The Coming War on Used Games

[Twiddle]

Yesterday we got the first round of rumors for the next Playstation console, allegedly codenamed ?Orbis.? Among the details was a note that used games would be restricted on the console. They would be available on a ?trial only? basis where users would have to pay more to get the full titles.

Compare this with similar rumors about the next gen Xbox. The common thread is used games, and again there were hints that the ?Xbox 720? would restrict used titles in some fashion, be it tying a copy to an Xbox Live account, or putting in place a ?pay extra? system like Sony seems to be eying. Many current titles already have an ?online pass? that must be purchased outside of a used game that allows players multiplayer access, and it?s clear dismantling used game sales will be a huge priority for consoles in the coming generation.

The reason is simple, really. If you?re wondering why Gamestop continues to thrive while its brick and mortal brethren like Blockbuster and Borders fall, used games and lack of digital distribution are the reasons. When Gamestop buys back a game from a customer for a fraction of the price, when they resell it, they reap 100% of the reward. For sales of a new $60 game, they might net $10 or $15 for themselves, but when a clerk pushes a used copy for $55, they get to keep the entire pie while those who made the game get nothing.

There are used movie and book sales, sure, but those are overshadowed by each respective industry moving their products online. We have Netflix for movies, killing Blockbuster, and Kindle for books, killing Borders. But there is no equivalent for console games, and as such, consumers still need Gamestop. And pushing used titles hard lets the company not only survive, but thrive in an age when it seems like they should be obsolete.

Developers and Gamestop have tried to make nice in recent years, which is why preorder bonuses now come attached to every new game out there. Companies promise Gamestop exclusive content for trying to sell their game new, rather than pushing used copies that gives developers nothing. But it appears the truce is coming to an end.

Even though these Playstation and Xbox news bits are just rumors, the fact that both concentrate on restricting used games show that the industry is more than likely lining up a killshot. Either they?ll hobble used games to the point where it?s a headache not to buy new (and it?ll cost close to the same), or they?ll wipe out the possibility completely. Another Xbox rumor is that the console will be purely digital and not use discs at all, negating the entire concept of a used game.

What does this mean for the consumer? The way I see it, there are two paths the industry could take from here. One would have us looking to Steam, which has changed the PC gaming industry completely. It?s gone all-digital, which means no one ever buys used games. Rather, older games are put on sale, sometimes to an exceptional degree. While a company might price an old copy of Deus Ex at $40, a Steam sale might have the game selling for $7 for a weekend.

Source.

[firey]

Definitely interesting to see where this goes. Really the only people affected are places like GameStop and EBGames that make their profit on used games. More and more I am seeing used games going for maybe 5-10$ less than brand new. And used often come without digital codes and goodies buying new does.

I never buy used as I find way more gain in buying new.

[Dot Matrix]

Not a PC gaming problem! :p #PCRules

[Miuku.]

Not a PC gaming problem! :p #PCRules

When you have no choice, you have no problem.

I'm seeing a time when consumers need to start standing on barricades and put a stop to the licensing madness - no other industry gets off with this type of lunacy.

[nominak]

Not a PC gaming problem! :p #PCRules

I think that's exactly what they're trying to achieve lol

[threetonesun]

As a gamer, I'd prefer to know that I was locked in to buying a new game, then to wondering what I'm missing by buying it used. So many games recently have come with add ons and downloads that only work for the original owner, so could easily end up spending more for the complete game than you would just buying it new.

Oh, and death to vendor exclusives too. :crazy:

[freak180]

I dont like the sound of this...Not one bit :\

[Emn1ty]

I'm tired of this crap. If reselling a non-consumable product is so bad, lets shut down used car sales, used movie sales, used anything. I don't understand what the gaming industry is so butt hurt about. At this point its getting so bad that you won't even be able to lend people games, one of the other main buy reasons for consoles (cause you can't very well lend someone a PC game these days).

Whatever, I guess the gaming industry just wants to nickel and dime us to death.

PS: This will only increase piracy. The more difficult it is to get something legally the more people there will be obtaining it illegally.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I'm tired of this crap. If reselling a non-consumable product is so bad, lets shut down used car sales, used movie sales, used anything. I don't understand what the gaming industry is so butt hurt about. At this point its getting so bad that you won't even be able to lend people games, one of the other main buy reasons for consoles (cause you can't very well lend someone a PC game these days).

Whatever, I guess the gaming industry just wants to nickel and dime us to death.

PS: This will only increase piracy. The more difficult it is to get something legally the more people there will be obtaining it illegally.

pretty much, and I blame EA because they've become bigger *******s than ever this last year

[The Teej]

I just don't get why publishers can't bully retailers into giving them 20% of the profits sold from a used game. Solves everyone's problem. Retailers still make a bigger slice of the pie from pre-owned while publishers roughly get the same they would from a new game. This would either have two reactions: Gamestop has to stop putting such an emphasis on used games, or (and this is more likely) people get less money from trade ins - at which point the used game market decreases. Either way, publishers win and nobody is blatantly getting dicked over in public.

More then one way to skin a cat, people!

[Amarok]

As long as it works like the Online Pass system that quite a few games have implemented in the last year or so it's fine with me.

[the better twin]

Why should publishers get a penny? They already get their cut. If its not enough for them then they should renegotiate their deals with retailers. Consumers are the only ones punished by this. Retailers just put their prices up and consumers just end up paying more. Want to play a new game round a friends house? Tough. Want to share the cost of a game with a family member? Tough.

The corporate greed really stinks.

[Salutary7]

Not everyone will spend $60+ for a game, even if they can't get it used. Plenty of people buy new games only because they know they can always sell it to cover some of the cost. Unless new game prices are reduced accordingly, I have to seriously question whether killing off used games will actually increase sales for the publisher.

[123456789A]

My only concern is the availability of new condition games years after the initial release. I don't like used games, unless I'm buying retro games on eBay.

[insomniac9]

I hope that they do not go with this approach and I'm still hoping that they do allow backwards compatibilty on both consoles. The majority of games I own on the xbox 360 are used, the ones I buy brand new have been out a while and are normally in the sales. I would like to know why go after sales of used games why do they not do the same for DVD's, Blu-rays and CD's?

[Amarok]

For those that don't know quite a few games recently have been released with a code that you have to enter in order to play. (Kind of like CD-Keys) If you buy used you get very limited features and if you want all the features you have to pay $10. So assuming they go with something similar it won't actually kill used game sales, it just means that you won't actually be saving any money unless GameStop/EB/etc sell their used games for cheaper than they do now. If they don't sell their used games cheaper then you aren't saving any money by buying used and it makes buying new more appealing.

[Slammers]

Why would a the developers not do/push this? They are trying to make money right, they'd be stupid not to do anything about it. I don't care, i'd never buy a used game anyway. Physical game stores are a ripoff. I'm not saying I buy digital, i just mean stores like Gamestop suck anyway, it's depressing just walking into one the prices are so high and the sales people barely ever know what their talking about. They price their used games so high, it can almost always be cheaper to buy the game new from an online store. Example here in NZ, I just brought Kid Icarus for $55 NZ off NZgameshop.com. If I went into my local store it would cost $80-100nz new, $50-60nz used. So screw that! Unless the situation is really different overseas, I don't see anything wrong with this. All purchases will be online within 10-15 years anyway.

[astropheed Veteran]

The people who they are actually trying to enforce restrictions on won't have any of these restrictions. Cracks remove all of them. Only people who need to worry about this are the honest people.

Besides, I haven't bought a "Triple A" game in years, what with Humble Bundles, gog.com and millions of freeware games out there. And the last game I did buy was GTAIV, which I had to crack so it'd run at proper speeds. Man, I laughed at that one. (When you have to crack games you OWN, there is a massive problem). The next big game I'll buy is GW2, and that's about.......it....... Aside from indie stuff, which is usually more fun/innovative anyways.

[Prosidius]

If I buy a used car, should I give money to Toyota to be able to use the car with full functionality? That's how stupid Sony and MS sound.

[rajputwarrior]

eventually all these idiots will learn is all they are really doing is promoting piracy.

[Cheatyface]

Blockbuster and Borders didn't fall because of used games. They fell because of mismanagement and failure to keep up with the market, while dismissing outright the threats posed by Amazon and Gamestop as competition in the retail arena, in terms of pricing, selection, availability and customer service. It was never about used games, it was about failed business models and failure to adapt.

If you're going to villainize used games, at least bring some evidence to the table. As it stands every good on the planet has a grey market and it's been that way for as long as people have been buying and selling things. If game publishers want sympathy, maybe they need to stop screwing over the customer base.

[Buttus]

i hope this doesn't catch on, because if it does it's going to affect every industry.... car makers will want a cut of used car sales, books, etc, etc...

[trag3dy]

As a pc gamer I haven't been concerned with used games in many years. Not because I wouldn't buy used games, but because they just don't ****ing exist. I can however see this as a growing problem. It's pure greed by the publishers and that's all.

When there are quite a few quality games out or coming out that are free (tribes ascend, firefall, and dust 514 just to new a few) it's amazing that developers and publishers think people will always allow themselves to be nickle and dimed to death. Granted two of those games are pc exclusives, but the point still stands.

Edit: holy ****, typos

[Crisp]

I give it time before they start considering pre-owned games as piracy.

[Cheatyface]

As a pc gamer I haven't been concerned with used games in many years. Not because I wouldn't buy used games, but because they just don't ****ing exist. I can however see this as a growing problem. It's pure greed by the publishers and that's all.

When there are quite a few quality games out or coming out that are free (tribes ascend, firefall, and dust 514 just to new a few) it's amazing that developers and publishers think people will always allow themselves to be nickle and dimed to death. Granted two of those games are pc exclusives, but the point still stands.

Edit: holy ****, typos

All three of those are microtrans supported Free to Play >.> Those are the very definition of nickel and diming. Free to Play only exists because a sizable amount of the playerbase doesn't, in fact, mind being nickel and dimed.