CaptOfSerenity said:
The used game market has recently become a pariah for developers and publishers alike to blame for reduced gains or increased losses to their sales. Many equate used games to piracy, and find no value in its existence.
And they're full of shit.
Somewhat. In saying they are the exact same, they are full of shit. In saying that piracy and used sales affect them in the same way, they are not. Both result in no money going to the publisher, so to the publisher the effects of the two are the same thing. To the user, and to the stores that sell games, used games are preferable as they are legal and still earn someone money, but the publisher doesn't get any, and it ends up being the same as whether your shipment got stolen or lost. Either way it doesn't really matter, you won't actually get that shipment.
Used games are nothing like piracy: a used game is only one game. It can only be given or sold to one person and played by one (or two if there's split-screen) person at a time. The person who owns the copy of the game can do what they want with it. It is THEIRS. Piracy, is very different. It is the unauthorized use or REPRODUCTION of copyrighted material, meaning that this copy was stolen online, then the pirate made copies of it and distributed it to thousands. How are these concepts similar? They're not.
Why are developers and publishers pissing and moaning about used games? Simple. They want more money/ If I buy a used game, then the publisher sees none of that money. But, if I want to sell a game to a friend for cheaper than retail, then why can't I? It's my game, I'll do with it what I wish. Killing the used game market also kills some of our rights as consumers to do with our games what we wish. It's asinine.
They are similar in the fact that the game publisher earns no money. Only real way. Whilst yes, killing the used game market does kill consumer rights, buying only used games can hurt the industry. Games that don't sell well originally, but earn a lot of used sales, will not be remade by the publishers as it appears no-one is interested in it. Sometimes these games can be great and new and fun, but because the publishers get nothing, they won't create a sequel and will barely support the game any more. Its economy, and they're perfectly within their rights to do this. Now, I couldn't name any examples off the top of my head, but it isn't too hard to conceive some game with a cool new idea coming out, but lots of people going 'I don't know, might be crap, I'll get it used'. That sort of stuff asks for no sequel, and more CoD like games instead.
Publishers have taken EA's "Project Ten Dollars" and applied it to their games, meaning you buy a game new, and you get a code to access a part of the game that would otherwise be locked if you bought new. This isn't perfect, but it does encourage people to buy new. The annoyance is the constant menus. I can't just start a fucking game anymore; I have to go through mountains of menus to get to it. Or I have to download a damn patch. Game consoles are becoming more like PCs.
Yeah, sometimes that is done, sometimes its true DLC that is given, usually in GoTY editions, but some companies are nice enough to give it out properly. But there is nothing wrong with them doing this legally. They are giving you the product you paid for, just this extra (Or not) content is only available to those who give the publisher money, much like those in store bonuses that you will get for buying from some store in particular. If you don't want to shell out the extra money to pay for the publishers cut there, then you can pay it later. Its the same sort of idea behind people using used markets. Its Mine, I'll decide what I do with it, and I want to save money.
And Consoles are becoming more like PCs as PCs offer too many advantages over them for gamers and publishers alike. If you didn't have those menus or patches, things like that Skyrim PS3 bug would never be fixed, games would be far simpler as more time would have to be put into QA to make sure that they won't bug out on consoles, and that time, in the publisher's eyes, has to come out of some of the development time. Bonus content like legit DLC would be PC only, as consoles wouldn't be able to get it. It benefits everyone that consoles become a little more like PCs, whilst still retaining their niche in the great gaming world. If you don't want your consoles to become more like PCs, play on the PS2 and all its games. No new releases, but its less like a PC. There is a trade off that needs to be made.
