; however after reading this I'll be sure to get your next game (if I even get it) used, and I mean $40 or less used off half.com or ebay.

Times are bad enough without people nickel and diming consumers. Seriously get the fuck over yourself Volition.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Yeah, on one hand, it eliminates arbitrage. Good for the publisher/developer. Bad for consumers.

On the other...it kind of allows for more complacency. And it makes me ask: If Used Games disappear, will we see the end of nonsensical schemes like Day 1 DLC?

Of course we won't. Because they already know people are willing to pay more for less (In general, DLC has a worse Cost:Content ratio than core games, and since the games turn profits on each copy sold, it can't be called a loss-leader strategy).

And then there's that whole issue of the gaming industry effectively marketing goods as products, but then trying to force customers into legal bindings that treat them like services...they're double-dipping into two kinds of goods and legalities here, which makes for no end of confusion.

Oh god... I've said this before, I'm sayin' it again, used games ARE NECESSARY to preserve gaming's future. IE: in ten years, when no new copies of the game are available, and you can't play a used copy of the game, your game CEASES TO EXIST.

Actually, they'd prefer that in the long run. It means that gamers would be FORCED to move on and buy into the latest sequel, even if it were a note-for-note copy.
It solves the problem of publishing remakes and/or mediocrity: Why compete with YOURSELF when you don't have to?

 

[thejackyl]

I wouldn't really mind this IF...

There was a MASSIVE price drop in new games. Like down to $30 new, instead of $60. And if price drops started about a week after launch, even for high selling games. And if the games are saved a la Steam (for free too), so if the console dies, you still have your games.

However, I don't really see this whole thing happening. And if it does, I can guarantee 90% of owners of the new consoles will jailbreak them. I know I would.

CAPTCHA: Pay Pvesndo. Who is Pvesndo and why should I pay him?

 

[falcon1985]

Dear Volition. Shut the fuck up and make Freespace 3 already.

 

[Link Kadeshi]

This just in, GM just announced that they are going to start implementing a single sales device in their new cars. Each person will now have to use a single use retina scanner to register their retina scans to their new GM cars. This will prevent used car sales. GM has long been researching a remedy for what they call "a system as bad as grand theft auto." This system will stop car lending, as that is clearly a loss in revenue, as well as selling a car to anyone else. Immediately following this announcement, GM's stock price plummeted.

 

[Something Amyss]

Congrats Volition I bought SR3 brand new; however after reading this I'll be sure to get your next game (if I even get it) used, and I mean $40 or less used off half.com or ebay.

Times are bad enough without people nickel and diming consumers. Seriously get the fuck over yourself Volition.

After SR3, I'm not sure they're worth supporting anymore.

Or playing, even if only used. Though that's just me.

 

[Syzygy23]

Wow, this guy is a real piece of shit.

The Xbox, gamecube, and PS2 made profits just FINE alongside used games. These guys are just getting greedy, so they can go fuck themselves.

 

[JRCOBRA]

Congrats Volition you have now joined the ranks of companys I will no longer buy from such as Codemasters, Ubisoft, Infinity Ward, Project Aces, Techland, and some others.

Any company dumb enough to make a console that would do this deserves to go bankrupt. I'm looking forward to the video gaming crash part 2.

 

[Lunar Templar]

i have but a simple question ...

who is this delusional asshole and HOW did he get away from his padded cell?

for real

also, for on topic-ness:

IF the next gen consoles pull this shit, there is no maybe about getting one, i will not be getting one. i already do the 'enter a code to play a game' on the PC. i see no reason to throw money at a new console that would effectively be forcing me to do the same, not to mention, making all the games i >.> er ... used to have ... >.> (all my consoles save the PS2 got pawned) would be totally unplayable, and I'm not paying Sony or Microsoft AGAIN, FOR GAMES I ALREADY OWN.

so and i mean this from the very bottom of my heart.

Jameson Durall, go.fuck.your.self

 

[weirdee]

Oh wow, flame bait of the century. He couldn't have done better if he were trolling on purpose.

Perhaps instead of chasing margins ("only 60 bucks!") perhaps they should focus on a complete experience?...

For the record, I keep any game which is worth more to me being in my possession; not monetarily, but because it represents something that I actually think is worth KEEPING. I kept Radiant Historia, despite it being not a triple a game, and even if it doesn't have any replayability (although that does factor into the decision) BECAUSE IT WAS WELL MADE. Games that are mostly an online experience or use DLC as a way to hoard parts of the experience to spite used game sales...it isn't something I particularly value.

 

[randomsix]

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

Hmmm... Kind of like how some devs are up in arms about used games, and that it hasn't killed them in the 20+ years of gaming history?

Sounds like the man isn't sharp enough to realize that his own words damn him.

More OT: He says the industry will fall apart? I say good. It needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to get all of the rot out.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Sony backpedaled quickly on their decision for it on the PS3 following consumer outrage. Why would Microsoft be any different?

The next generation is seeming more and more unnecessary.