Used Games are simply another form of Piracy (THQ joins EA to stop the used games market)

[Sneaklemming]

This line of thought is prompted by EAs decision to add serial keys to their sports games to stop the reselling of games.

EDIT: THQ have also gone this route. (link [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100797-THQ-Joins-the-Used-Game-Fight]) It seems EA has legitimised this line of thinking.

So it does beg the question about used games.

They cut out the developers and ultimately hurt the studios. The only benefit is increased exposure of their games.

-Sound like anything else? And is the Used Games Market bad for the industry? If so is it immoral?

EDIT: alot of people are mentioning that when you buy a copy of a game - its all yours, but think about PC games. You buy a PC game and it's not really yours. Try to resell a copy of your PC game, and see what you get called.

I only just noticed this story... http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100606-Used-Game-Sales-are-a-Bigger-Problem-Than-Piracy

edit-edit-edit: Just to be clear - I'm not agreeing with EA, but I find the premise interesting, and feel this is something what would be good to think about.

 

[vrbtny]

Now amazon.com is as much a threat as Piratebay.com?

What has the world come to.

 

[rokkolpo]

someone already paid for said game.

they shouldn't care.

 

[Dys]

someone already paid for said game.

they shouldn't care.

The same logic can be applied for piracy. It hurts arguably hurts the industry more, because it's actual consumers, not bored kids with a torrent client, who are getting the games.

 

[Cherry Cola]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

If I'm tired of something I own, something I either can't get enjoyment out of, or something if it's something I want to replace with something better, should I simply have to throw that thing away? Why can't I make a profit and sell it to someone else who needs it? Am I a bad person for helping someone acquire something they want for an even cheaper price than at the store? No, I'm not. I'm a good person for giving someone that opportunity.

 

[Sneaklemming]

someone already paid for said game.

they shouldn't care.

Every pirated game/sold used copy is a lost sale - apparently.

Except in the case of a used game that is more likely to be true, since used games dont tend to be much cheaper then new ones.

Shouldn't and don't are different - seen in EAs new measure to stop used copies being useful.

 

[Sneaklemming]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

You're missing the point.

Used games are causing the same kind of damage as piracy is.

Also comparing clothes to video-game piracy is like apples and oranges - hell even comparing film and music piracy to video game piracy is like apples and oranges...

 

[Fredrik Engberg]

So they've equated second hand games to piracy?

I might as well start to pirate instead then.

Or, since the punishment for piracy is greater than the punishment for theft I could just steal the games.


This shit is getting out of hand...

 

[Sneaklemming]

grrr... stuff is going all wonky on me

 

[joshuaayt]

That's not fair to the consumer, to smack a big "Like a Pirate" label on them. They legally purchase games, and also-

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

- is a very good point.

Also comparing clothes to video-game piracy is like apples and oranges - hell even comparing film and music piracy to video game piracy is like apples and oranges...

...in that they're very similar? I always thought that Apples and Chalk made more sense.

 

[Cherry Cola]

seen in EAs new measure to stop used copies being useful.

Something I find to be fucking stupid.

You don't have to be a genius to realize that people are going to buy and sell used copies of your product. They should have seen this from a mile away. But instead of cutting a deal with local games retailers about getting a slice of their used games policies as soon as they were in business, they just try to restrict it.

Bullshit.

 

[Sonicron]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

If I'm tired of something I own, something I either can't get enjoyment out of, or something if it's something I want to replace with something better, should I simply have to throw that thing away? Why can't I make a profit and sell it to someone else who needs it? Am I a bad person for helping someone acquire something they want for an even cheaper price than at the store? No, I'm not. I'm a good person for giving someone that opportunity.

Nailed it on the head, Hub. And in my opinion, everyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Dead wrong.

 

[wordsmith]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

I'm with the OP on this one, I don't see the difference? In one setup, you get one person who pays the company for the original game, then enables loads of other people can play it without paying the developers any more for it. In the other, you get one person who pays the company, then enables others to play it by paying a 3rd party, giving none of the money to the devs.

 

[Sneaklemming]

seen in EAs new measure to stop used copies being useful.

Something I find to be fucking stupid.

You don't have to be a genius to realize that people are going to buy and sell used copies of your product. They should have seen this from a mile away. But instead of cutting a deal with local games retailers about getting a slice of their used games policies as soon as they were in business, they just try to restrict it.

Bullshit.

Well like you said it's been around a while, and I thought that's kinda how it worked, like gamestop have to give a licence fee or something...

I mean considering all the actually legal stuff going on with the PC side of games - I thought there would be agreements like this.

Maybe there was and now the retailers aren't playing nice because of DLC - and things like Steam, and the XboxLIVE marketplace cutting them out.

I think that places like gamestop are suddenly worried that they are going to be cut out of the chain. - or maybe that was the Publishers wanted all along. Who knows.

 

[mightybozz]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

If I'm tired of something I own, something I either can't get enjoyment out of, or something if it's something I want to replace with something better, should I simply have to throw that thing away? Why can't I make a profit and sell it to someone else who needs it? Am I a bad person for helping someone acquire something they want for an even cheaper price than at the store? No, I'm not. I'm a good person for giving someone that opportunity.

Yep. I've been saying the same for years. The companies can't complain about this - they sell disks with copies of software on, we're allowed to sell them on. Making ADDITIONAL copies and selling them on is piracy, and that can illegitimately hurt the companies (oh and my heart bleeds for them btw...) but selling on your one copy which was purchased legitimately - give me one reason why that is wrong.

 

[Curious Georgie]

EA is just going to cut off a form of trade that has been around as long as actual trade has been around? I don't think so. I doubt we've seen the last of this.

 

[Sneaklemming]

If I'm tired of something I own, something I either can't get enjoyment out of, or something if it's something I want to replace with something better, should I simply have to throw that thing away? Why can't I make a profit and sell it to someone else who needs it? Am I a bad person for helping someone acquire something they want for an even cheaper price than at the store? No, I'm not. I'm a good person for giving someone that opportunity.

So you're basically advocating piracy.

The whole reason why file-sharing, and sharing your PC games with others is "wrong" is because you skip out the authors, in this case the developers.

-How is that different to used games?

Just by claiming that nobody said it was wrong until now, doesn't make it right

 

[Zacharine]

It's not another form of Piracy.

Second hand marketing has been around for ages, and nobody has complained about them before. We have all been OK with second hand stores for clothing, buying used Television sets, flea markets, the works. But now, because video game publishers say it's hurting the industry, it's suddenly wrong?

Fuck no, it's not wrong.

You're missing the point.

Used games are causing the same kind of damage as piracy is.

No he didn't.

Just because wars and hurricanes can cause equal destruction, they are both therefore the same?

His point is, piracy means the game makers never get to see money. After the game has been purchased however, it is legal to sell it forward. Just like a bicycle or a car. Because that particular copy has become the property of the buyer when it left the store.

Piracy means illegally acquiring a product.

Second-hand sales means legally acquiring a used product, which cannot afterwards be used by the original purchaser. The creator of said product has been paid for his work.

The basic legalese here is the same, no matter if we are talking of cars, TVs, or video games.

What the big game publishers and whatnot are doing is equating lost potential profit with stealing. And that is just stupid. You don't see Nokia blaming cell-phone repairs and second-hand sales for the failiures of their products, or inability to meet market expectations, which both contribute to losses in comparison to potential profit.

 

[razormint21]

I really don't see this hurting the industry compared to blatant piracy.
I only see greedy corporations wanting to protect their own interests.

 

[Muraz]

What EA are inevitably doing here is shooting themselves in the foot. I know a great many people who only purchase video games new at such an expensive price on the understanding that they can sell/trade in those games later in order to purchase new games.

If you take away their ability to do that, then it's actually going to harm the sales of new games.

Regardless, second-hand sales never hurt any of the other major creative mediums. Why should we believe it's suddenly a big threat to this one?