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

[dfphetteplace]

Then I guess I will just pirate the game. What does the industry care? I'm getting it from someone else, and someone had to buy it originally. So instead of wasting my time going to a used game store or waiting for it from eBay, I'll just download the damn thing. Fuck EA and Activision.

 

[Plurralbles]

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.

really, this is all that needs to be said.

EA can go straight to hell. I don't understand why these people think theyr'e somehow special or exempt from what's been happening for the last 5000 years.

 

[Woodsey]

No, it's not another form of piracy.

I don't particularly agree with it though, and so I have no reason to oppose publisher's for offering me a slice-of-something-nice to go with my latest first-hand bought game.

 

[Zacharine]

Real products degrade. Information stored on disc media does not.

Oh trulies?

Estimates for DVD longevity, in optimal storage conditions, range from 30-100 years.

In everyday use, 10-25 years, max. No one really knows for sure, because they are such a young technology still.

Or, alternative, 1000 rewrites.

Optical media degrades. This is a fact.

 

[HK_01]

So...buying a used TV is like stealing it?

Almost every industry could make the same argument, yet none of them do because they see that it's fucking stupid.

Edit: I see some people actually go with the industry on this. If I still had any faith in humanity, this thread would have made me lose it.

Real products degrade. Information stored on disc media does not.

Magnetic tape media degrades. Making used copies significantly lower quality than new copies. dubbed copies were also of significantly lower quality than new copies.

As far as "losing faith" goes, the general tone of defending used games is typically, "I LOVE [retailer] COCK IN MY ASS!!"

Thanks for confirming all my suspicions about what kind of people would take the industry's side in this matter! You reaffirmed me in my belief that I'm right.

 

[NBSRDan]

So if I buy a hamburger and give it to a random homeless guy, we're both evil thieves.

If a game disc falls out of my pocket without me noticing, and someone else picks it up, what is that, reckless swashbuckling?

 

[Double A]

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.

Yeah, but when they get a torrent, no one is paying for that copy. It's not the same. It's just second-hand marketing.

 

[El_Chubba_Chubba]

someone already paid for said game.

they shouldn't care.

But that said someone could buy the game first hand from a store, and the developer would benefit.

 

[Blind Sight]

Although there already have been alot of great points made, I'll throw in my humble opinion.

When you buy meat or vegetables at a grocery store, do you pay the farmer directly?

How are games any different from any other product? Yes, they are created by developers and cost quite a lot of money, but many products are like that. Games are a commodity on the market, like everything else. To think that used game sales equals piracy is amazingly confusing, considering how the majority of goods are sold.

It's quite obvious that publishers and developers somehow feel entitled to hold a monopoly on their product. Guess what? The market doesn't work that way. If used games on consoles are attacked in the same way that PC used games have, well then I'm frankly scared for what the future of the industry holds. I can just see it, it's 2014, and you're paying $120 for Modern Warfare 4, or some such. Publishers need to get their heads out of their asses and stop seeing their consumer base as a mix of a machine that prints money and a morally corrupt thief. I'm just amazed that publishers are surprised that piracy and used game sales are so common with the way they treat their consumers.

 

[Keava]

As far as used games go, you run the risk of a scratch removing half the game (happened with Final Fantasy VII to me. ), so really you have the same risks associated with buying used vs new cars/clothes/electronics as you do with used vs new video games.

Hardly same risks. If you buy a unreadable disk you got scammed

But EA are now giving extra's if you buy it new so in effect you do get less if you buy second hand, so by doing this they are undermining their own arguement. Personaly i think EA are doing nothing wrong with that tactic. At least that is lawful unlike some of the more dubious online activation where u need to be connected to the internet to play the game

Well, yeah and thats why the recent outrage about used games buyers vs the big corporations. Some feel cheated on the fact they have to pay extra for something they didnt even paid the developer/publisher in the first place. Funny now, aint it?

'Value' is relative to the company who is throwing a fit about their product. Many things could be more 'valuable' if the company wanted to restrict used sale on a product.

Depending on the game some things will become shorter and less playable. Online/downloaded content doesn't stay around forever you know, so my having bought a game that no longer has support for either of those is basically buying half a game.
Not only that, developing companies can and are disband by the publishing or major company that hired them. My buying a new game wouldn't help that developing company/branch that created the title I enjoy, because it doesn't exist anymore. It'd go to their parent company, as a free pat on the back.

So, now it's worse to buy something legally that has been legally distributed by the parenting creators, than to download an illegal copy from a place or site that the company does not support?
No, it's not worse.
In fact, if companies start restricting games and making it harder for people to buy used they better do a few things.
- Make their games more enjoyable so people will want to buy them in the first place.
- Put more developing time into their game and not feel so anxious to compete with title 'X', and produce a half-assed game.
- Price games lower. Used games are bought for a reason; they're more affordable for everyone.

First things first. It hardly is about the very old games that have no support/are not avalible in retail anymore. Also it gets easier to get your hands on the old games these days thanks to digital distribution. You have GOG first things and even other services like Steam offer you acess to older games.
I dont know how it is in your countries, but in Poland our main retailer often sells the gold edition/classic edition packs of old games for very small price, they are the guys behind GOG.

Again. The whole recent issue is mostly about the games being re-selled/traded within first month after release, when it is still fresh. It is about people who will buy them those 5-10$ cheaper way before the game even goes on discounts and is certainly far from life-support service style.
The point where i can see why companies see it as worst as piracy is that the customer does spend money but a company never gets them. They got used to pirates being pirates and wanting the products for free, but in case of trade-ins/re-sells its sometimes really such small difference in price between retail and used that it does feel a bit unfair for the companies.

EDIT

When you buy meat or vegetables at a grocery store, do you pay the farmer directly?

You see, that sounds lovely but its not how market works.
Farmer gets food. Farmer takes food to shop to sell it. Shop buys x of the farmers food, taking a risk they might not sell it all. You buy food from shop, thus pay for further purchase from the said farmer, indirectly. They dont sell you food they took a bite off tho.

With used games it isint really the same. You buy a second-hand product that is nowhere tied to the whole market machine, you buy form the individual who just got bored after using the game.

 

[Double A]

Yeah, someone already paid for said game.

they shouldn't care.

But that said someone could buy the game first hand from a store, and the developer would benefit.

Or, they wouldn't buy the game in the first place. If they only have $30, they can't buy a new game unless it's on sale.

 

[crypt-creature]

If a game disc falls out of my pocket without me noticing, and someone else picks it up, what is that, reckless swashbuckling?

Thank you for brightening my day.

Though in all honesty, a lot of the game series I've enjoyed started out with me buying a used copy... and proceeding to buy a sequel or another title produced by that company brand new.
Seems to me like other people do this as well.

But silly me, used games are bad! No good can possibly come from them.

 

[samstewiefisher]

I dont think reselling games you have bought is piracy. Wouldnt mind if gamestop or whoever had to give a chunk of the money they make on these games to devs tho. They make a massive margine on used games. The only problem is if this was the case we gamers would probably just have to pay more to cover the royalty cost. Games are expensive, would be nice to be able to buy a used copy and have a little bit go to the creator, rather than just all to the retailer.

 

[Pinguin]

No, no, no.

Used games sales make no appreciable difference to new game revenue. Someone who waits and buys a game cheaper second hand wouldn't have shelled out £40 for it anyway.

If by some bizarre set of circumstances used game trading was banned, new games sales would be virtually unaffected. In the long term they'd be affected negatively due to the decreased circulation and publicity of games.

Not to mention the fact that used game sales are a major source of income for game retail stores, another important part of generating sales of new games.

 

[Le_Lisra]

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

That's so much bullshit.
If I buy something, I can resell it for whatever reason, unless it is explicetly forbidden by law. Economics anyone? If I sell copies I made myself then I'm an evil pirate. Selling one original is the same? Get outta town man..
You don't see the record industry crying about resold albums, do you?

I haven't bought a full-price game in the last 10 years, solely budget or used on amazon. Legally.