Why do people buy used games?

[WhiteTigerShiro]

What happens when a publisher stops producing a game? No other option except to buy it used if you ever want to try and play it.

Pretty much this right here. Roughly 90% of my used games are simply because there was no buying new; which even includes some games that hadn't been released that long ago. Developers/Publishers can complain about the used games market all they want, but when they publish such a limited run of a game that it can't be found new within months of release, they're kind of giving those sales to the secondhand shops.

 

[Iron Gix]

pretty simple answer to why buy used..it's the price.Why pay 60 when you can pay 40 and so on and also for those few games that are hard to find and not easily available to find on the open market. So again,in short..price

 

[GodzillaGuy92]

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.

For one thing, not everyone is as on top of the various available deals as you seem to be. Even for those who are or could be, sometimes it comes down to convenience over price; sometimes not having to wait until the opportune moment to buy a game is worth a few extra dollars. If the person in question wants the game enough, whether it be out of sheer excitement or paranoia over copies of the game eventually running dry, the best immediate purchasing option for the price is nearly always a used copy.

Of these two mentalities, I'm much more like you; case in point, I've passed up buying FTL when it's gone on sale on Steam for 50%, because I'm waiting for it to go 75% off - as if I'll ever in my entire life miss that extra $2.50. I just can't help it. But that example roundaboutly demonstrates the answer to your question. When I was a console gamer, used games were a cheaper alternative to new ones, and more convenient than waiting for new ones to go on sale. Now that I've taken up PC gaming, Steam (along with GOG) is both cheaper and more convenient than the used game market (even without the sales, in most cases), and as a result I doubt I'll buy a used game ever again. People buy used games because they will invariably go with whatever choices they perceive to be best for them.

 

[Not Matt]

First of all. It's cheaper. And being on a student budget, I can barely afford anything.

And secondly. Say I want a game that came out a few years ago and wasn't a success (like the saoutuer or naughty bear...etc) then it is much easier to consult the gamestop at the mall rather that empty my wallet for Amazon shipping fees

 

[Archer666]

It's cheaper. How else can I maintain my video game hobby along with my 40k addiction and weekly social drinking events? Not with 60 euro games, thats for sure.

 

[Entitled]

I think that once you already can't afford to buy new games from the publishers, then even pirating the rest is less harmful than selling and buying used ones.

The result is almost the same, you get to play a few of your games without rewarding the artists, but at least in that case, instead of giving part of your gaming budget to Gamestop, you are keeping it in your pocket, for the possibility of spending it on other new games later.

Used games are more like those old-fashined "warez" piracy sites, and disc-bootlegging, that people had to pay for, not even just skipping the publishing industry, but draining away potential business from it.

 

[DeadRise17]

Gamers support used games mostly because they are the only way to get at least some return if you buy a game that isn't good enough to keep. It is also supported for the fact that publishers tried to destroy it. The right to sell your games is one of the few rights gamers have. Trying to destroy that right makes support for it stronger.

 

[TallanKhan]

Well I think it is less about actually buying used games as more about the extent to which you own what you buy. The idea that if you buy something it is yours to resell if you so choose, not something that you are grated permission to dispose of, in the approved way, with the "corporate overlord" taking a big cut of the transaction.

Yes I am aware that with all the licence agreements and terms of service you accept to play a game everight now that there are question marks over the reality of ownership. However, the practical reality of the present system is that as long as you have an original (non-pirated disc) in your possession you effectivley own that game and can play it whenever you want, and can give it away or sell it on whenever you want.

Also if you restrict used games in the way that was being proposed for the Xbone there is a huge question mark over how you go about aquiring a hard copy game after a few years once the publisher has stopped producing new copies and the stock of used games available is diminished due to the "only transferable once" rule. Even further down the line you have to consider what happens in 10 years or so when Microsoft stop supporting their approved trading in system altogether, then what happens?

 

[Iwata]

Just today I bought Black Ops 2. It cost me ?20 used. The same game is still on shelves at ?50 new. That's over 50% discount.

If I can buy cheap, why the hell would I pay more than double for the exact same game? I work hard for a living, I have a wife and baby daughter to support, I'm not going to be spending more than I have to simply because the publishers don't like it.

I buy games new, mind you. I have two games on pre-order coming next week. But I decide what to buy based on my budget, the industry doesn't decide for me.