Poll: Do you hate the used game market?

[Ian Caronia]

Simple: "No Objection"

Why? It's, as many have stated on other forums, "Legal Piracy". You like a developer? Buy their game new. Work as hard as you can to get the cash to buy it new. That's the only way your fav dev will see:
1. What their consumers enjoy
2. What they can do to get consumers interested
3. What they are/aren't doing right

Spoiler: Atlus/Atlus U.S.A for a fine example...

I buy the games (especially their Shin Megami Tensei and grittier titles) new every time. Outside of Japan, their games are really marketed on e-mails to their fanbase, internet trailers, and word-of-mouth. However, despite having a very short marketing arm, you probably already know about a number of their titles, most recently: Persona 4 and Catherine
Things they do to make sure their fans or newcomers buy used isn't some EA stunt that makes them look stupid and childish. They e-mail fans with personal touches, playfully tease the fanbase (look up Catherine not getting localization/Catherine actually coming this summer), and even more importantly, they often add bonus items to pre-order buyers. It can be anything from an Artbook and OST to a plushy of a cute character in the game.

This is how you get people interested. Not by marketing an M rated game to young teens or saying gamers are grown adults who actually care about what their mom thinks of a game.
[see Open Letter to EA from the show "Extra Credits" on this website]

If you don't like the publisher, but you like the dev, you still need to buy it new because you want to support the folks who made it. So, that being said, why are Used Games good (for consumers)?
_We can now vote on what we do/do not like, and the idea of "voting with your dollars" has never been more widespread and understood. Yes, buying a used game is pretty much legal piracy in many regards. However, by reading up on the game and it's production, on the treatment of the developers and what the publisher and devs are doing to listen to the fans (mostly, not all things the fans say are good) and how much the creators actually care about the game, you can choose whether to support a right-minded company or drop a tyrant...all thanks to Used Games.
[look up the Red Dead Redemption Developer treatment controversy]
[look up EA and Bioware's latest PR killing exploits and ideas on what an RPG actually is ("JRPGs are not RPGs" and "Call of Duty is an RPG" -look that up under Bioware)]

Every game bought used is a wound in even the biggest company's side. Remember that. If you're buying used, make sure you want to make a statement to the publisher and developer. Don't buy used from companies doing the right thing. Buy them used from companies hurting the industry, the consumers, and ultimately themselves.
Use Games are only good if consumers realize the impact buying even one used game can do.

 

[PureChaos]

most of the games i buy are second hand. i don't have a great deal of money so when i do get a new games (probably get one game a year) i try and get a bargain. just bought Pokemon Leaf Green for £13.99 on ebay which arrived today. shame my charger broke and the new one i bought hasn't come yet

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I don't buy second hand games unless it's something that you can't find anymore. I'd be lying if I said it was becuase I had a problem with developers not getting pennies because it isn't it's just that I like shiny new things. :<

 

[beema]

No, but I hate GameStop.
There's a difference

 

[GonzoGamer]

I get that people hate piracy here. And I understand why, it hurts developers, it is not fair, etc. However something I find odd is that from time to time you will see folks lump in the used market with piracy.

You need a ?depends on where you buy them? selection for the poll. I don?t think used games are bad on their own. At one point in my life I wouldn?t have been able to play games at all if it wasn?t for the used market. But that was back when used games were typically a great deal less than new copies. If I were still poor, the only way I would be able to afford to play is by pirating.
Since Gamestop has gouged the used game market so that they?re only $2-3 cheaper than new, used games are no longer impulse buys you might pick up when picking up a new game. Now you (if you have limited disposable income like most people) have to choose between buying a new game and buying a used game.
So while used games can be good if you find a good place to buy them, Gamestop has done a lot to drain any sort of value the used market had for consumers and publishers. And of course most publishers are trying to recoup their losses by overcharging gamers for every little thing rather than the retail chain causing the trouble so I can?t say I feel too sorry for them when they complain about it.

 

[Xanthious]

Simple: "No Objection"

Why? It's, as many have stated on other forums, "Legal Piracy". You like a developer? Buy their game new. Work as hard as you can to get the cash to buy it new. That's the only way your fav dev will see:
1. What their consumers enjoy
2. What they can do to get consumers interested
3. What they are/aren't doing right

Spoiler: Atlus/Atlus U.S.A for a fine example...

I buy the games (especially their Shin Megami Tensei and grittier titles) new every time. Outside of Japan, their games are really marketed on e-mails to their fanbase, internet trailers, and word-of-mouth. However, despite having a very short marketing arm, you probably already know about a number of their titles, most recently: Persona 4 and Catherine
Things they do to make sure their fans or newcomers buy used isn't some EA stunt that makes them look stupid and childish. They e-mail fans with personal touches, playfully tease the fanbase (look up Catherine not getting localization/Catherine actually coming this summer), and even more importantly, they often add bonus items to pre-order buyers. It can be anything from an Artbook and OST to a plushy of a cute character in the game.

This is how you get people interested. Not by marketing an M rated game to young teens or saying gamers are grown adults who actually care about what their mom thinks of a game.
[see Open Letter to EA from the show "Extra Credits" on this website]

If you don't like the publisher, but you like the dev, you still need to buy it new because you want to support the folks who made it. So, that being said, why are Used Games good (for consumers)?
_We can now vote on what we do/do not like, and the idea of "voting with your dollars" has never been more widespread and understood. Yes, buying a used game is pretty much legal piracy in many regards. However, by reading up on the game and it's production, on the treatment of the developers and what the publisher and devs are doing to listen to the fans (mostly, not all things the fans say are good) and how much the creators actually care about the game, you can choose whether to support a right-minded company or drop a tyrant...all thanks to Used Games.
[look up the Red Dead Redemption Developer treatment controversy]
[look up EA and Bioware's latest PR killing exploits and ideas on what an RPG actually is ("JRPGs are not RPGs" and "Call of Duty is an RPG" -look that up under Bioware)]

Every game bought used is a wound in even the biggest company's side. Remember that. If you're buying used, make sure you want to make a statement to the publisher and developer. Don't buy used from companies doing the right thing. Buy them used from companies hurting the industry, the consumers, and ultimately themselves.
Use Games are only good if consumers realize the impact buying even one used game can do.

Hold on just a second there. Do you know how ridiculous that statement is? Seriously, this is the type of arrogance that is currently plaguing the game industry. There is not a single other maker and seller of goods that is so self important as to believe that they should see profits from the used market. And there are certainly none that walk around bemoaning exactly how much they are being hurt by used products.

There are used book stores, used car lots, used furniture stores, used clothing stores, used movie and music stores etc and NONE of the profits from those sales see the original manufacturers. What is so damn special about video games that they should be the only single industry to enjoy such a benefit?

Used goods have been around for as long as people have been buying and selling goods. There is simply no reason why the gaming industry deserves any special protection for the used market other than they are currently driven by an amazing excess of greed and are good at spinning things to where they are always seen as the victim.

As I said previously the gaming industry in it's current form needs to be brought down a few pegs. The industry as it is today is driven soley by greed as is evident when you look and see that the price keeps going up while the amount of content keeps going down. The only thing hurting the gaming industry is the gaming industry and the sooner it crashes and burns the sooner it can be rebuilt into something much much better.

 

[AtroposHeart]

It's stop the gamers that are ripping off the developers it's the retailers.

The industry needs to find a way to build around this without her their innocent consumers. Very few of us can afford to buy all our games new

 

[SovietSecrets]

I get that people hate piracy here. And I understand why, it hurts developers, it is not fair, etc.

I don't. I made a pro-piracy thread here, but it got taken down. Only anti-piracy is allowed which is a bit of a shame.

OT: I hate used games only because someone else has owned them before me and I don't know how well they took care of the disc. Getting something with a bunch of scratches on it pisses me off to no end. I only buy new because I actually like to care of my stuff and don't want to risk buying used and having a fucked up disc even if it runs fine. I like my stuff clean.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I hate it when people consider used games on par with piracy.

But I love used games. Almost always buy it, and it helps game selling companies like GameStop.

 

[ThatDaveDude1]

I assume you're asking our opinion on the used game market from a moral standpoint, since the laws on this are unquestionably clear.

Morally, It depends entirely on whether or not the game is still in production. If not then any sale of a new copy isn't benefiting the developers anyway, so I'm fine with it.

If it is, however, then buying used is douchie and stupid.

 

[DuelLadyS]

I buy mostly used games, myself. I've often thought about the impact not buying new is having on the industry... I realize I vote with my wallet about the games I want to be playing, and not buying new is akin to not voting at all. I'm OK with that, though, becuase I came to realize two things:

Firstly, I do buy the games I really care about new. Preordered, more often than not. The games I'm getting used, though? Didn't thik about getting them new. In the case of some, didn't even register the game on my radar until it hit the used market. I don't think it's fair to rail against me for buying a $4 used copy of Rock Band 1, years after it released. I wouldn't have bought it new- I was playing Guitar Hero. I barely realized Rock Band existed until well after RB2 started taking the market.

Secondly- in a way, by buying used, I increase the value of a new game. Think of it this way: would you rather spend $60 on something that will be worthless to anyone else... or would you rather spend $60 on something you can get $30 for when you're done with it? The fact that people are aware of a used market, means they'll be more willing to spend more upfront knowing they can recoup some of that money when they have no further use of the product. It's the same reason a $20 download game is expensive, but the same game on a disc isn't- you can sell the disc.

Personally, I rather like the idea of somehow getting the used game dealers to give a little back to the developers- but I don't imagine such a system could ever be implemented. Putting aside how hard Gamestop and the like would fight against it, I imagine most of the used game market would migrate to untrackable mom & pop operations and negate the value of such a move.

 

[jboking]

Exactly. The biggest difference between games and other industries is that while it's true you don't have people getting upset about the effect on that given industry, unlike games they don't have as many people acting like it's a moral crusade to buy games used to somehow "fight the power".

You know, some of those people might actually have a good reason for buying a particular companies games used that doesn't equate to "fight the power." For example, for quite a while I didn't approve of EA's business practices, so I decided I wouldn't give them my money and would rather do something else likeread below)

I prefer that my money, rather than going to GameStop or an individual, goes to the developer so that they can continue to put out games I like.

Support a retailer that has been reliably providing a venue to buy games in my rather rural area. The fact of the matter is, being a games retailer is not easy. They make very little money on each game sold, almost to the point of it not being profitable. However, buying used games and selling those cheaper, where they get all the profit, helps keep smaller retailers in business. Instead of supporting groups with shaky business practices, I go to the ones that do honest work.

I'm not suggesting you should buy from GameStop(you really probably shouldn't) but places in my area like Vintage Stock could actually use the money to stay in business and keep more extensive and open libraries than GameStop does(and the sale back prices are actually reasonable).


Used games sales definitely have an effect on the industry and that effect is for the most part, positive.

 

[veloper]

Simple: "No Objection"

Why? It's, as many have stated on other forums, "Legal Piracy". You like a developer? Buy their game new. Work as hard as you can to get the cash to buy it new. That's the only way your fav dev will see:
1. What their consumers enjoy
2. What they can do to get consumers interested
3. What they are/aren't doing right

Spoiler: Atlus/Atlus U.S.A for a fine example...

I buy the games (especially their Shin Megami Tensei and grittier titles) new every time. Outside of Japan, their games are really marketed on e-mails to their fanbase, internet trailers, and word-of-mouth. However, despite having a very short marketing arm, you probably already know about a number of their titles, most recently: Persona 4 and Catherine
Things they do to make sure their fans or newcomers buy used isn't some EA stunt that makes them look stupid and childish. They e-mail fans with personal touches, playfully tease the fanbase (look up Catherine not getting localization/Catherine actually coming this summer), and even more importantly, they often add bonus items to pre-order buyers. It can be anything from an Artbook and OST to a plushy of a cute character in the game.

This is how you get people interested. Not by marketing an M rated game to young teens or saying gamers are grown adults who actually care about what their mom thinks of a game.
[see Open Letter to EA from the show "Extra Credits" on this website]

If you don't like the publisher, but you like the dev, you still need to buy it new because you want to support the folks who made it. So, that being said, why are Used Games good (for consumers)?
_We can now vote on what we do/do not like, and the idea of "voting with your dollars" has never been more widespread and understood. Yes, buying a used game is pretty much legal piracy in many regards. However, by reading up on the game and it's production, on the treatment of the developers and what the publisher and devs are doing to listen to the fans (mostly, not all things the fans say are good) and how much the creators actually care about the game, you can choose whether to support a right-minded company or drop a tyrant...all thanks to Used Games.
[look up the Red Dead Redemption Developer treatment controversy]
[look up EA and Bioware's latest PR killing exploits and ideas on what an RPG actually is ("JRPGs are not RPGs" and "Call of Duty is an RPG" -look that up under Bioware)]

Every game bought used is a wound in even the biggest company's side. Remember that. If you're buying used, make sure you want to make a statement to the publisher and developer. Don't buy used from companies doing the right thing. Buy them used from companies hurting the industry, the consumers, and ultimately themselves.
Use Games are only good if consumers realize the impact buying even one used game can do.

Hold on just a second there. Do you know how ridiculous that statement is? Seriously, this is the type of arrogance that is currently plaguing the game industry. There is not a single other maker and seller of goods that is so self important as to believe that they should see profits from the used market. And there are certainly none that walk around bemoaning exactly how much they are being hurt by used products.

There are used book stores, used car lots, used furniture stores, used clothing stores, used movie and music stores etc and NONE of the profits from those sales see the original manufacturers. What is so damn special about video games that they should be the only single industry to enjoy such a benefit?

Used goods have been around for as long as people have been buying and selling goods. There is simply no reason why the gaming industry deserves any special protection for the used market other than they are currently driven by an amazing excess of greed and are good at spinning things to where they are always seen as the victim.

As I said previously the gaming industry in it's current form needs to be brought down a few pegs. The industry as it is today is driven soley by greed as is evident when you look and see that the price keeps going up while the amount of content keeps going down. The only thing hurting the gaming industry is the gaming industry and the sooner it crashes and burns the sooner it can be rebuilt into something much much better.

Not greed. The games industry is supported soley by charity and stupidity.

The publishers are greedy, but the system isn't capitalistic. Paying is 100% voluntary and optional on our end.

Pirates are simply smarter than people who buy used. What both groups have in common is that both are cheap and not contributing anything.

 

[TurboPanda]

The car argument annoys me. If you buy a new car you will get that car in perfect condition. If you buy a used car then depending on how old it is it will be more likely to break down and it will probably be outdated compared to newer cars. In other words it doesn't work as well because its second hand. This is the same for phones, clothes and almost anything you can buy.

Games are NOT the same. The actual disk costs very little to make, what we pay for is the digital content stored on the disk which doesn't age. If you buy a used game it will work the same as it did on the day it was made. (unless its scratched to hell but then it shouldn't have been resold in the first place). My Game Boy games still work as intended to this day. Cars from 1993 dont.

 

[Xanthious]

If it is, however, then buying used is douchie and stupid.

Then I trust that you have only even owned/driven new cars. Furthermore, I trust that when the time comes to buy your own home you will have it build from the ground up rather than buying one another family has already lived in. Finally I trust you never sell any of your own property that is still able to be purchased new on craigslist or ebay or that if you do you send an appropriate cut back to the original manufacturer . . . . .

Games are NO different that any other manufactured good. They deserve no special treatment when it comes to used sales. To say otherwise is just crazy

 

[DRSH1989]

Hate is a strong word.
Piracy exists for a reason & it isn't the end of all things good.
Used games exist for a reason & it isn't the end of all things good.
Each has its own type of users/consumers.
Each user/consumer has his own wallet.
Every wallet has different amounts of cash/moola/dinero in it.
Mostly economic stratification leads to things like piracy or used games being sold & resold & each have their own communities... so you won't find answers by asking: "Do you hate the used game market?"... you will only get opinions & and opinions are like ass... everybody's got an ass => everybody's got an opinion.