Why do people buy used games?

[lunavixen]

snip

other countries don't get new release games for $60, in Australia, we can pay anywhere up to $110 for a standard edition, and game prices stay high for ages, take Mario Kart Wii for example, to buy it new here is still $80, but i got my copy used over ebay for $25, wheel included, game was in mint condition and Mario kart wii came out in 2008.

 

[Winnosh]

If you're buying used games at Gamestop. You're doing it wrong. I've seen people walk past multiple mom and pop retailers selling new games at a far lower price just so they can get a stupid preorder bonus. Or buy a used game for 50 dollars that that same store sells for 28 dollars.

 

[likalaruku]

Well, you've got several options.

Retro A)Collector with lots of space = Buy old consoles & cartridges. Retro appeal, nostalgia, show em to your friends. Console may break though, & replacement parts will be rare & pricey, so pray your newer console is backwards compatible.

Retro B)Emulators & ROMs for games that are no longer sold for profit by the developers/publishers. Takes up only computer space.

Modern Impatient Poor) Your broke ass buys games used while they're still relevant & people are talking about them.

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)

Trade) You don't like the game you played, he didn't like what he played, so you trade. No monetary profit is made by either party.

 

[Rofl Harris]

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.

The presence of that secondary market is what is probably driving down the price of the new games after launch. People might pay £10 for a new copy (if new is £15 say, and used is £5); they're probably less likely to pay £30. If you take the cheap option away from consumers, there's no impetus for prices to fall by any considerable amount. Buying used games generally has little effect on the end experience so there's not much incentive for the customer to pay full price if a used alternative's there.

 

[Rofl Harris]

I don't understand how this question even exsist. People buy used stuff all the time, from cars to clothes to whatever you can think of. Why would games be any different?

Would you really live in a world where whenever you wanted something you HAD to buy a new one?

The lines become blurred when one considers the difference between physical property and intellectual property when it comes to ownership and selling on. Software sits in a grey area between the two.

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

I don't understand how this question even exsist. People buy used stuff all the time, from cars to clothes to whatever you can think of. Why would games be any different?

Would you really live in a world where whenever you wanted something you HAD to buy a new one?

The lines become blurred when one considers the difference between physical property and intellectual property when it comes to ownership and selling on. Software sits in a grey area between the two.

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

 

[Keith K]

I buy used games when the game I'm looking for can no longer be found new or if it's only available new in the ugly "Best Hits" variations.

The last used game I can remember buying was Uncharted. That of course lead to buying Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 as well as my brother and cousin doing the same.

There's your tangible benefit.

 

[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.