Lately a lot of rumors have been popping up about the next generation of consoles, particularly the next Xbox. Some of these have sounded somewhat believable while others, well...not so much. One of the more fanciful rumors has reported that the next Xbox console will not allow gamers to play used games on it. This just sounds plain ridiculous. A console that won't allow us to play used games? In what way is that a solid business plan? Then again, game developers and publishers have been saying for a while now that they don't appreciate the fact that they see next to no money from the sale of used games.
However, a move like this is in no one's favor.
I will be upfront about this: I depend on used games. I do not pull in a lot of money so I don't have the funds to go buying every new game that I want to play. New game purchases for me are special occasions reserved for games that I simply have to have the moment they are released. So for the dozens of games that I want to get, but not enough to buy them new, picking them up used is the only way I can play them. And I have really loved some of those games. However I am a gamer on a budget, and that means I need used games in order to get my game on at times. I am not alone on this. Plenty of of people pickup used games as a cheaper alternative. Even people that have the money to buy all the new games they want still pick up used games now and again because they are cheaper, and we always would prefer to spend less money.
What developers and publishers get upset about is that most of the time, they are not seeing a cent of those sales. Most used game sales go straight to the store that sold the game. The argument is they are missing out on sales because of this. While that's not entirely wrong, it's also not entirely right either. In order for the game to be used it has to be sold in the first place. That's where the initial sales come from. Now while they may be missing out on extra profit, they still make money off the initial sale. However, the video game industry is a business, and as such developers and publisher's want to make as much money as possible. That's just good business sense. In order to try and maximize their profits, some developers and publishers have begun using online passes and special "day one" DLC to try and generate extra revenue from the gamers who buy used or use as incentive for buying the game new.
This is where we, the gamers, start to have a problem though. As I said before, some of us just don't have the kind of cash to go buy new games all the time, and we buy used because we either want to save a few bucks, or because we don't have the extra cash to begin with. However, in a lot of cases, after you add in the cost of an online pass, you may as well have just bought the game new. In a few cases you actually wind up spending even more money, which is not what cash strapped gamers want to hear. Then there's the "day one" downloadable content that is offered as an incentive to buy the game new. This isn't in and of itself a bad idea, but instead of offering extras it seems some developers remove chunks of the game and offer that as the incentive. Take for instance Catwoman from Arkham City. She is featured quite prominently on the back of the box, all of her character specific Riddler trophies, and even her own skill tree are in the game right out of the box. Yet, if you didn't buy the game new, you have to pay extra to access that content. You could argue that it is still an extra feature, and yes not everyone will care that it;s missing, but a lot of us don't like the thought that significant sections of a game get boarded up if you don't buy the game new. It's almost like extortion in some cases.
However we can't really compare used games to other kinds of "used" markets either. Used cars usually have performance problems and aren't in as good condition as their new counterparts. Used furniture works much the same way. A used game, with the exception of some scratches, is exactly what it was new. Same game, same experience, nothing broken or changed (usually.) It's hard to say that used game has less value than the same title new, simply because it's the same experience. Of course over time, newer titles come out and the older games get outdated, and of course the price drops then anyway. But in some ways, you can't blame developers for wanting to see more profit from the used games, because they are, essentially, the same thing that's being sold used.
There are arguments that there are better ways to handle used game sales, some of which actually sound pretty interesting. One that I thought about is that larger publishers and developers could handle their own used game sales. If you want return the game back to them instead of selling it to Gamestop or a similar business, then the publisher or developer give you something in return for doing so, maybe credit towards a future purchase or online store credit, and then they can sell the game (not at full price obviously) again. There are some problems with this model, and an obvious one is that it is a choice, but dedicated players could really win from this, as do the developers and publishers.This is just one of many ideas on how a game company could generate profit from used games, but the current model of online passes seems to be, at least for now, they way most games will go.
This could soon all be moot though. Digital distribution is becoming a bigger and better way for gamers to purchase their games, and since you can't resell a digital copy (not legally anyhow), the used game market completely disappears online. Steam and Origin have become the way to buy games for PC users, and Steam in particular has blossomed into the kind of place gamers love to shop at. There's always some kind of deal going on, games are somewhat cheaper online, and there is a huge catalog to choose from. I mean really, no one can blame EA for wanting a piece of that extremely good looking pie. No matter what though, Steam has brought digital distribution a long way in the games industry, and that means that used games could soon become fond memories of a not so distant past.
For now however, used games will remain a part of the industry and it will continue to be an issue developers and publishers will try to find a way around in the ultimate goal of making more money than everyone else. Of course some people argue that those of us looking to save some cash are just penny pinching misers. That is also true sometimes...
This one might be a bit behind now, and there is a lot I didn't go over, but most of what I went over is what is important. My next post is about Fallout and why America is the only reason it works the way it does. (because I can not beat that dead horse enough apparently.) And that will be followed by some fun things.
Also looking at some more changes. So keep reading, sharing the word when you can, go like the facebook page (link to the side now!) etc.
Peace out y'all!
Image Sources
#1 - Industrygamers.com
#2 - Geekosystem.com
Information Research Source
Game Revolution
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