Why do people buy used games?

[KOMega]

Because I am a timetraveler who lives a few years in the past, but can only physically affect the present.
The games I can afford are no longer abundant on the new games shelves, let alone the really old games I want to get.

Modern Patient Poor) Your broke ass just waits half a year or longer for significant price drops. By then no one is talking about the game anymore. (The only option that doesn't involve used games)

well it sorta does involve used games because, since he game in question is not talked about a lot anymore, stores may or may not have these on their shelves anymore. I have to search/buy online OR look through the used games basket in stores, which stock older games.

I'm an unwashed scavenger going for the leftovers and scraps when the larger predators have left.
The drop in popularity seems to make things cheaper as a result, new or used.

 

[Senaro]

The real kicker on getting rid of used games means that I can no longer lend or borrow games with friends or family. I want to have ownership of my own property.

 

[Antwerp Caveman]

Availability.
Ownership.
Maybe the pricedifference isn't that big to you, but that must mean you make enough money.
Scratched disks? Ask to see them first?

 

[wetfart]

For me it comes down to two things.

1) First-sale doctrine

2) Exhaustion doctrine

So because of those two things, I firmly believe that used games are okay.

If a publisher is complaining that used games are hurting their margins, then they should trim their production budgets, make their games better, or offer us a cookie for buying new.

While I doubt it will ever happen, the copyright and patent laws in the United States need a serious overhaul.

 

[spoonybard.hahs]

I agree with all the anger and resentment directed towards the Xbox One and I'm definitely not going to be buying it with those ridiculous demands on the consumer. However, I'm still baffled as to why the "used game market" is this sacred thing to be maintained at all costs. Used games aren't that cheap. I've gotten "new" copies of old-ish games for less than a used copy would cost, pretty much all the time. I just keep an eye on deals. I got XCOM Enemy Unknown for $15 from Best Buy brand new in sealed packaging. Currently on amazon, the cheapest used copy comes in at $16 plus shipping. On gamestop, it's a whopping $38. It's free on PS Plus right now. I saw Far Cry 3 on sale at either amazon or best buy a few days ago for $20. Far Cry 2 is maybe a five dollar difference between used and new. Same for Fallout 3.

I just don't get the hubbub. I never buy used for fear of getting a scratched copy. Again, I don't want DRM and maybe one day I'll want a used copy of an old game. Why do people act like used games are the biggest point of contention in the industry? It's not exactly consumer friendly model either and it just means a retailer acted as a middleman who pocketed more money than usual by facilitating a transaction.

I mean if anything is hurting the game industry, it's the game industry. That level of competition is tough and when you have multiple AAA games at $60 a pop every few months that all get gradually discounted as they become less popular, it really tightens one's profit margins. Why else would we have so many preorder bonuses?

(And to reiterate, I'm not a MS fanboy since I don't want to have to rely on an internet connection to play a game and I didn't really like my 360 all that much. That, and the fact that Infamous Second Son is a thing, pretty much decided my purchasing decisions before the console war even started.)

Scratches happen, but resllers never buy back discs that are so bad as to be unplayable.

But the hubbub is over consumer rights. Dudebro Bleszinksi, Ben Kuchera, and TotalBisuit can cry all they want about licenses and how used games hurt the lowly and destitute developer, but fact of the matter is if you purchased something, you own it. The manufacturer doesn't - and shouldn't - have any right to tell you what you can and can't do with it after purchase (within reason of course; if you try to put the disc through the paper shredder it's obviously not covered under warranty).

The pricing on used games can be schizophrenic, but it's usually the best way to snag a hot title that refuses to go down in price despite its waning popularity in the first-hand retail space (Halo and CoD, for example) on any day that's not Black Friday.

Ultimately, used games and piracy do not affect the publishers and developers' bottom lines or profits. The retail workings for home media entertainment pretty much protect them from that. For the industry, it comes down to them wanting to get a cut of another company's profits because they can't stop trying to measure their dicks against the CoD juggernaut, and blowing unbelievable amounts of money on stupid shit like getting AMD to create an engine just for Lara Croft's hair. Because really, all they're crying about is not getting the money for something they were already paid for. They are perfectly fine and happy to try and create a system where they get money for doing nothing, while not even contributing to the cost of buying used games from consumers.

And since they can't get GameStop to willingly submit to what is essentially a protection racket, they'll try and come up with new ways to blocked used games. Which is your right as a consumer to have or not.

 

[roushutsu]

The only time I ever consider buying used is if the game I'm looking for is not being made anymore and it's not available in the console stores. Those are very rare instances for me. In fact, I can only name 2 off the top of my head that I had to buy used: Okami for the Wii and Eternal Sonata for the PS3. Couldn't find new copies anywhere, so I had to look for used ones, and even then they were hard to find. I was fortunate to find a few used Okamis at Game Stop, but it was a stroke of luck to find 1 Eternal Sonata ANYWHERE.

 

[Rofl Harris]

There is no grey area, it was bullshit that was made up by greedy companies. The ONLY legitimate issue is copying. As long as you BUY something you own it and have every moral right to do whatever you want with that copy as long as you don't duplicate it

I'm afraid there is a grey area. That's why copyright law is so difficult to get right (at all levels). Morality really doesn't enter into it.

 

[Something Amyss]

I've gotten "new" copies of old-ish games for less than a used copy would cost, pretty much all the time. I just keep an eye on deals.

I'm glad your experience is like that; most don't have that luck.

Next topic: I don't get why people want health care. I've never been sick.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

There is no grey area, it was bullshit that was made up by greedy companies. The ONLY legitimate issue is copying. As long as you BUY something you own it and have every moral right to do whatever you want with that copy as long as you don't duplicate it

I'm afraid there is a grey area. That's why copyright law is so difficult to get right (at all levels). Morality really doesn't enter into it.

Not according to the EU courts who stated people have the right to resell digital content, not according to customers who just forced Microsoft to back down.

 

[Roxas1359]

I buy used games to save myself money, as that is a main reason why many people buy used games. There are many alternative places to buy used games that are not GameStop/GAME/EB Games that I can get mine from. Another reason is that when a game becomes out of print buying it used is often times the only way to get the game at a price that doesn't destroy your wallet.
An example of this is the PS1 game The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. To buy a used copy of the game with just the disc is between $110-$150. Buying it new is around $600-$700.

I also buy used games if they are games I wanna play, but I don't support the company. Mainly though this is only the case with Capcom. *shakes fist at Capcom for cancelling Legends 3 and blaming it on the fans*

Developers and Publishers blame used games for their "lost sales" because often times now it means that they can't install that golden toilet in their bathrooms and have to settle for a silver one! XD

 

[BloodSquirrel]

I never buy or sell used games. But all of my games are still used games. Because I've used them.

Thus, if the industry eliminates used games, they eliminate all of my games.

Meditate on this, and gain wisdom.

Or, for the less inclined to think out there, it's almost impossible to create a system that only eliminates second-hand sales through a company like Gamestop. There would never be any "Oh look, I found this game lying around, I'll give it a shot" that there might be if I found an SNES game in my closet today.

 

[Rofl Harris]

Not according to the EU courts who stated people have the right to resell digital content, not according to customers who just forced Microsoft to back down.

Well if the EU courts say so then it's clearly no longer up for debate.

 

[Zeraki]

1. It is much cheaper than buying a new copy.
2. Sometimes it's the only way to get a game when the publisher is no longer producing new copies.

It really is as simple as that. I may not like getting games that have scratches on them, but I don't always have a choice.

 

[Kotaro]

....there certainly is the case where a game just isn't being produced any more and the only way you can get it is to get it used, but that's a different topic altogether.

This. This is when I buy used. There's also the whole "First Sale Doctrine" thing which we as consumers are legally entitled to.

 

[Michael Legault]

The best way to buy used games is to find the tiny independent used game stores, Gamestop doesn't give fair trade in prices and charges too much for used games. Sure they usually have a better selection, but I've found if you frequent the indies you will find good things, I grabbed a copy of Tomb Raider (2013's) the other day for $25 taxes included I checked it on amazon and used copies are $35! plus shipping etc. I have a friend who's been going to some places so often for so long that they even give him better deals from time to time. And these would've been the kind of places to hurt most from Xbone's original used game policy

 

[King Aragorn]

Used games actually have some positive effects for developers and publishers. Say...Far Cry 3 is coming out. I hit up my game store, and I want to buy a game. I see Far Cry 2 sitting on the shelves, used. I get the game, I love it! so then, when the next installment comes out, I get it. Maybe even pre-order it. The profits they lose aren't that big, and they gain some from it too.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I find it funny that Cliffy B is so against used games while I wouldn't have bought Gears of War 2 and 3 brand new if I hadn't bought the first one used. I did the same with Ratchet and Clank, too. A bunch of franchises, in fact! Used games have always played a big role in my game choices.

As for selling them, fuck it they're my games and I need the cash. And if it gets somebody else into the franchise, all the better, right?

 

[Evil Smurf]

Because buying my Pokemon games and handheld consoles are cheaper on EBay. Although I did get Pokemon hits new. I once bought skyward Sword for $30 new on eBay, it even came with the special edition cd.

 

[sanquin]

I don't know how people do it in America. But here in the Netherlands there's a large market for people directly selling to other people as well. Not just 'get ripped off by a store, so they can sell it to others for a profit'. We have Marktplaats, Ebay, smaller stores that price used games fairly, etc. So used games are almost always cheaper than buying new ones over here.

That, and when a game isn't sold by stores any more all you can do is try to find one used. Morrowind, blood omen 2, warcraft 3 + expansions, pokemon silver, my n64 games, etc. I got them all from other people through Marktplaats/Ebay as stores didn't sell them any more.

Lastly, there's also 'being able to sell your games'. There are plenty of people that can't just afford all games they want, and need to sell an old game or two to be able to afford the 'new' game they want.

 

[BleedingPride]

Usually it depends on my financial situation. Normally I buy used when I can because it's cheaper, and when I'm pretty okay on money I buy new for a more guaranteed condition of the disk (had a bad experience, bought a used splinter cell double agent and it didn't work)